Si attacked by snake!! …. (almost)! 😱

After yesterday’s grey and rainy day, we awoke this morning, as promised, to brilliant sunshine and then temperatures soaring to 90°F.

After a very acceptable breakfast here at the Inn and an interesting conversation with a poor lady who was telling us how she woke up in the night with a big spider running across her arm and how they couldn’t find it anywhere so she slept on the sofa for the rest of the night and now is worried about what tonight may bring ……………… gulp, lucky for us she’s on the second floor. Plus we had the ‘pleasure’ of a hawk flying past us with a poor little mouse in its mouth, he was having breakfast too, we set out to explore Corolla Light.

First of all some pictures from the hotel pier. This one is of our current abode.

Our first port of call was Historic Corolla Park where we booked a trip for tomorrow afternoon to go and see Corolla’s wild horses. They are the area’s oldest and most beloved residents, the Wild Colonial Spanish Mustangs. Stranded on the Outer Banks for centuries, but still enjoying the laid-back beach lifestyle, these feral and wild creatures are tolerant of the visitors who visit their beaches for the warm sun, cool waves, and miles of space.

We then set out for the Currituck Beach Light Station. After the climb up Absecon Lighthouse last weekend with 228 steps we knew this climb would be a ‘piece of cake’ as it only has 200 steps. The only difference from the Absecon is that when we reached the top it was a case of straight outside, no where to sit for those who didn’t actually want to go outside and admire the view! Also, the rails around the top were not exactly my idea of ‘super safety’. So I became what is known in the trade as a ‘wall hugger!’

On December 1, 1875, the Currituck Beach Light was completed. Unlike its fellows, Currituck Beach Light was not painted, leaving its brick facade visible. In 1939, the lighthouse was automated. Since 1991 visitors have been allowed to climb the original 220 steps to the outdoor gallery. Access to the lens room is not permitted as the first order lens is not only the original lens, but it is still a functioning one. The light comes on every night and shines from 158 feet (48 m) at 20-second intervals to warn ships hugging the chain of barrier islands along the coast.

 

We then took a walk along the boardwalk to the Currituck Sound. The Sound is a nature lover’s playground, offering ample access to wide open spaces of shallow, easy to navigate open water, dense thickets of maritime forest, and small, marshy islands that are covered in wildlife.

There’s a reason why some of the Outer Banks’ earliest visitors flocked first to the northern beaches of Duck and Corolla. With miles of soundfront providing a comfortable but temporary home to thousands of migrating waterfowl, the landscape proved ideal for adventurous hunters and provided a gorgeous and wild vacation destination for explorers who liked to escape to a locale well off the beaten path.

It was here as we walked along the boardwalk, Si in front and me five paces behind, I know my place, that my dearest was almost attacked by a snake!! As he walked in front of me, out of the corner of my eye I suddenly saw something rear up! OMG, what to do? “Snake” I screamed! Should I hit it with my bag, jump on it or fall down, grab it round the neck and wrestle with it ………………… or should I just wait and let it slide back into the marsh? Well, the survival instinct kicked in and we stood stock still and waited as it eyed first Si and then me. It eventually decided that neither of us looked very tasty and went on its merry way. What type of venomous snake was it, a Rattlesnake, a Copperhead or a Pygmy Rattlesnake? How does one suck out the poison from a snake bite!? The things that flash through your mind in a moment of danger! 😱

I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear that we survived and the snake turned out to be a ……… well, we think it was a Ribbon Snake!!!? Ha, ha, ha, and completely harmless. If anyone knows differently please let us know. 😉

It turned out not to be Si’s day! Note to Malcolm T, they seem to have the same problem here in Corolla that you had in Canada!! 😀

On the way to the Sound we saw this rather attractive little bridge!

Well, after the snake scare we decided it was time for lunch and off we went to a restaurant that had been recommended to us by Natalie, who has holidayed here a few times. We went to the Upside Restaurant and after a very enjoyable lunch of fish tacos for Si and a chicken flatbread for me we set out for Kitty Hawk.

Now some of you may know that name as it became world famous after the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, made the first controlled powered airplane flight at the Kill Devil Hills, four miles from Kitty Hawk, on 17th December 1903.

Kitty Hawk is usually credited as the site of the powered flights because it was the nearest named settlement at the time of the flight. The Wrights chose the area because its frequent winds and soft sandy surfaces were suitable for their glider experiments, which they conducted over a three-year period prior to making the powered flight.

On the day, only five people witnessed that first flight, one of whom was John T Daniels. Daniels had never seen a camera before let alone taken a picture but on the day he was the one who snapped that famous “first flight” photo using Orville’s pre-positioned camera. The picture he took that day, below, was the only one to commemorate the very special event and is now world-famous.

Here we are stood on the very spot where Orville Wright first took to the skies in his airplane and human flight, that we all now take so much for granted, became possible. Note the difference in the landscape now compared with back in 1903 when it was all sand. It was eventually planted by the Army to make the area more tourist ‘friendly’ and stable.

We finished the day with a ‘little shopping’ and were jolly glad to get back to the Inn and out of the heat! Phew! 🌞

I just know what the next question will be ……………… what’s with the blue horse!!??

Answers on a postcard please …………………………

Thanks for ‘travelling’ with us. More from Corolla tomorrow folks.