Moon Coastal Carolinas

by Jim Morekis

  The Bistro-by-the-Sea (4031 Arendell St., 252/247-2777, www.bistro-by-the-sea.com, Tues.-Thurs. 5pm-9:30pm, Fri.-Sat. 5pm-10pm, entrées $10-25) participates in Carteret Catch, a program that brings together local fisherfolk with restaurants, fish markets, and wholesalers to ensure that fresh locally caught seafood graces the tables of Carteret County. In addition to seafood, specialties here are steak, tenderloin, and prime rib.

  Café Zito (105 S. 11th St., 252/726-6676, www.cafezito.com, dinner Fri.-Mon. from 5:30pm, entrées $17-27), located in a pretty 1898 house, serves elegant Mediterranean fare and also participates in Carteret Catch.

  Captain Bill’s (701 Evans St., 252/726-2166, www.captbills.com, daily 11:30am-9:30pm, $12-20) is Morehead City’s oldest restaurant, founded in 1938. Try the conch stew, and be sure to visit the otters that live at the dock outside. Another famous eating joint in Morehead City is El’s Drive-In (3706 Arendell St., 252/726-3002, daily 10:30am-10pm, $10), a tiny place across from Carteret Community College. El’s is most famous for its shrimp burgers but serves all sorts of fried delights.

  BOGUE BANKS

  The beaches of Bogue Banks are popular with visitors, but they have a typically North Carolinian, laid-back feel, a quieter atmosphere than the fun-fun-fun neon jungles of beaches in other states. The major attractions, Fort Macon State Park and the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, are a bit more cerebral than, say, amusement parks and bikini contests. In the surfing and boating, bars and restaurants, and the beach itself, there’s also a bustle of activity to keep things hopping. Bogue, by the way, rhymes with “rogue.”

  S North Carolina Aquarium

  The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (1 Roosevelt Blvd., Pine Knoll Shores, 866/294-3477, www.ncaquariums.com, Aug.-June daily 9am-5pm, July Fri.-Wed. 9am-5pm, Thurs. 9am-9pm, $10.95 adults, $8.95 children) is one of the state’s three great coastal aquariums. Here at Pine Knoll Shores, exhibit highlights include a 300,000-gallon aquarium in which sharks and other aquatic beasts go about their business in and around a replica German U-Boat (plenty of originals lie right off the coast and form homes for reef creatures); a “jellyfish gallery” (they really can be beautiful); a pair of river otters; and many other wonderful animals and habitats.

  Trails from the parking lot lead into the maritime forests of the 568-acre Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area (1 Roosevelt Dr., Atlantic Beach, 252/726-3775).

  Fort Macon State Park

  At the eastern tip of Atlantic Beach is Fort Macon State Park (2300 E. Fort Macon Rd., 252/726-3775, www.ncsparks.net/foma.html, park daily 9am-5:30pm, fort Oct.-Mar. daily 8am-6pm, Apr.-May and Sept. daily 8am-7pm, June-Aug. daily 8am-8pm, bathhouse area Nov.-Feb. daily 8am-5:30pm, Mar.-Oct. daily 8am-7pm, Apr.-May and Sept. daily 8am-8pm, June-Aug. daily 8am-9pm, bathhouse $4 adults, $3 children). The central feature of the park is Fort Macon itself, an 1820s Federal fort that was a Confederate garrison for one year during the Civil War. Guided tours are offered, and there are exhibits inside the casemates. For such a stern, martial building, some of the interior spaces are surprisingly pretty.

  Sports and Recreation

  The ocean side of Bogue Banks offers plenty of public beach access. In each of the towns, from the northeast end of the island to the southwest end—Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Salter Path, Indian Beach, and Emerald Isle—there are parking lots, both municipal and private, free and paid.

  Aside from the fort itself, the other big attraction at Fort Macon is the beach, which is bounded by the ocean, Bogue Sound, and Beaufort Inlet. Because there’s a Coast Guard station on the Sound side, and a jetty along the Inlet, swimming is permitted only along one stretch of the ocean beach. A concession stand and bathhouse are located at the swimming beach.

  Atlantic Beach Surf Shop (515 W. Fort Macon Rd., Atlantic Beach, 252/646-4944, www.absurfshop.com) gives individual ($50 per hour) and group ($40 per hour) surfing lessons on the beach at Pine Knoll Shores. Lessons are in the morning and early afternoon. Call for reservations.

  Accommodations

  The Atlantis Lodge (123 Salter Path Rd., Atlantic Beach, 800/682-7057, www.atlantislodge.com, $70-220) is an old established family-run motel. It has simple and reasonably priced efficiencies in a great beachfront location. Well-behaved pets are welcome for a per-pet, per-night fee. The Clamdigger (511 Salter Path Rd., Atlantic Beach, 800/338-1533, www.clamdiggerramadainn.com, $40-260) is another reliable choice, with all oceanfront guest rooms. Pets are not allowed. The Windjammer (103 Salter Path Rd., Atlantic Beach, 800/233-6466, www.windjammerinn.com, $50-200) is another simple, comfortable motel, with decent rates through the high season.

  Food

  The Channel Marker (718 Atlantic Beach Causeway, Atlantic Beach, 252/247-2344, daily 11am-9:30pm, $15-25) is a more upscale alternative to some of the old-timey fried seafood joints on Bogue Banks (which are also great—read on). Try the crab cakes with mango chutney, or the Greek shrimp salad. The extensive wine list stars wines from the opposite side of North Carolina, from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

  White Swan Bar-B-Q and Chicken (2500-A W. Fort Macon Rd., Atlantic Beach, 252/726-9607, Mon.-Sat. 7am-2pm, $8) has been serving the Carolina trinity of barbecue, coleslaw, and hush puppies since 1960. They also flip a mean egg for breakfast.

  The S Big Oak Drive-In and Bar-B-Q (1167 Salter Path Rd., 252/247-2588, www.bigoakdrivein.com, Fri.-Sun. 11am-3pm) is a classic beach drive-in, a little red-white-and-blue-striped building with a walk-up counter and drive-up spaces. They’re best known for their shrimp burgers (large $5), a fried affair slathered with Big Oak’s signature red sauce, coleslaw, and tartar sauce. Then there are the scallop burgers, oyster burgers, clam burgers, hamburgers, and barbecue, all cheap, and made for snacking on the beach.

  Frost Seafood House (1300 Salter Path Rd., Salter Path, 252/247-3202, Fri.-Sun. 7am-9pm, Mon.-Thurs. 4:30pm-9:30pm, $10) began in 1954 as a gas station and quickly became the restaurant that it is today. The Frost family catches its own shrimp and buys much of its other seafood locally. Be sure to request a taste of the “ching-a-ling sauce.” Yet another community institution is the Crab Shack (140 Shore Dr., Salter Path, 252/247-3444, daily 11am-9pm, $9-25). You’ll find it behind the Methodist church in Salter Path. Operated by the Guthries (a family name that dates back to the dawn of time in this area, long before anyone thought of calling their home the “Crystal Coast”), the restaurant was wiped out in 2005 by Hurricane Ophelia, but they have since rebuilt, rolled up their sleeves, and plunged their hands back into the cornmeal.

  TRANSPORTATION

  Car

  One of the state’s main east-west routes, U.S. 70, gives easy access to almost all of the destinations in this chapter. From Raleigh to Beaufort is a little over 150 miles, but keep in mind that large stretches of the highway are in commercial areas with plenty of traffic and red lights. U.S. 70 continues past Beaufort, snaking up along Core Sound through little Down East towns like Otway and Davis, finally ending in the town of Atlantic. At Sea Level, Highway 12 branches to the north, across the Cedar Island Wildlife Refuge and ending at the Cedar Island-Ocracoke Ferry.

  Down south, to reach the Bogue Banks (Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle, and neighboring beaches) by road, bridges cross Bogue Sound on Highway 58 at both Morehead City and Cedar Point (not to be confused with Cedar Island).

  Ferry

  A 20-minute free passenger ferry crosses the Neuse River between Cherry Branch (near Cherry Point) and Minesott Beach in Pamlico County every half-hour (800/339-9156, vehicles and passengers, pets allowed).

  Lower Outer Banks

  The southern reaches of the Outer Banks of North Carolina have some of the region’s most diverse destinations. Core and Shackleford Banks lie within the Cape Lookout National Seashore, a wild maritime environment populated by plenty of wild ponies but not a single human. On the other hand, the towns of Bogue Banks—Atlantic Beach, Salter Path, Pine Knoll Shores, Indian Beach, and Emerald Isle—are classic beach towns, with clusters of motels
and restaurants, and even a few towel shops and miniature golf courses. Both areas are great fun, Cape Lookout especially so for ecotourists and history buffs, and Bogue Banks for those looking for a day on the beach followed by an evening chowing down on good fried seafood.

  S CAPE LOOKOUT NATIONAL SEASHORE

  Cape Lookout National Seashore (office 131 Charles St., Harkers Island, 252/728-2250, www.nps.gov/calo) is an otherworldly place, with 56 miles of beach on four barrier islands, a long tape of sand so seemingly vulnerable to nature that it’s hard to believe there were once several busy towns on its banks. Settled in the early 1700s, the towns of the south Core Banks made their living in fisheries that might seem brutal to today’s seafood eaters—whaling and catching dolphins and sea turtles, among the more mundane species. Portsmouth, at the north end of the park across the water from Ocracoke, was a busy port of great importance to the early economy of North Carolina. Portsmouth declined slowly, but catastrophe rained down all at once on the people of the southerly Shackleford Banks, who were driven out of their own long-established communities to start new lives on the mainland when a series of terrible hurricanes hit in the 1890s.

  the Cape Lookout Lighthouse

  Islands often support unique ecosystems. Among the dunes, small patches of maritime forest fight for each drop of fresh water, while ghost forests of trees that were defeated by advancing saltwater look on resignedly. Along the endless beach, loggerhead turtles come ashore to lay their eggs, and in the waters just off the strand, three other species of sea turtles are sometimes seen. Wild horses roam the beaches and dunes, and dolphins frequent both the ocean and sound sides of the islands.

  Pets are allowed on a leash. The wild ponies on Shackleford Banks can pose a threat to dogs that get among them, and the dogs, of course, can frighten the horses, so be careful not to let them mingle.

  Portsmouth Village

  Portsmouth Village, at the northern tip of the Cape Lookout National Seashore, is a peaceful but eerie place. The village looks much as it did 100 years ago, the handsome houses and churches all tidy and in good repair, but with the exception of caretakers and summer volunteers, no one has lived here in nearly 40 years. In 1970 the last two residents moved away from what had once been a town of 700 people and one of the most important shipping ports in North Carolina. Founded before the Revolutionary War, Portsmouth was a lightering station, a port where huge seagoing ships that had traveled across the ocean would stop and have their cargo removed for transport across the shallow sounds in smaller boats. There is a visitors center located at Portsmouth, open April-October with varying hours, where you can learn about the village before embarking on a stroll to explore the quiet streets.

  Once every other year in the spring, an amazing thing happens. Boatloads of people arrive on shore, and the church bell rings, and the sound of hymn singing comes through the open church doors. At the Portsmouth Homecoming, descendants of the people who lived here come from all over the state and country to pay tribute to their ancestral home. They have an old-time dinner on the grounds with much socializing and catching up, and then tour the little village together. It’s like a family reunion, with the town itself the family’s matriarch.

  Shackleford Banks

  The once-busy villages of Diamond City and Shackleford Banks are like Portsmouth in that, though they have not been occupied for many years, the descendants of the people who lived here retain a profound attachment to their ancestors’ homes. Diamond City and nearby communities met a spectacular end. The hurricane season of 1899 culminated in the San Ciriaco Hurricane, a disastrous storm that destroyed homes and forests, killed livestock, flooded gardens with saltwater, and washed the Shackleford dead out of their graves. Harkers Island absorbed most of the refugee population (many also went to Morehead City), and their traditions are still an important part of Down East culture. Daily and weekly programs held at the Light Station Pavilion and the porch of the Keepers’ Quarters during the summer months teach visitors about the natural and human history of Cape Lookout, including what day-to-day life was like for the keeper of the lighthouse and his family.

  a wild horse on the Shackleford Banks

  Cape Lookout Lighthouse

  By the time you arrive at the 1859 Cape Lookout Lighthouse (visitors center, 252/728-2250), you’ll probably already have seen it portrayed on dozens of brochures, menus, business signs, and souvenirs. With its striking diamond pattern, it looks like a rattlesnake standing at attention. Because it is still a working lighthouse, visitors are allowed in on only four days each year. Visit Cape Lookout National Seashore’s website (www.nps.gov/calo) for open house dates and reservation information. The allotted times fill up almost immediately.

  Accommodations

  Morris Marina (877/956-5688, www.capelookoutconcessions, $65-100) rents cabins at Great Island and Long Point. Cabins have hot and cold water, gas stoves, and furniture, but in some cases visitors must bring their own generators for lights as well as linens and utensils. Rentals are available only April-November. Book well in advance.

  CAMPING

  Camping is permitted within Cape Lookout National Seashore, though there are no designated campsites or services. Everything you bring must be carried back out when you leave. Campers can stay for up to 14 days.

  Transportation

  Except for the visitors center at Harkers Island, Cape Lookout National Seashore can only be reached by ferry. Portsmouth, at the northern end of the park, is a short ferry ride from Ocracoke, but Ocracoke is a very long ferry ride from Cedar Island. The Cedar Island-Ocracoke Ferry (800/856-0343, regular-size vehicles $15 one-way) is part of the state ferry system, and pets are allowed. It takes 2.25 hours to cross Pamlico Sound, but the ride is fun, and embarking from Cedar Island feels like sailing off the edge of the earth. The Ocracoke-Portsmouth Ferry (252/928-4361) is a passenger-only commercial route, licensed to Captain Rudy Austin. Phone to ensure a seat. There’s also a vehicle and passenger ferry from Atlantic to Long Point, Morris Marina Kabin Kamps and Ferry Service (877/956-6568), on the North Core Banks; leashed or in-vehicle pets are allowed. Most ferries operate between April and November.

  Commercial ferries cross every day from mainland Carteret County to the southern parts of the national seashore. There is generally a ferry route between Davis and Great Island, but service can be variable; check the Cape Lookout National Seashore website (www.nps.gov/calo) for updates.

  From Harkers Island, passenger ferries to Cape Lookout Lighthouse and Shackleford Banks include Calico Jacks (252/728-3575), Harkers Island Fishing Center (252/728-3907), Local Yokel (252/728-2759), and Island Ferry Adventures (252/728-6181) at Barbour’s Marina.

  From Beaufort, passenger ferries include Outer Banks Ferry Service (252/728-4129), which goes to both Shackleford Banks and to Cape Lookout Lighthouse; Island Ferry Adventures (252/728-7555) and Mystery Tours (252/728-7827) run to Shackleford Banks. Morehead City’s passenger-only Waterfront Ferry Service (252/726-7678) goes to Shackleford Banks as well. On-leash pets are generally allowed, but call ahead to confirm for Local Yokel, Island Ferry Adventures, and Waterfront Ferry Service.

  VILLAGE OF CEDAR ISLAND

  For a beautiful afternoon’s drive, head back to the mainland and follow U.S. 70 north. You’ll go through some tiny communities—Williston, Davis, Stacy—and, if you keep bearing north on Highway 12 when U.S. 70 heads south to the town of Atlantic, you’ll eventually reach the tip of the peninsula, and the fishing village of Cedar Island. This little fishing town has the amazing ambience of being at the end of the earth. From the peninsula’s shore you can barely see land across the sounds. The ferry to Ocracoke departs from Cedar Island, and it’s an unbelievable two-hour-plus ride across the Pamlico Sound. The beach here is absolutely gorgeous, and horses roam freely. They’re not the famous wild horses of the Outer Banks, but they move around as if they were.

  A spectacular location for bird-watching is the Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge (U.S. 70, east of the
town Atlantic, 252/926-4021, www.fws.gov/cedarisland). Nearly all of its 14,500 acres are brackish marshland, and it’s often visited in season by redhead ducks, buffleheads, surf scoters, and many other species. While there are trails for hiking and biking, this refuge is primarily intended as a safe haven for the birds.

  Accommodations and Food

  S The Driftwood Motel (3575 Cedar Island Rd., 252/225-4861, www.clis.com, $70-80) is a simple motel in an incredible location, and since the ferry leaves from its parking lot, it’s the place to stay if you’re coming from or going to Ocracoke. There’s also camping ($16 tents, $18-20 RVs) here, with electricity, water, and sewer.

  The Driftwood’s Pirate’s Chest Restaurant (3575 Cedar Island Rd., 252/225-4861, Apr.-Oct., call for hours, $10-20) is the only restaurant on Cedar Island, so it’s a good thing that it’s a good one. Local seafood is the specialty, and dishes can be adapted for vegetarians.

  view of Wilmington from across the Cape Fear River

  Wilmington and Cape Fear

  HISTORY