Day 26 - Ocracoke, NC to Suffolk, VA

We decided the Silver Lake Motel is lucky to be in a town with higher demand than supply.  Our stay was alright, but there were dead bugs in the bed, a noisy A/C unit, a bipolar shower, and a very sad breakfast spread.  Great location, but every hotel has a great location in a town this small.

Time to head north.

Waiting for the ferry.

Tiny fishing boats were way out in the sound.

Army Corps.

We arrived in Hatteras after 40 minutes which was similar to Ocracoke, but everything was bigger.

All the houses here are three stories.

Pinks, blues, greens, and yellows were everywhere.

Then it was time to travel down a tiny road with water on both sides for an hour.  Our first stop was to a fairly notable historical point.

The Lost Colony!  (well, the theater where they have a show about it.)

Roanoke Island.  I didn't find any sign of the colonists.

Very old monument about the colony.

Newer monument about the area.

We left a bit disappointed.  I thought there would be an exhibit or something, but it's really just a wooded area where the colonists lived before disappearing.  We decided to add on a visit to the nearby gardens.

Greenhouses.

Our path into the gardens.

Queen Elizabeth.

A gate you don't want to walk through.

Erin is happy about the flowers.  (Notice the huge sticker we had to wear!)

All sorts of colors.

They hid gnomes around one of the gardens.

The purple ones are Persian Shields.

The great lawn.

A rose blooming in summer.

Lunch was pretty terrible from a local diner-type place.  No need to discuss it, but have you ever seen stretchy pancakes?

Next we learned about flight.  Where better to go than the birthplace of modern aviation?

This is where the first plane took off.

Ranger Tom shows us the replica.

Geese invade the area.

Time to hike to the monument.

Looking out at the Atlantic.

Lined up with the "runway" looking north.

They don't really build this type of monument anymore.

The doors were locked.  :(

They kicked us out at 5pm and we drove up to the Norfolk area.

Dinner at a burrito place attached to a gas station.

Nachos.

Steak burrito.

This was Erin's choice, but that's probably obvious.  It was nothing special, but relative to lunch it was nice.

We checked in to the Townplace Suites and rejoiced at the speedy wifi and our usual amenities.  We have to do laundry again.  We were close to making it home, but not quite there.

Tomorrow we drive up to Maryland!

One last thing.  Does this seem like a park you want to visit?

Who named this place?