Saturday, September 16, 2017

COROLLA, NORTH CAROLINA TRIP - 4TH DAY - PART 2 - SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2017


Corolla, North Carolina Trip 
Fourth Day - Part 2
Currituck Beach Light Station 
Monday, September 4th, 2017


3.20 p.m. Gregg and I have just returned from the Curritcuck Lighthouse.  Fortunately we had no problem parking the car on a street nearby.  



The lighthouse stands 162 feet from its base and you will climb 214 steps to reach the top, but apparently the views up there are phenomenal.



We could see people at the top but we were happy to stay on the ground and enjoy our surroundings. The last time I walked to the top of a lighthouse was in Bermuda 20 years ago.  I remember having jello legs at the top even back then, and knew that it would be my last climb.  I am not sure how I made it down.  So, I looked at the people waving above, waved back and wished them luck on their descent, silently.  They were young, need I say more?  I also quickly add that I truly admire people my age and older who can still climb to the top of these things, I'm just not one of them.


There were two pretty buildings nearby.  The keeper's house in the above photo was completed in 1876, and three keepers and their families shared the duplex.  When the lighthouse was automated in 1939 and the keepers were moved out, the house fell into ruin. Happily, restoration of the propery began in 1980 and today it looks like a house I would love to live in, as I would this house below. 


It is the keeper's smaller house which was built in the 1870's, moved here in 1920 from the Long Point Lighthouse Station on Currituck Sound.  It served as the principal residence for the keeper and his family until 1939.  There is a web page here that shows photos and history of the lighthouse and its houses.  Also this site has a lot of great info.


We walked up the street to an area where there were a few eateries, and we stopped for lunch.


Gregg ordered pulled pork sandwiches with baked beans and potato salad for sides. 


There were picnic tables outside, and we settled down to eat our meal.  No photos of the meal but I did take these.


We are big fans of Colman's Mustard and it was fun to see a very large can used as a vase.  A novel idea.  Coleman's mustard was one of the things I missed when I first moved to the States.  It was very hard, nigh on impossible, to buy nostalgia foods.  Now it is being sold everywhere, as well as a lot of other British items.  You can find a whole international selection in many supermarkets. I am always stocking up on my two favorite teas,  Yorkshire Gold and P.G. Tips, and Colemans.


We are making our way back to the car but there are many distractions along the way.  We came across a playground.





I headed straight for the chair!


A very cute idea for little ones.


Leaving the park we came across our little friend I shared in a previous post.  There were air pumps next to the playground and his human was tending to his tires.


The cute little guy's body was actually wriggling furiously, most definitely inviting a fuss, but I didn't give into temptation this time.  He was, however, adorable.


We came across the old school house, which was thought to be built between 1890 and 1905.  It was in session until 1958 when it was closed due to lack of students.  



You can read about its history here.



Look what Gregg found?  There are a lot of big chairs in this area.



We were walking along one of the narrow roads back to our car, and we passed a few private residences.  In one particular area we startled dozens of frogs.  At our approach they jumped out of the grass into a long ditch filled with brackish water.  It ran along the whole length of a garden, and the jumping frogs continued until we walked its length. No way to get a photo, they were not only very fast but very small.  I have never seen so many frogs jumping.  It made us wary of where we were putting our feet.


That was our day and we made our way back to the house to spend our evening with the family.  As you can see, a puzzle was in progress.


35 comments:

  1. There were some very interesting historical buildings.

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  2. Pretty lighthouse, but I would stay on the ground with you! The keeper's houses are both wonderful, and I would live in either one of them. Cool huge chairs! I like that pig made from bottle caps! Adorable little schoolhouse. It looks more like a church.

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    1. You would be great company :) I agree about the school, I thought it was a church at first. I liked the pig too. People can be so creative.

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  3. Lovely lighthouse and wonderful old buildings!

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  4. Love those kids swings of horses, a new one on me and those chairs are huge!!!
    I agree I would not have walked up the stairs for the light house, getting there is one thing but you always have to come down again. The houses are beautiful. Have a good Sunday, Diane

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  5. I like the keeper's smaller house. It would be just the place for me to sit whilst waiting for others to climb those stairs. I couldn't climb them if you paid me a fortune to do so.

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  6. There is something about lighthouses isn't there?
    Love those horsey swings too. It is too long since I have seen a frog...

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    1. There is indeed I have never seen swings like these before and I am lucky, I see frogs every time I go on one favorite walk.

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  7. Hello, I love the lighthouse, it is a beautiful place to visit. The big chairs with yours and Gregg's photos are cute. I like the adorable dog too. Happy Sunday, enjoy your day and new week ahead!

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  8. Those big blue chairs look nice and comfy. I like the pretty architecture of those homes, too.

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  9. Seeing this lighthouse is on our agenda of places to see. In 2007 we attended a friend's wedding at The park there. The lighthouse was a backdrop.

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    1. Hi Linda, That would be a very special setting for a wedding.

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  10. A day well spent, thanks for sharing and lovely photos...not sure about the frogs though.

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    1. I am happy you enjoyed them Christine, thank you. I know what you mean about the frogs. I found so many in one spot a bit startling.

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  11. Sweet little doggie! The lighthouse is quite impressive. The last time I've been in one of those was at West Point in Prince Edward Island.

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    1. Very sweet :) The lighthouse at West Point, if it is the one I am thinking about, is on our bucket list.

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  12. How nice that the people were waving at you and you waved back, wishing them well, Denise! I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely tour and felt as though I was with you and Gregg, too. Your photos are beautiful!

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    1. Thank you Linda, It was a very happy atmosphere. How sweet that you felt you were with us.

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  13. Lovely to see the lighthouse, and the buildings look good to.
    Don't you just love those big blue chaise!

    Hope the puzzle went well.

    All the best Jan

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    1. I really do and wish I had one in my garden, and the puzzle was thoroughly enjoyed :). All the best to you too.

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  14. Very beautiful. Great place to visit...

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  15. Another nice day on holidays. Thanks for taking me along.I have seen that too where there are hundreds of little toads jumping across a pathway to the lake. Are you sure they were frogs and not toads.

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    1. You are very welcome Diane and thank you. I never thought about toads, they could have been I suppose.

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  16. Hi Denise, what a wonderful old lighthouse, only 214 steps, mind I would have done as you and just waved to those at the top fool enough to climb up. Love the big chairs and such a shame you got no images of the frogs, sorry to have missed some posts but will catch up. All the best to you both. John

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    1. Thank you John, hopefully I will get an image of a frog soon, but don't think I will ever get them in such quantity :) All the best from both of us :)

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  17. Thanks Felicia, there were some lovely sights to photograph down there.

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