Thursday is for Shackleford Banks

 Shackleford Banks is one of the main reasons I came to this area.  My mother and I discovered it a few years ago when we stayed at a timeshare through her timeshare membership.  The place we stayed was further up the island, on the other side of the causeway.  Anyway, we heard about the horses on the island and decided to go.  Never saw a horse, but fell in love with the shelling!  The local claim is that this is one of the best places for shelling on the East Coast, and I totally believe it!

So, my goals for today were to see the horses and to find a Scotch Bonnet seashell.  The ferries out to Shackleford don't start until 10am this time of year, so there was no rush to get up early.  Also, I didn't want to fight the possible crowd for the first ferry, so I was planning on 11...it ended up being 10:45...which was cool as that is the time I got there. There are several ferry services, all charging $15 for the trip and I took the first one I happened upon and the easiest to spot Outer Banks Ferry Service which is right next to the Maritime Museum.

Captain Jim took our half full ferry out to the island, pointing out landmarks as we went along.  As a part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore, there is no dock and you just jump off the front of the ferry.  We got there at 11 and I had reserved a return trip on the 3pm ferry.  Luckily, I had slathered myself in SPF 30 before leaving the condo this morning. In my backpack I had water, food, my sneakers, beach towel, 4 different sunscreens (face, hair, lips, and body) camera, cell phone, and a couple of net bags for gathering seashells. I was wearing my water shoes and had decided against a bathing suit...so it was shorts and a t-shirt.

I immediately headed to the the southernmost end of the island, which is where I remembered the best shelling to be.  Unfortunately, the recent hurricane had done a number on the dunes and beaches on Shackleford Banks.  Captain Jim had pointed out the dunes at the ferry landing, which were now tiny bumps through which we could view the ocean side of the island.  Apparently, before Irene, they were over 20 feet high and completely blocked the view to the other side.

Still, there were shells...lots and lots of shells.  I rounded the point of the island and wandered about a half mile up on the ocean side picking up shells as I went along.  There were a bunch of surfers there, so I plopped down on my beach towel and had a snack.

This was the view from the spot I plopped down at.  I also re-applied the sunscreen as I had been wading through the surf to find seashells.  I surprisingly found a lot more sand dollars this time...

The surfers were too far out to really get a good photo of, but there were quite a few and the surf was ideal for them (too rough for swimming really). I packed back up and decided to walk further...took off the beach shoes and went barefoot for the rest of the day too.

Although it was quite breezy, the sun was bright and strong, so it was still pretty hot.  Luckily, I had my big brimmed sun hat and by superdark sunglasses.  I walked at least another mile or so up the beach before I decided it was time for a break...and lunch. I immediately attracted an avian stalker

This one seagull watched me eat...and kept edging closer and closer.  Some idiots actually feed the gulls and they can get a bit aggressive.  Luckily, I finished my peanut butter and jelly before he got brave enough to challenge me for it.  I re-applied my sunscreen again and relaxed for a bit.  I happily discovered that I had a cell signal on my Blackberry, and posted a pic there.  Whipped out the camera and took a few more...

Packed up my beach towel again, and walked a bit further.  Thought this driftwood looked kinda cool...

By this time, I had decided that I didn't feel like putting on shoes and heading inland...the thought of more mosquitoes kind of put me off the idea too (I don't have any insect repellent with me on this trip).  So, I accepted at this point that I probably wouldn't be seeing any of the Shackleford Banks horses.  Not that they don't come out to the beach, but not mid-day and not with so many people around.

So, I slowly made my way up the beach, focusing closely on the many shells along the waterline.  I found lots of really cool shells, most of them broken...but a few neat whole ones too.

At 1:30 I turned around to head back and began focusing on the surf.  The sound made by the surf here is something I've never heard anywhere else.  It's like windchimes....the tinkling sound of the shells hitting each other as the surf advances and retreats.  There are sections of beach that aren't sandy...but shell-ey.

These are the areas where the tink-ly, wind-chimey shound is the loudest and most musical.  Sometimes, big conch and clam shells dig in and cause everything else to eddy around them...

Some places on the beach show the most interesting textures where the water carves out actual ridges..

I got to the end of the island around 2:30, which gave me a bit of beachcombing time and splashing about...more pictures too.  Unfortunately, no Scotch Bonnet either...so neither goal accomplished.  Still, some cool shells found and a lovely day accomplished

There is a state port in nearby Morehead City, so a lot of ships were visible on the horizon...this is being towed by a tugboat it seems.

I got to the ferry landing with 10 minutes to spare.  I was hot and sweaty and tired.  Good time to take a photo of myself

Actually not as bad as I feared and happily lacking a sunburn.

The return ferry was completely full and Captain Jim stopped on the way so we could see a pod of dolphins play in the water.  I decided to stick with my sandy beach shoes as the line for the rinsing hose was so long.

The original plan was to wander around Beaufort...but I was sticky, sandy, and hot and realized I'm coming back tomorrow anyway...so back to the condo I went. I dumped everything right inside the door and headed into the shower.

I was thrilled to wash off the salt, sand, and three layers of sunscreen.  After relaxing for a bit, I headed out for a drive in search of an ice cream parlor.  It was a longer drive than I planned, but I had a hot fudge sundae with praline pecan ice cream.

Back to the condo for more relaxing and last night's leftover shrimp for dinner.

Tomorrow is "Talk Like a Pirate Day" so it's back to Beaufort for the Maritime Museum and the visitation of the salvaged bits of Queen Anne's Revenge...maybe lunch on the waterfront in Beaufort too.  We may have rain tomorrow...so it might be an inside kinda day.  Maybe Fort Macon too?