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Spring Wings
May 12 - 15, 2005
Join Wings Over Water in the Spring for a new experience on the Outer Banks. There will be plenty of the familiar programs and trips from Wings Over Water, except with a "Spring" flavor.... and there will be additional opportunities only available seasonally. Several birding trips will focus on birding by ear. There will be extra programs featuring wildflowers and butterflies.
http://www.wingsoverwater.org
The 9th Annual Wings Over Water Festival is Scheduled for November 1-6, 2005
Cape Lookout Light Station © Bruce Roberts
The 1859 Cape Lookout Light Station is located on remote Core Sound Banks Island. The lighthouse was designed by Lt. W.H.C. Whiting, Army Corps Engineer based in Wilmington, NC, who became a captain during the Civil War and died following the battle of Ft. Fisher. Its height reached skyward over 150 feet, making it one of the courntry's first tall, coastal lights built of double-wall brick construction. It survived the Civil War though its companion 1812 tower was destroyed. The repaired first order Fresnel lens was reinstalled in 1867 and it was fitted with iron spiral stairs. It was painted in black and white diamonds, then called "checkers," in 1873. The Cape Lookout Lighthouse survived Hurricane Isable in September 2003 but the coal shed, the small building in front of the keeper's quarters, was blown over and subsequently removed. The ruins of the 1812 lighthouse are still evident adjacent to the current lighthouse.
Currituck Beach Lighthouse © Bruce Roberts
The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was conveyed to permanent stewards, Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc. on October 17, 2003, following an application and review process under the auspices of the Department of the Interior. The lighthouse, keepers' quarters and grounds are beautifully restored and ranked as one of the best restoration projects in America.
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New 511 NC Travel Service
August 25, 2004
Effective August 25, 2004 North Carolina travelers can dial 511 for information about road conditions and traffic delays caused by accidents or bad weather. The new toll free service is available statewide 24 hours a day and uses speech-recognition technology to retrieve information from the North Carolina Department of Transportation Web site database converting it to speech [http://www.ncsmartlink.org]. Travelers verbally respond to options presented by the system and are led by a 'drill-down' process to the information they seek.
Dial 511 is free unless your mobile telephone service charges you for the call. When you connect, you receive a greeting and you may hear an urgent message such as a statewide weather emergency, an Amber Alert or information about a wreck that has shut down a major highway.
Several options are offered by 511:
Public Transportation Information including ferry and rail services. If you ask about ferry service, you will be automatically connected to the NCDOT-Ferry Division number 1-800-BY-FERRY where you can make a reservation or check departure and arrival schedules.
Other Services Department of Transportation customer service, tourism information, the Division of Motor Vehicles
Other States A connection to the 511 service for Virginia's Interstate 81 corridor with more states added in the future
Highway Information about weather, accidents or construction that could affect traffic on highways within North Carolina.
North Carolina established 511 service with an initial federal grant and hopes to expand the program with additional funding. Future plans call for providing service in Spanish, adding Highway Patrol trooper reports and information about city street construction and transit services.
Excerpts from The News & Observer by staff writer Bruce Siceloff -
August 25, 2004
 | Outer Banks
At A Glance |
Staff Report
FACTS
OUTER BANKS, NC
Here's where to find the Outer Banks basics:
Current Weather and Forecasts
Outer Banks Calendar of Events
Outer Banks Sportfishing Reports
Outer Banks Ferry Schedules
Directions to the Outer Banks
Map of the Outer Banks
Tour the Outer Banks Lighthouses
The Outer Banks Lighthouse Collection
Outer Banks Shopping Directory
Requests .. Vacation Guides, Travel Guides, Accommodations, etc.
Currituck Beach Lighthouse Stairs © Bruce Roberts
The iron spiral stairs at the Currituck Beach Lighthouse hug the contour of the inner brick wall. Akin to the inside of a nautilus shell, the symmetry of the ascending stairs is striking. This lighthouse and the one at Bodie Island are built from identical plans. Army Corps Engineer and later fifth district U.S. Lighthouse engineer Peter C. Hains was present during the completion of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1870 and supervised the construction of Bodie Island Lighthouse 1870-72 and Currituck Beach, completed in 1875. Hains was later famous for dredging the Potomac River and creating the park lands upon which the Lincoln Memorial is located. Hains Point is named for him.
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