Sadly we have reached the last full day of the trip....Our hotel in Wrightsville last night was ….em…. different. Whilst it was one of the most expensive that we have stayed in on this trip, and was in a superb location, it had a curiously seedy feel to it. Rusty unpainted elevators, for example, and bare concrete steps between floors. The attendant (given the utilitarian nature of his office that term seems somehow more appropriate than “concierge” or “receptionist”) found it rather extravagant that 2 couples would want 2 rooms when there were four beds in each! But the views from the balconies were worth the slightly less that luxurious surroundings, and there was only the one cockroach to keep us company. I guess we were paying for location!

With some regret over how quickly this second week has whisked past we mounted our steeds and headed north and east through Jacksonville. We were happy enough with one aspect of crossing the state line from South to North Carolina however; the helmet laws changed back to normal. It had felt almost embarrassing to be wearing helmets on Harleys in South Carolina. A bit like being the spotty kid who diligently wears his bicycle helmet on the way to school when all the ‘populars’ have theirs on the handlebars.

We made good ground up to towards Cedar Island where we were due to catch the 4 o’clock ferry to Ocracoke. You could tell that were drifting back towards real life again because with a ferry ticket booked we suddenly needed to be somewhere at a specific time. Everyone was rather freaked by this unusual situation so we got there nice and early, well I must be honest, 3½ hours early. At this point we found out that we didn’t really need a booking at all - since it is out of season. So we just drove straight onto the 1 o’clock ferry. Nothing like being ahead of schedule! However, the route to the ferry across the pan flat marshlands was spectacular; long straight roads with deep salt water filled ditches on either side, expansive bridges over spectacular waterways… and no cars to be seen. It must be admitted that without sensible pillions on the back the boys might have got a bit carried away here and tested the speed limits a little more. It really looked too much like the scene of a car commercial!

So over the water to Ocracoke we came. This is the southernmost island of the Outer Banks which, for those with no geographic knowledge of this part of the US coastline, are a long string of islands and peninsulas which separate the coasts of North Carolina and Southern Virginia from the ocean. This leaves an inland waterway which in days gone by were the hiding place for many notorious pirates – such as Blackbeard who was apparently caught just off the coast and killed by a Lt Maynard RN . Three cheers for the Royal Navy & the Maynards!

The early arrival in Ocracoke has left us with a long and leisurely last afternoon and evening and our accommodation here, the “Harborside Motel” is positioned exactly where the name suggests. We sat on the dock overlooking the bay watching the lighthouse come to life, pelicans flapping past and serene looking yachts drift past while the sun sank slowly in the west. Hence our selected song for the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyxLaHmOaYM

A most superb seafood meal of freshly caught bluefish (for normal people) and oysters (for the rest) brought to the end another memorable day.

Bluebird's crew arriving on the ferry:

That must be the hotel...

Stuart and Sylvia relaxing in the evening

On the dock:

Sun sinks slowly in the west: