OUTER BANKS VISITORS BUREAU
Hang glide near Wright Brothers’ first flights.
in a leather chair fit for a hunt club gathering room.
The Museum’s second floor is community-based with exhibits reflecting the Core
Sound neighborhoods. “Down East fishing
families live by the values considered truly
American—independence, risk-taking and
freedom,” according to Garrity-Blake.
“People are downright reverent about
the area, living off its shrimp, crabs, oysters
and clams for generations.”
Core Sound is also where to find Cape
Lookout National Seashore, and to enjoy
a night hike to the top of the lighthouse.
Whether heading north or south, spend a
little time in Beaufort for the lively small
city immersion in coastal life and history.
16th Century Elizabethan Garden and
Sailing Vessel
Musing about the boats built by these
rugged people for family survival, my
thoughts turned to equally determined
early settlers and I wanted to connect the
people of the centuries — just like Kitty
Hawk Kites enriched my Wright Brothers
National Park System experience.
It can be done at least two ways. Although they’re both named Elizabeth, one
is a formal garden and the other is a vessel.
Board the Elizabeth II sailing ship in
Roanoke Island’s Festival Park, imagining
it’s 1585 and you’re one with the earliest
colonists. This is an outdoor living history
complex with a 45-minute inside docudrama film to get acquainted.
Paths are paved, docents are cheerful
and knowledgeable, and exhibits throughout the grounds are interactive with clear
signage that teaches but doesn’t demand
too much concentration. Well done for all
ages.
“Go where the winds are blowing the
way you want to go,” was the sage advice I
got from the costumed helmsman named
Randall on the Elizabeth II. The journey
from England to Roanoke? Eighty-five
days.
The ship’s crew, in costume and in character, was a boisterous lot but the formal
gardens named for Queen Elizabeth on
FALL 2016
fwt
39