Outer Banks. Duck

Duck Area

The whole area is stunning, with a narrow spit of land between the Ocean and a huge Lake.  I sat for a couple of hours on the inland side and found these tracks:

And this vulture:

Outer Banks. Wright Brothers and First Settlement.

Outer Banks.

We stayed here at Sanderlings resort out of season in February.  The great thing about staying out of season is its quiet and your choices for food are limited to the places open at that time of year.  These places exist for local trade and so tend to be homely and have good food.

North Carolina prides itself on being 'First in Flight' and has a good museum where the Wright brothers first took off with their aircraft.

They like their monuments big out here!

Surprising to see how little the basic design has changed over the years.

We went to the site of the first settlement of people from Britain.  When another ship came a few years later they found no one left at this settlement site.  Nicola thinks they wandered of into the woods married locals and lived happily ever after. Maybe!

I tested the sleeping bunks for size.  This one is better than my bunk on board the USS Monterey.

Apparently not the first aid tent but the English Flag at First Settlement.

Sylvan Heights Bird Sanctuary

Sylvan Heights Bird Sanctuary

Up and off to the wonderfully named Scotland Neck in North Carolina to a delightful bird sanctuary.  After passing over $11.00 plus tax (we can never work out the randomness of the tax thing) we were given a map and let loose in the park.

We were amazed by the brightness of this ibis.  It looks like its been painted in some sort of Queen of hearts homage.

The ducks in the first pond were so well feed they didn't what the extra feed that we had for them.  The Turtles, of which there were many, were the only ones seeking escape.

The flamingos were prolific this is just the one pond, there is a second pond of the same number.

Bright colours were everywhere.

I think the above is a fish eagle

My favourites were the humming birds.  My camera struggled to capture his wings on the second photo.

The weird and wonderful.

Roanoke Rapids Canal Bike Trail

A Good Mountain Bike needed!

A quick trip down to Roanoke Rapids in North Carolina. We stopped off to cycle the trail. The path was rough in places and we were unable to complete it when we came upon a deep stream crossing . 

These tiny goslins were part of a bigger group of Canada Geese we rode past.

Good parking at both ends, and along its route so you can choose how far you want to cycle.