Ocracoke is the southernmost of the inhabited Outer Bank islands, and was the subject of much of Bert Gildart’s article on the Outer Banks that appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of Airstream Life magazine. Bert’s article was a key inspiration for us to come here, so we wanted to explore it before we migrated north.

To get to Ocracoke from Hatteras, you take a free ferry. The ferry is 40 minutes long and runs every half-hour. We had worked that into our schedule, but we hadn’t foreseen massive congestion at the ferry dock. So many people were waiting in line that although we arrived at 11 a.m., we had to wait until 12:30 to get on a ferry. Fortunately, we’d brought lunch …

Near the ferry dock are many examples of overly massive houses that appear to be relatively new. The size of these McMansions is astonishing, especially on an island with limited natural resources (fresh water, sewage disposal, fuel, space). Most of them seem to be four stories tall, and we are talking about single-family homes. Presumably some are rentals. If the Park Service didn’t own most of the land, these islands would be absolutely overrun with hideous development and the local character of the islands would disappear.

I’d recommend the ferry as a fun & free tour, if it weren’t for the wait we encountered. Getting a few miles from Hatteras to Ocracoke took us over two hours, but once the boat starts moving it’s a nice trip.

On a calm day the water is clear green and the shifting sand below is clearly visible. The channel that the ferry runs in is very shallow. A crewmember on the ferry told us that if the ferry sank, the people standing on deck wouldn’t even get their feet wet.

Emma was a bit concerned that in heavy seas the boat might tip over. In fact, it would strike the bottom before it could tip that far. Even if you fell off you could swim a hundred feet and then walk the rest of the way to shore. But if you don’t know this, it does seem like you are out in the vast ocean at times, especially when large swells come in from the Atlantic through the inlet between islands.

Ocracoke is basically a lot of National Seashore with a small town at the southern end. The town is a cross between a charming historical village and a modern tourist trap. You can see the ongoing struggle between the two. It seems like the factions have each established their own strongholds: modern tourism along the harbor, and historical treats hidden on interior streets paved with oyster shells.

There are a few interesting things to see in town: a couple of historical cemeteries, the lighthouse, the harborfront. (You’ll see that despite my earlier complaints about photographing lighthouses, I couldn’t resist trying again today.) To really get involved you will want to talk to people and hear the stories. It’s all about the little things here. There’s no “high concept” entertainment. I would have liked an interpreted walking tour of town, but we got here so late because of the ferry delay that we didn’t have time. We settled for walking the town on our own, and three ice cream treats afterward.

If you care to keep your RV in the center of Ocracoke, within a short walk or bike ride of everything, you can stay where Bert & Janie stayed. There’s a small RV park called Teeter’s just off the main street, next to a historical cemetery and across the street from a candy stand. The park is just a grassy area crowded with RVs, but you’d go there to have the convenience of being right in town.

We have extended our stay in Frisco for another two nights. The cold showers are actually pretty refreshing after a day of sticky hiking, and I can’t think of any place to go to which would have a nicer view than this campground. Our water is holding out fine and our batteries are 98% full every afternoon. Friday we expect rain but that’s OK. I’m planning a work day and we’ll still get out for a little while anyway.