The Atlantic Ocean & Cape Lookout Lighthouse

 Location: Cedar Point Campground (National Forest Service); Cedar Point, North Carolina, about 10 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean between Morehead City N.C. and Jacksonville, N.C.

Two road pics in this post. This one is eastern North Carolina where the land transitions to the coastal plains. 

Although this is a road pic, I took it to capture that low-lying cloud in the distance. This is about 30 minutes from the coast. I've seen those before and usually represents a weather front, but there wasn't anything that big in the area. It was and remains a puzzle.

This campground is a National Forest Service campground so I'm still getting the campsite at half price with my senior pass. The daily rate, with pass, is $18.00 which is a little higher than most COE's but I'm still satisfied. I consider myself very lucky to have found it and gotten reservations. I'll be here for 6 days. That's a lot longer than I'm used to, but at the time I made the reservation, I was looking to kill time before a possible Archery tournament in Myrtle Beach. That tournament was canceled, but I kept this reservation and adjusted some on down the road. It's a relatively small campground with the sites widely spaced. The sites are electric only but there is potable water at the dump station. That is another excellent reminder that I'm glad I always use my fresh-water tank and water pump, even if I'm stationary at my home base. I'm not concerned about the quality of the water in my tanks because I'm constantly turning it over by adding fresh. I'm sure some of the RV'ers that are staying here are a little concerned if they haven't used their tanks a long time. By the way, if you're looking for a Campground Hosting job, there is one available here. 

I'm really happy with my campsite, especially compared to the last one in the heavy woods. I much prefer these open ones. 

This is my view out the back window. It is in the direction of the entrance to the campground. This is the second time I've had such a view and am liking it. I can clearly see the coming and goings of the people in the campground. I've discovered I'm nosey, busy-body, a concerned camper.

After getting Liberty set up, I went to see the Atlantic again for the first time in many years. This is from a public area off of the Emerald Isle. I drove then entire length of the Isle and it wasn't worth the gas. There are very few public access points to the beach unlike the Texas Gulf Coast. I was disappointed. Of course I was a little tired from towing, so that may have played a part, but I doubt I'll go back. 

My main reason for coming here was to take a boat trip to see the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Here is a quick history as to why. I was in the Navy from 1973 to 1977 and was stationed onboard the U.S.S. Manitowoc (LST 1180). The LST stands for Landing Ship, Tank or as it was nicknamed during World War 2, Large Slow Target. There were 1,051 LST's built during the war, and they were built so fast they couldn't be named, only numbered. I wasn't on one of those, mine was the new model, which was prettier but with the same mission. The ship was built to carry Marines with their tanks/trucks and deliver them directly onto the beach. We would drop our stern anchor as we approached the beach, and it would help pull us back into deep water. That's about as brief as I can get. I've written posts about my visits to the only surviving WW2 models, that I know about. One is in Muskegon, Michigan and the other in Evansville, Indiana. Instead of a link, I'll post the dates of those posts here so you can easily find them in the archives to the right>>>>August 2, 2014 and August 14, 2017

I said all of that to say why the Cape Lookout Lighthouse means so much to me and others like me. My ship was stationed at the Little Creek Amphibious Base in Virginia (about half-way between Norfolk and Virginia Beach. When we would deploy, we would sail to Morehead City to embark our Marines and their equipment. On our way there, we would pass the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and then wait for the Cape Lookout Lighthouse to appear. That is when we would make our turn towards Morehead City. We could see the Cape on Radar, day or night, about 20 to 25 miles away. During the day our lookouts could visually see it at about 15 miles and at night about 20 miles. We would pass the lighthouse about 4 miles to our beam and we could easily see its distinctive black and white diamond "daymark". Each lighthouse has its own daymark for visual confirmation as to which lighthouse you're looking at. For example, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is Black and White Spiral. I visited that one too and here's the date >>> May 7, 2014 so you can find the post in the archives on the right panel. Morehead City is about 20 minutes from this campground, and I drove through it yesterday on my way to explore the lighthouse.

 

The current lighthouse is the second one built at this location. The first was built in 1812 but was built 56 feet too short. The light couldn't reach far enough out to sea to prevent wrecks. It was replaced with a new one that was 163 feet tall in 1859. It became automated in 1950 so as to not need a lighthouse keeper. 

There were only 2 other people on my 30-minute boat ride to the lighthouse probably due to the drizzling rain and chilly wind. The weather improved once we go to the Cape. 

There it is, dead ahead.

Today's trip to the lighthouse got me to thinking back and remembering that feeling of leaving Morehead City after picking up our Marines and heading east. The next land was 4,000 miles away and it would take us nearly 2 weeks to get there. One of those trips across the Atlantic, we were by ourselves. One of the other LST's had major engine trouble and we were designated to wait and assist if needed while the rest of the fleet went ahead. After a week, it became clear the problem couldn't be fixed, so they limped back to Little Creek while we sailed to the North Atlantic by ourselves. That's a weird feeling being out there alone and knowing there is 2 miles of water between you and the bottom. After deployment, when we would return to the U.S., the Cape Lookout Lighthouse was usually the first thing we would see that belonged to America. When we saw it, we knew we were home. It was as if the lighthouse was the country's porch light telling us, "Welcome back". It made me think of all the sailors who saw lighthouses and probably felt the same way. Oh well, some flashbacks are nice while others not so much.

This would have been our view, through binoculars, from the Manitowoc, as we passed by the Lighthouse, 50 years ago. 

The lighthouse is on the bay side of the Cape, but they have built nice walkways to the Atlantic side.

It's not that far to the beach but they put a nice thinking bench on the way.

The view of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lookout. Nice, real nice. 

It's a couple of days past Memorial Day but this applies all the time, not just once a year. 

Today is only the beginning of day 3 of 6 and if the rain holds off, I plan to go explore an old fort on the tip of the Emeral Isle. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.