The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1953-10-09

expect to meet me IN Jackson
ville," he said, 'but I got off
yesterday and decided to drive
up here this morning. We're 60
ing to be married soon, but right
after that I'm to be sent abroad
and l want to see as much of her
now as 1 can. They'll be surprised
to find me here" He was right
when the girl stepped off the
boat she had her hair in curriers',
a condition in which no sane Wo-
man wants to meet her beau.
When she saw him on the dock
she ducked back into the cabin
of the boat; but it was too late,
he had already seen her. He stood
on the dock talking with her par
ents while she was below decks
removing the curriers' and comb
ing out her hair. When she re-
appeared you wouldn't have
known it was the same girl. Any
damage done was apparently
undone, for they embraced
happily and hoped in his car
and drove away.
The little mail and passenger
boat, the dolphin, takes three
and a half hours to go from At
lantic to Ocracoke, first through
the narrow waters of Core Sound
and then wide Pamlico Sound. To
our right most of the way, we
could see the uninhabited 60
mile-long sand bar that is Core
Bank; to the left nothing but
water after we left Core Sound
off the mainland village of Lola.
A strong Northwestern was kick
ing up the whitecaps and max
ing the boat pitch crafty. Away
up at the north end of Core Bank
we hove to in the lee of a tiny
island to permit the approach of
waterman who had come out
from Portsmouth village to take
off mail. After that we crossed
Ocracoke Inlet, catching a broad
side of ocean breakers left behind
by hurricane Carol which had
just passed by out at sea.
Approached from the south,
Ocracoke village is a pretty sight
crouching in its thick low coverts
of windwarped trees and dom
mated by its small but beautiful
lighthouse. The town surrounds a
sheltered harbor into which the
Dolphin glided through a narrow
channel known as the Ditch. The
dock was crowded with what
looked like half the population. I
didn't know anybody, never hav-
ing been there before, but a tall
distinguished looking man intro
duced himself to me as w. T..
Boos and asked if l needed a
place to stay. He was the pro-
prietor of the. Sound Front Inn,
where I spent the next four days.
Ocracoke, a fishing town of
about 600 people, is good place
to 60 for a quiet vacation. There
are no telephones and not many
automobiles. You won't stay
there long if you don't like to
fish, walk, or loaf. like to walk
and I made daily expeditions on
| foot to the almost limitless tidal
flats that cover the south end of
Ocracoke Island between the
village (Which is on the sound
side) and the ocean beaches.
Even at flood tide the water there
is only ankle deep, and made
my trips at ebb tide when there
was no water at all. The earth
there is firm and I walked bare
footed for mile after mile on the
flats that are as level as a table
and are the resting place of
countless flocks of shore birds
and sea birds of many kinds and
sizes. wore my swimming
trunks and got the full benefit of
the bright sun and tempering
breezes. 1t would be hard to des-
cribe the wonderful sense of
peace and freedom experienced
on my walks across those vast
and solitary eXpanses.
The Sound Front Inn is big
100-year-old house right on the
water at a secluded spot at the
edge of town. It's handy for short
walks down the sound beach to
/ Springer's Point, where Black
beard the pirate had his hideout
in the dense oak thickets. Guests
can 60 grabbing in front of the
inn, as Mrs. Boos and her IL
year-old son and I did. Using
nets, we easily caught enough
crabs for supper and had lot of
| fun doing it. You can fish in the
Ditch from the bank, or go over
to the ocean beach for surf
Hcasting, or charter a boat for
deep-sea fishing. There are NOV
les at the Wahab Hotel once or
twice a week, but the biggest en-
| tertainn ent, especially among
the youngsters, seems to be meet
ing the Dolphin when it arrives
at 4:30 p. m. daily from Atlantic
!. j..