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North
Carolina's unique coastal geography has kept practical a mode of travel
that most would consider ridiculously impractical in this age of technology
and high-speed transportation. Today, getting there and back is little
more than a nuisance to be reckoned with when "traveling", and a "trip" is
usually defined in terms of the destination, not in how you got there
and back again.
 It
is refreshing, indeed, to know it is still possible to make the "getting
there" as much a part of your trip as "being there". North Carolina's
ferry system does it every day of the year.  Once
you drive your car, or truck, or motorcycle, or RV onto a ferry, you
suddenly find that you have time to sit back and enjoy the view. In fact,
it's mandatory (well, sort of). The Coastal
Guide Map shows the location of four free ferrys and two toll ferrys
which the state of North Carolina operates in the area covered by OuterBanksGuidebook.com.
 Knotts
Island - Currituck Free Ferry
The northernmost ferry is a free ferry between Knott's Island and Currituck.
Like all ferrys, the gulls and terns are a constant presence on this
trip, as are the cormorants,
who watch the ferrys go by from their favorite perches on buoys and
channel markers. This particular ferry trip, for
some reason, seemed to attract many more gulls than the other ferrys,
particularly as the ferry left Currituck. Within ten minutes, though,
their number thinned out quite a bit.
 Knotts
Island is a clean little community with neat,
well kept homes and yards. Even so soon after Hurricane
Isabel's ravaging, I found most storm debris had
already
been cleaned up. There is no "touristy" look or feel
to the island. Few come here except to pass through
to the Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge, or to take a
scenic ride from tidewater Virginia southward to the
Outer Banks.
Small family grave plots in the yards of homes
were a common site on Knotts Island. This practice is not uncommon in such old
rural communities, particularly along the coast where high ground is at a premium.
I only wish I could have spent more time exploring
Knotts Island. Even during the short time I was there I had very interesting conversations
with local residents who seemed quite open and eager to talk proudly about their quiet community. |
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The "Gov.
J.B. Hunt Jr." was making the Knotts Island-Currituck run on this
day. It was a perfectly spectacular October day, and the crossings were
over all too soon. Each 45-minute crossing seemed like only 15 minutes.
The 9 a.m. run had only three vehicles crossing to Knotts Island. The
noon return trip to Currituck had only four vehicles.
If you visit Knotts Island, do not expect to find the usual tourist amenities (fast food, motels, gift shops of "local crafts" made in Taiwan). This is rural eastern North Carolina, very much off the beaten tourist path. It is a quiet, pleasant, refreshing change from the condo complex that permeates the Currituck banks from Southern Shores to Corolla, and beyond. Pick a beautiful sunny day, take the ferry to Knotts Island, drive through the Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge to the Virginia border and back. Have a quiet picnic lunch at one of the viewing platforms, and enjoy the return ferry ride. It's a free ride you won't regret.
Here are a few more photos from Knotts Island, Mackay Island National
Wildlife Refuge and the Currituck-Knotts Island ferry.
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Left column -
Two views of Mackay National Wildlife Refuge, and a cormorant diving
for fish.
Right column - top row - Ferry slip at Currituck & the ferry "Gov.
J.B. Hunt, Jr."
Right center - On the ferry & the Currituck landing
Right bottom - Ferry crew as ferry leaves Knotts Island slip & homes on Knotts Island |  
 
 
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