Saturday, November 27, 2010

Outer Banks Lighthouses

For this weeks Scenic Sunday I have some shots of the Lighthouses we visited during our trip to the Outer Banks.

We visited three different lighthouses, they were Bodie Island which was under renovation, Cape Hatteras and last was the Currituck.  I love seeing all the different lighthouses and I can add three my to more collection.

Bodie Island Lighthouse under renovation



Cape Hatteras Lighthouse







Currituck Lighthouse











I love lighthouses and I really enjoyed our trip to the Outer Banks. If we go again I would like to go in the spring time to see the different birds.

I hope you enjoyed my Scenic Sunday shot and
to see more click here Scenic Sunday  thanks to the host of Scenic Sunday
 and thank you for visiting my post.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

SWF....Outer Banks Sunrise

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!

This is another of the sunrises we saw we staying in the Outer Banks.  It was great staying on the beach and being able to walk out on the beach first thing in the morning. Each morning the sunsets were different but each were beautiful in their own way. My favorites are usually the shots capturing the birds flying over during the sunrise.  I enjoy simple things like seeing the sunsets and sunrises and I am very thankful for my family and friends and to see these beautiful skies.








Another of my favorites is seeing the sun's reflection on the sand and waters edge.
A zoom in on the sun





These are my Skywatch shots and to
 see more beautiful skies visit Skywatch Friday

Thanks to the hosting group and thanks for stopping to see my skies.



Sunday, November 21, 2010

Outer Banks

These are some of the scenes we saw while recently visiting the Outer Banks. Photos included in my mosaic are of the Pea Island NWR header photo , sunset at Pea Island, Wright Brothers National Memorial..see my previous post for more photos, Jockey Ridge State park is home to the tallest and natural sand dune, Bodie Island Lighthouse under renovation until Dec 2010 and Nags Head Woods Preserve.




                               Jockey Ridge State park had a nice Tracks in the sand trail.

                              
                                   The trail took us along the Roanoke Sound for a short time


The Bodie Island Lighthouse under renovation until Dec. 2010, but the grounds and visitor center are open to the public. They also had a nice nature trail which included a lookout tower over a pond. The pond was great for checking out the birds and ducks.



Nags Head Woods Preserve, five miles of trails in anciet oak forest. A beautiful place.





                                        Sunset at Pea Island NWR



This is my entry for Mary's Mosaic Monday and click on my link to see more wonderful mosaics.

Thanks for stopping by to see my post. I hope you all have a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The First Flight

During our visit to the Outer Banks, North Carolina we toured the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills.  The museum had a great replica of the Wright Brothers plane and it was neat to see photos of others first flights...like first on the moon and the first woman. Outside was the monument and  markers for each spot one thru four where Orville and Wilbur landed each time they took off.


                                          December 17, 1903 the day man first flew
Orville and Wilbur Wright






Amelia Earhart the First Woman in flight



The men of first space flights


                        Commemoration of the first flight Amelia Earhart and others in 1928


                           The sculpture is another replica Wright Brothers first flight and is located on the grounds of the memorial.










"I got more thrill out of flying before I had ever been in the air at all- while lying in bed thinking how exciting it would be to fly."   Orville Wright



These are my scenic photos for Scenic Sunday and to see more wonderful scenes from around the world visit Scenic Sunday

Thanks for stopping by  and thanks to the host of Scenic Sunday.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

SWF...Kill Devil HIlls



These are some shots of the first sunrise outside our hotel at Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Kill Devil Hills is an odd name isn't it? On another post I will show some shots of the Wright Brothers National Memorial located in Kill Devil Hills. Can you believe I actually do sightseeing besides birding? For some reason I always thought the first flight took place in Kitty Hawk. We were up every morning around 6:30 to see the sunrise. We had the sunrise and sunset times memorized and tried to be in the right place each time. Our hotel was ocean front so we didn't have far to go to see the sunrise.




After watching the sunrise we would leave to eat breakfast and get an early start sightseeing and birding. The birds I saw on the beach near our hotel were mostly gulls, pelicans would fly by and a few Sanderlings. The Sanderlings are cute little peeps running away quickly from the waves. My hubby loves the rough ocean and the big waves and it can be hard to drag him away. We found some great looking sea shells on the beach and I finally got to see a live starfish. Really cool.

I loved seeing the beautiful rays from the sun rising behind the clouds. Click on the pic's for a larger image.







We were so busy watching the sun rising that I did not notice this fin ( at least it looks like a fin to me) until I looked at this shot below on my computer. I hope this was a dolphin and not a shark. It was close to the shore.  I cropped this shot closer to show the actual dolphin fin and not all the waves.




Thanks for stopping by to see my Skywatch photos and thanks to the hosting team of Skywatch Friday

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Monday, November 15, 2010

Outer Banks, North Carolina

 Hubby and I arrived home yesterday after spending three and half days in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My first time there and I loved it, the waves were wild and rough but the skies were a pretty blue. The road (route 12) was closed earlier due to high water in many places. Once they opened the road we were able to drive all the way down to Cape Hatteras.

We saw a lot of brown pelicans and I loved watching the pelicans as they flew all around us. Pea Island is a great place for birding. 
 













" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." unknown

Thanks for stopping by to see my post.

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

 Shenandoah National Park, Virginia Oct 21-22 hubby and I enjoyed a short getaway to Shenandoah Nat'l Park staying for the night in Harr...