Cape Lookout National Seashore- 4 Feb 2013

 Following a night of rest at a local Holiday Inn Express, we were up bright and early for our next adventure, Cape Lookout NS.  Our travels took us to parts of North Carolina we have not seen before. Not much too see, but it was nice to be on the road. Before we arrived at Cape Lookout we stopped along the North River about 30 minutes or so from our destination. I do not recall why we stopped here other than Sandee wanted to take a look. It was a bit chilly, and the with the wind blowing a bit off the water it was even more so. Sandee found a haven for sea glass. So I got out for the warm truck and helped pick out some nice pieces. Our collection for sea glass increased by leaps and bounds at this stop.
  By the time we arrived at the Cape Lookout visitor center (VC) the sun was out and it was warm. Not much to see at the VC, the main attraction is out on the Core Banks. As there were no charter boats running to that area this time of year our visit was confined to the VC and the walking trail behind the VC. We took a nice stroll behind the VC and made our way to the Water Foul Museum. If you like birds, as we do, then this is must stop for you.  We made a quick tour of the museum, lots of examples of locally carved birds and complete history of the locals who live on and around Harkers Island.
  By this time our belly's were wanting to be fed. So we stopped at the only place on the island open this time of year. Had a great burger, fries and desert. While waiting to our meal we spied a few locally hand made birds carved from cedar. As we like to collect birds from local artist on our trips this seemed a good time to check them out. Both pieces were very nice, not those fancy high dollar type pieces but very nicely done. So we walked away with a full belly, a carved duck and a three foot crane standing on a piece of drift wood.
 A few days after we made it home I received a letter in the mail from the artist, we paid by check so he had our address and phone number. He thanked us for buying the pieces and hoped I would call some day. I forgot to call him, but a few days later he called me. We got to talking, he is a retired postal worker and spent some time in the Marine Corps. We talked about the military and Cape Lookout and by the time we had finished talking he invited us back to Cape Lookout so he can take us on a person tour of the islands. He said we can park our RV on his property and maybe we could do some fishing and have a cookout.
  This is way I love the National Parks so much. This is not the first time we have met great folks on the road and at parks. We are planning a trip back to take him back up on his offer.