Horses on the beach

Day 5: Sorry, no fish in space, just winged horses...

Did you know that there are wild descendents of Spanish Mustangs that freely roam the top tip of the outer banks? Really, it's true. (Though we wish we had known that they were Spanish when we met them - we could have made our introductions more easily. ("Hola! Como esta?"))

But we get ahead of ourselves.

This day started as all OBX days do, with a trip to Stack 'em High. What was different about this day was the visit to the Kitty Hawk location (and its gift shop), rather than the usual Kill Devil Hills location. We ordered the crabcakes and eggs, which were quite good, rivaling even the pricier ones from last night. We prefer the KDH location, though - so will likely return to form tomorrow. They know us there, and it's much more capacious.



After a bit more shopping - (which was completed today!) - we headed up to the upper portion of the outer banks. There's a town there called "Duck", and the street names all seemed to be named after waterfowl. Whimsy abounds. There's also a lighthouse there, the Currituck Beach Lighthouse - which is open to the public. Luckily we arrived before it closed, and were able to climb to the top. The view was expansive, but demure.



After the usual lighthouse experience, we headed to pick up a jeep which we took up to the top of the outer banks to stalk the wild horses. Our rental agent, knowing that we hailed from Massachusetts, was relieved that we'd driven in snow - which is much like the sand we were about to drive in. He was right, the sand was a lot like snow - but in places a lot bumpier. Don't tell the road crew's chiropractor. The horses that we met, despite the language barrier, were quite tolerant of the tourists. They even posed for a few snapshots...



After the drive back down the beach and back to civilization, we dropped the jeep off, and continued South. After a final quick souvenir stop at Super Wings, we headed back to "Penguin Isle" for dinner. A favorite of the road crew, it still features a cranky maitre d', a great view, an attentive waitstaff, and really good food. On this occasion there was even a visiting fox as entertainment. We had the blackened tuna and blackened sea scallops, which were outstanding. They were good enough to allow us not to notice that the rice was exceedingly pedestrian. We won't even mention the broccoli - as it was not consumed. Desert was delectable. The port was tawny. The merlot was actually not very good - but that's more our fault than theirs.

Tomorrow looks to be a hang around the ranch sort of day. Work on the sunburn. The ocean beckons. Without a hurricane nearby, it's been looking pretty tame these days.