Sure, I enjoyed the sand and the waves during our brief hideaway on North Carolina’s Outer Banks (map). However I couldn’t spend the entire time just staring out the window or walking along the beach. We did some other things too. Everything seemed so weird though, partially because of the pandemic and partially because we went somewhere completely off season.
So Very Quiet
Way, way back in the early days of Twelve Mile Circle, I wondered about resort towns during slower times of the year. That’s exactly what I experienced in Corolla. Most of the businesses shut down for the season months ago. Fortunately, that didn’t really matter because I wanted to avoid contact with people anyway.
The town included several small strip shopping centers clustered along Highway 12, the Ocean Trail. Sometimes I wandered through them during my walks just to be nosy. It felt like one of those science fiction movies where all the people disappeared but everything else remained exactly the same. Creepy might be one word to describe the atmosphere although I kind of enjoyed it.
Sometimes I might have poked around a little too much. I noticed a walkway that led into the marsh next to one of the businesses. It looked like a nice photo opportunity (and here it is). Unfortunately that’s when I noticed the No Trespassing sign and the video surveillance monitor. So I back-peddled respectfully and went about my business. No harm intended. Please don’t call the cops on me.
History
Corolla existed long before tourists hordes arrived with the opening of a public paved road in the 1980’s. Originally the town began as Jones Hill in the mid-19th Century. A couple of hundred people lived here circa 1895 when its Post Office designation changed to Corolla. Villagers fished and hunted, and catered to wealthy people who traveled to this remote outpost to do the same. Corolla always experienced cycles of greater and lesser prosperity. For instance, it boomed when a Coast Guard station opened during the Second World War, and busted in the years afterwards. It came close to becoming a ghost town in the second half of the 20th Century.
Meanwhile, new vacation homes started creeping farther up the Outer Banks and encroach upon the remnants of the sleepy village. So one local family began to buy-up many of the old properties to preserve them. This formed the nucleus of Historic Corolla Village. Various shops, restaurants and markets filled restored buildings set amidst groves of stately pine and live oak.
Naturally I wandered through there too, experiencing the same strange sense of solitude. The distinct lack of activity made it feel more like a museum exhibit than an actual functioning place.
Another Chance
Of course Corolla also had its distinctive lighthouse at the historic village. I visited it on my earlier trip in 2012 so I don’t need to cover the details again.
Alas, once again, I didn’t make it to the top. I seem to make a habit of always arriving off-season while it’s closed. They did have weekend hours this time although it wouldn’t work with our plans. Even so, I’m not sure I’d want to be confined in such a small area during a COVID surge. Someday I’ll get back to Corolla and hopefully climb the light.
Not Much Counting
I mentioned in Part 1 that I didn’t get to add much to my various lists this year. I did complete a couple of nice 10-mile runs this time so I supposed I could add North Carolina to my emerging list of run states.
Corolla didn’t have much of a street grid owing to the narrowness of the Outer Banks here. Basically, there was Ocean Trail plus three parallel residential streets, with occasional cross streets. It didn’t offer a lot of options. Plus I couldn’t see the ocean from the streets because of sand dunes piled on the beach to control erosion. And to top it off, the terrain never changed from anything other than pancake flat. So I could only stave off boredom by creating designs as I ran. I particularly liked the chain I created, above.
I didn’t collect any new counties on this trip either. In fact I added only 28 new counties the entire year! Someday soon things will return to normal, I hope. However, recognizing the slimmest of all silver linings, I did add a new overnight county (Currituck). So at least I could add that minor accomplishment to the list.
I Did Get a New Brewery (sort of)
My brewery count also took a beating. I made it to a measly five new breweries in 2020. One happened before the pandemic began, and the others happened in odd circumstances when social distancing allowed it.
So I lied in the previous article. I said that we parked the car and never moved it once we arrived at the rental home. Actually we moved it a single time when we drove to Northern Outer Banks Brewing Company about five miles away. Technically the brewery closed for the holiday week although they were accepting text orders for pickup. That’s just what we did; a quick walk to the door, a swipe of a credit card, and a grocery bag to go.
In normal times I’m not sure I would “count” this encounter. Generally I feel like I have to at least enter the brewery and stay long enough for a sample. As a consolation, I did get a couple of exterior shots of the brewery. Good enough for pandemic times. It goes on the list.
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr.
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