Where the South meets the sea

Southern Living, Spring 2003 by Lingo, Karen

A Coastal Legend

Many of the South's best beaches trim the barrier islands that shield the mainland from storms as well as capricious winds and waves. Among the most legendary of the barrier islands are North Carolina's Outer Banks.

The waters offshore are sometimes called the "graveyard of the Atlantic," and with good reason. They can be treacherous, and neither man nor time has been able to tame them or the restless sands that shift at nature's whim.

A century ago, Orville and Wilbur Wright came here to test their belief that man could fly. They're honored with a memorial at Kill Devil Hills-the site of their takeoffs and landings. Throughout this centennial year, they'll be remembered with festivals and events culminating in the re-enactment of the first flight on December 17. Any time of year, though, you can experience the thrill of wind-powered flight at Jockey's Ridge State Park. The 400-acre park, a popular place for hang gliding, features the largest sand dunes on the East Coast.

Drive south from Kill Devil Hills to Whalebone Junction, where you enter the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The southernmost island in its domain is Ocracoke. No roads go there-only boats and ferries. But about 700 people live in the village at the southern end of the island, and a smattering of accommodations caters to visitors who truly want to get away from it all.

Our National Jewels

Cape Hatteras is one of six national seashores that hopscotch along the Southern coast, from Maryland to Mississippi. It splits the barrier islands of the Outer Banks with Cape Lookout National Seashore.

Only a stone's throw wide in places, Cape Lookout flows like a ribbon of shifting dunes for 56 miles, from Ocracoke Inlet to Beaufort Inlet.

Spreading across the Maryland-- Virginia state line, the Assateague Island National Seashore is a bit more people-oriented. The Maryland section contains both a state park and a national seashore. The area within sight of Ocean City is a popular spot for swimming and, if the season's right, clamming and crabbing. The 12 miles that lap over into Virginia are administered jointly by the national seashore and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Sunbathers come, but this section of the seashore belongs to nature. It's a mecca for birders and a haven for wildlife, including the Chincoteague ponies.

Cumberland Island National Seashore, off the coast of Georgia, has a haunting beauty. The only way to get there is by boat or ferry, and you can walk the beach for miles without seeing another soul or even a footprint. The ruins of Dungeness, a rambling mansion built in 1884 by Thomas Carnegie, still stand, as does the complete home of Plum Orchard (built in 1898). Also remaining is Greyfield-a Carnegie home-turned-inn.

Canaveral National Seashore is one of the most accessible beaches, and it has a great view of the launch pads at Kennedy Space Center. A mosaic of beach, woodlands, and marshes, it offers nature trails, campsites, and a lagoon for fishing and canoeing.