The extensive North Carolina Ferry System is one of those hidden gems that we just discovered. As I look over my Gazetteer, I see that we will be riding ferries often. What is so great about them, besides being mostly free, is that they support the back roads and small hidden towns not accessible by the main roads. We always prefer the back roads.

Wednesday - Ferry boat day. Our ticket for the Ocracoke-to-Swanquarter ferry was for 1:30 pm. To reach that ferry we had to drive to Hatteras and catch the Hatteras-to-Ocracoke Island ferry, then drive the length of Ocracoke Island to the town of Ocracoke to board the Ocracoke-to-Swanquarter ferry.

My plan was to catch the 9:30 am Hatteras-to-Ocracoke ferry, in case the ferry was full and we’d have to wait for the 10:30 ferry. For some reason, we both slept until nearly 9 am. Fortunately, we can break camp in 10 minutes if we have to. We did. When we drove up to the ferry ramp at precisely 9:28, we were waved on board. The ferry was only half-full. It is the off-season after all. Last Monday we rode this ferry with just the van. This morning we had the camper with us. That was no problem. There were large trucks on the boat, so they are used to big loads.

It was 10:45 by the time we were on dry land, heading towards Ocracoke. We drove extra slow to soak it all in. The Outer Banks National Seashore is special. There is nothing like it - driving down a sand spit not much wider than the road itself.

We were in line for the Ocracoke-to-Swanquarter ferry at 11:45 am. This ferry sells limited space for vehicles with trailers. It was fortunate that I snagged one of four remaining spots for cars with campers when I made reservations last Monday. One giant RV bus seemed to be turned away. Twice he tried to get in line, but was booted out.

Although we were early, we had a strong cell signal so I used the time to get caught up in my journaling. The app I use to assemble my journal, Constant Contact, requires a strong Wi-Fi or cell signal to work. That isn’t always available.

There are two ferry routes that depart from Ocracoke. One goes to Cedar Island where highway 12 continues down the eastern coast. Our ferry heads northwest where we continue inland along the Pamlico River. Our next campground, Goose Creek State Park, sits on the north bank of the Pamlico River. At this point, the Pamlico River is still a wide body of water with another free ferry crossing it. We will probably ride that ferry tomorrow.

The long 3-hour Ocracoke-to-Swanquarter ride was as interesting as I imagined it would be. We crossed 60 miles of the vast Pamlico Sound. Nearly the entire way, the ferry had to navigate through channels marked by red buoys on the right and green buoys on the left. Even when we completely lost sight of all land, the buoys kept us away from the shallow shoals that permeate just below the water’s surface. With modern GPS, finding these channels is not a problem. I can imagine in the pre-GPS days on a foggy day, it must have been brutal.

Leaving the dock at Hatteras on the first Hatteras-to-Ocracoke Island ferry.

We say goodbye to Hatteras Island.

These two ferries are docked at Ocracoke. The boat in the forefront is our boat going to Swanquarter. The other boat goes to Cedar Island, down the eastern coast.

Leaving the harbor at Ocracoke. It is a small harbor and tight fit for the large ferry.

With the Ocracoke lighthouse in the background, we bid the Outer Banks adieu, for now.

Above and below: The view from inside V-Jer as we sail the Pamlico Sound.

The ferry had a comfortable lounge. There was one walk-on passenger. This lady worked on a laptop for most of the trip, then switched to a book. I assume that she had a car waiting for her at the Swanquarter landing.

Approaching the Swanquarter landing. There wasn’t much here. Swanquarter, a tiny village, is a mile away from the landing.

By the time we were set up at Goose Creek State Park, it was getting dark. We checked the park map for trails and earmarked a couple for tomorrow. Although we temporarily left the OBX, we will return to it in a couple of days, we didn’t leave the tidewater. We are very much still in the Pamlico Sound region.

Goose Creek had two campgrounds, one for tents and one for RVs and campers. They were on opposite ends of the park, separated by 2 or 3 miles. The RV campground consisted of a single loop. Although it wasn’t very wooded, it had electrical and water hookups, and it had a terrific shower house.

This is a map of Goose Creek State Park. There are plenty of trails around the large park to keep us busy.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

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