N.C.’s roadside history markers generate 600K words

From the Wilmington Star News:

The state’s history office is taking the last steps on a long road toward writing a 600,000-word essay on North Carolina – at about 400 words a clip.

Each segment chronicles a stop on the agency’s state’s roadside marker program, which has history at more than 1,500 locations to as little as five lines of text.

For nearly 75 years, the signs have been a dollop of history sufficient for most motorists, some who like to spend a leisurely afternoon driving to search for markers using a state-published directory. But it’s not enough for others in an age of faster cars, distracted drivers and the immediacy of the Internet.

Read the rest of the article at the Wilmington Star News »

The erosion of ‘OBX’ and the importance of distinctive trademarks

By now, you likely know that “OBX” is commonly understood to refer to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and that the placement of the oval black on white OBX sticker on a vehicle suggests that its owner vacations on the Outer Banks, once visited the Outer Banks, dreams of visiting the Outer Banks, or just likes to sport the image of the Outer Banks. And perhaps, noticing how many people have these stickers or other items bearing the OBX emblem, you found yourself thinking, “I wish I owned that trademark.” But its story is not without a painful lesson for all trademark owners.

Continue reading “The erosion of ‘OBX’ and the importance of distinctive trademarks” at LocalTechWire.com »

Katie unbars the door*

Corolla has long been one of Currituck County’s favorite – and most remote – Outer Banks travel havens.

Getting there requires making what is essentially a giant U-turn that can add more than a hour’s drive.

After about 20 years of debate, state and local officials and environmentalists are near agreement on a $659 million shortcut: a 5-mile bridge over the sound that would link Corolla to a small town about a 40-minute drive from the Virginia-North Carolina line.

Will Corolla go the way of Coney Island? *

Innovation and paranoia on the Outer Banks

Larry E. Tise’s “Conquering the Sky: The Secret Flights of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk” tells the story of the Wright Brothers’ struggles with the press. As late as 1908 they wanted to keep their accomplishment secret until all the kinks were worked out, and they thought the Outer Banks suitably remote.

People were already talking – the fishermen, the crewmen at the nearby lifesaving station who’d been so helpful in 1903 and others.

These men loved to talk and tell tales, and frankly, not much else was happening on the Outer Banks in 1908.

Virtual Voyage: The Outer Banks

From MotorBoating.com’s guide to cruising through the Outer Banks:

The Intracoastal Waterway is often described as a sheltered inside passage, but there are portions that can get really nasty when the weather kicks up. This is exactly what happened as you made your way south through Pamlico Sound in North Carolina. Two days of squall lines and bashing into short, steep chop has left the cabin damp and in disarray. Everyone is cold, and your first mate is threatening mutiny.

Continue reading “Virtual Voyage: The Outer Banks” at MotorBoating.com »

Gallery: Hang-gliding on Jockey’s Ridge

Here’s a plein-air watercolor sketch of hang-gliders from the sound side of Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head. Click the pic for larger sizes.

A New Land, ‘A New Voyage’: John Lawson’s Exploration of Carolina

A new exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh commemorates the 300th anniversary of the publication of A New Voyage to Carolina. Published in 1709 in London, the book by English explorer and naturalist John Lawson was the first major attempt to describe the natural history of the New World to Europeans.

The book is based on Lawson’s 550-mile, 57-day trek with nine others through Carolina in 1700 and 1701.

Continue reading the article “A New Land, ‘A New Voyage’: John Lawson’s Exploration of Carolina” here, and you can read the book itself online at Gutenberg.net in a variety of formats. Posted also under “tourism” because John Lawson came here and wrote about it – in 1709.

Hunt Family kicks off Outer Banks Forum season

BY PETER HUMMERS | The force of nature known as the Hunt Family Fiddlers descended on the Outer Banks Forum Saturday, singing, fiddling and step-dancing their way into the hearts of the audience at the First Flight High School.

A side of OBX you may not have seen

Good article on Fredericksburg.com about alternative beaches – good for families with small kids, or when storm-driven waves mess up the ocean: the “baby beaches” of the sounds.

And though [Hurricane Bill and Tropical Storm Danny] never swung close enough to the shore to seriously disrupt the weather, both storms churned up waves and currents fierce enough to make us think twice about letting our kids swim in the ocean.

So the folks at the boat rental shop suggested we test the waters of Roanoke Sound, the narrow body of water west of Nags Head.

Read “Here’s a side of OBX you may not have seen” at Fredericksburg.com »

Talk like a pirate tomorrow

Th’ Pirate Guys ‘n assorted wenches are gettin’ ready fer Sept. 19th ‘n an epic International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Th’ lads will be partyin’ at opposite sides o’ th’ globe this year – Cap’n Slappy in Fairbanks, Alaska, ‘n Ol’ Chumbucket hangin’ out wit’ Mad Sally ‘n all th’ wee Chumbuckets in St. Croix – read about thar gigs here.

Pirate natter courtesy of the Online Pirate Translator – all good pirates will be usin’ it fer thar Sept. 19 correspondence.