Day 2 of our Annual Beach Vacation

Belhaven, NC Sunrise

and the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge

Sunday, July 1st, 2012

I wasn't planning on getting up for sunrise, but for some reason I found myself away at 5:00am and decided to get up and see what the sky would bring.  Amy wanted no part of that and decided to remain in bed.

I thought the little park that we checked out the previous day would be a good sunrise spot, so I headed there.  Unfortunately the sky did not cooperate and there was a bit too much cloud cover for an optimal sunrise shot.  There was still some nice color in the sky, but nothing spectacular.

Belhaven Sunrise

So I returned to the Bed and Breakfast and relaxed with several cups of coffee while I waited for breakfast to be served.

The Belhaven Water Street Bed and Breakfast

The breakfast was worth the wait!  After enjoying a nice meal of Cheese Quiche, Bacon, Hash Browns, and fresh fruit, we checked out and hit the road towards the Outer Banks.

However, since Belhaven is only about 2 hours from the Outer Banks, we had time to check out another spot along the way.

Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge looked like it might have some interesting sights and it is located right along the way!

Lake Mattamuskeet is huge!  At 40,000 acres, it is the largest natural lake in North Carolina.  However it is very shallow with a maximum depth of 4 feet and an average depth of only 1.5 feet.  Since we would be meeting the rest of my family for lunch at noon, we only had time to check out a small portion of it.

My favorite shot was of the Mattamuskeet Pumping Station, which looks very similar to a lighthouse!

We continued on towards the Outer Banks, arriving just in time to meet my family for Lunch at the Black Pelican (our favorite Outer Banks Restaurant).


Later that evening, I noticed a nice colorful sky and regretted not making the short drive to the sound side of the island for a sunset.  But I did pull out the camera for a few quick handheld shots from the front balcony of the beach house.

 Evening Twilight

The complete set of photos from Day 2 of our Vacation is posted here:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/583085371IZDnAB