Do you remember the television show from the 1960′s called “The Andy Griffith Show”? It centered around Andy, a sheriff in the small town of “Mayberry”, and his family and friends and the wonderful times that they all had together. When we look at this tv show now a days we long for the “simpler time”, when life was slower, and people seemed to care for each other. While this is a fictional TV show, there is a place that certainly reminds us of “Mayberry”…it’s Ocracoke Beach. Located in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, it’s a great place for your family beach vacations. In this article we will describe some of the features of Ocracoke, and why we think it should be on your list of “great places to visit”…North Carolina is a very modern state, so why is Ocracoke able to maintain this ode to “Days Gone By”? One reason could be that Ocracoke is a bit harder to get to. There is no direct road, no tunnel, no bridge… To get to Ocracoke you need to have either a private boat, or a private plane, or go via one of the public ferries that visit the island on a daily basis.Shopping in Ocracoke is not at all like it’s counterpart on the mainland. While shopping on the mainland can be rush, rush, rush…shopping on Ocracoke is like a leisurely stroll through the park. The shops are all rather small and quaint, and many focus on only one or two things. For example, there is one shop that focuses primarily on kites…one of the favorite pastimes on the island. They do have two main variety stores for your grocery needs, and a post office for those postcards back to the mainland.Ocracoke has a historic lighthouse that was built by Noah Porter (a builder from Massachusetts) in 1832. It’s known as the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in North Carolina, as well as the second oldest in the US. It is 75 feet (23 m) tall, and it’s diameter varies from 25 feet (8 m) at the base to 12 feet (3.7 m) at the top. The light from this lighthouse can be seen 14 miles out into the Atlantic. A United States National Park Ranger is on duty during the summer months. When a ranger is on duty you can enter the base of the lighthouse…but no climbing is permitted.As we conclude our article we would like to mention what we think of Ocracoke. We love it! That about wraps it up in a nutshell. It has a feel about it that is hard to describe. It hastens back to a time when life was simpler, and problems were fewer. You will just have to go there and experience it for yourself. Make sure you come back in one piece…you might just leave your heart there… 
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