It's said that going to Cape Lookout is like going to the Bahamas without actually leaving North Carolina. It certainly does have the feel of an unspoiled natural environment. The list of creatures that I saw on this trip grew quite a bit here. Sting rays, shark, dolphin (the fish), sea lions (I think), lots of birds such as herons, frigates, ospry, spoonbills, white ibis and pelicans (my favorites) as well as horseshoe and hermit crabs. The weather window that allowed me safe passage out to the Cape quickly closed behind me with the arrival of several strong cold fronts. The first rolled in around 10pm with another just after midnight and another around 2am. SW winds around 35kts swung around to the North by 5am, though they had lost much of their bluster dropping to 15kts. It made for a long sleepless night but Otter showed her quality and weathered it easily. The morning after the storm passed, the sky busted into blue and I took the opportunity to take the dinghy to shore. This is a wonderful place to look for sea shells. I just pointed my camera at my feet to get the picture of the shells. It all looks like that. I've never seen so many whelks. They were strewn across beaches and docks as if some giants were using them to play marbles.