The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-08)

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BY ANNA MAZUREK

As I drove north on Highway 12, the scenery

along the two-lane paved road transitioned

from a tidal red cedar forest with patches of

tall pine trees to salt marsh and towering sand

dunes. My fascination with the remote corners

of the world had taken me to Mongolia, the

Himalayas and now to Ocracoke on the Outer

Banks of North Carolina.

Accessible only by ferry or private plane, the

16-mile-long barrier island has one main

highway and a single village, Ocracoke, with a

population of 797, according to the 2020

Census. Because my two previous attempts to

visit as a day trip from Hatteras Island were

foiled by timing and ferry queues, I was

determined to make Ocracoke my only stop on

this five-day trip in early April.

While the Atlantic Ocean lines the island’s

eastern side, the small village is tucked in the

southwestern corner encircling a harbor that

opens into the Pamlico Sound, a shallow body

of water that separates the mainland from the

barrier islands. The town’s quiet demeanor is

deceptive; the island’s history is a page turner.

A colonial trade route stopover in the 1700s, it

became a pirate hideout and later a top-secret

training base for the U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers,

often considered the precursor to the Navy

SEALs.

When I arrived, the town was waking up

from its winter hibernation, and restaurants

and the lone museum were opening for the

season. Golf carts often outnumbered cars on

the streets, and there was a refreshing absence

of chain restaurants and stores. At the end of

the village, the speed limit increased from 20

to 55 mph to signify the beginning of the Cape

Hatteras National Seashore, which encom-

passes the entire island outside of town. The

SEE OCRACOKE ON F6

Ocracoke’s treasured past

ANNA MAZUREK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

On this North Carolina island,

you’ll find a pirate’s former den,

a unique brogue and more

This 16-mile-long barrier island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, accessible only by ferry

or private plane, was once a colonial trade route stopover, a pirate hideout and a training

base for the U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers. Among its draws are wild ponies, a shell-strewn

beach, savory food and the second-oldest operating lighthouse in the United States.

NAVIGATOR

Here’s why international

airlines such as Qatar and

ANA frequently top lists of

the world’s best. F2

TRENDS

Hotel chains are venturing

into the short-term rental

market. What does that

mean for travelers? F4

HEALTH

Steps you can take to

prevent your digestive

system from ruining your

next vacation. F5

BY NANCY NATHAN

It’s hard to believe that Jackie Ken-
nedy was only 32 when she took audienc-
es on a televised one-hour White House
tour highlighting the rooms and furni-
ture restored under her leadership. With
poise that belied her years, the first lady
guided viewers through the rooms and
their histories without a script, accompa-
nied by CBS News correspondent Charles
Collingwood. CBS and NBC broadcast “A
Tour of the White House with Mrs. John
F. Kennedy” on Feb. 14, 1962, with ABC
following four days later. Including the
global audience reached through syndi-
cation, 80 million people saw the pro-
gram.
A special exhibit to mark the tour’s
60th anniversary opens May 7 at the
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.
Curated by Elaine Rice Bachmann, the
state archivist of Maryland, “Jacqueline
Kennedy and H. F. du Pont: From Winter-
thur to the White House” will be on view
at the 175-room museum of American
antiques and interiors outside Wilming-
ton, Del., through Jan. 8. “Winterthur
was the model, and [the first lady] looked
there for inspiration in creating a back-
drop for the presidency,” Bachmann said.

Winterthur was the passion of collec-

tor Henry Francis du Pont, an heir to the

du Pont chemical fortune. The museum

he developed during the mid-20th cen-

tury houses what is widely considered

one of the world’s foremost collections of

American decorative arts. The beauty of

the estate’s setting is alluring in its own

right, especially during spring, with Win-

terthur’s celebrated azalea woods and

peony garden in bloom.

The exhibit aims to evoke the time

when the White House, during those

brief Kennedy years, was made a mu-

seum and was transformed by the first

lady into a house whose contents reflect-

ed the presidencies from 1789 forward.

Jackie Kennedy led the Fine Arts Com-

mittee for the White House’s effort to

seek out pieces that had once been in the

White House or were contemporaneous

with furnishings that had been there.

Many pieces had been sold off, particu-

larly during the 19th century. One of the

first lady’s early achievements was per-

suading Congress to pass a law forbid-

ding future presidents from selling or

removing pieces from the White House.

(Items from the White House collection

that aren’t in use are now kept in storage

SEE WINTERTHUR ON F3

At Winterthur, evoking the spirit of the Kennedy White House

WINTERTHUR MUSEUM, GARDEN & L IBRARY

The Green Room was guided by Henry Francis du Pont’s desire to create an

American Federal-period parlor in the White House.

KLMNO

Travel

SUNDAY, MAY 8 , 2022. SECTION F EZ EE

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