KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. -- I rented a house in Kill Devil Hills at the Outer Banks in North Carolina at the end of September.

The Outer Banks are about 175 miles long from the Virginia line to below Cape Lookout. I like to go this time of the year because it is less crowded -- on the beach and in the restaurants -- houses are less expensive to rent and the weather is still nice. We had sunny days Monday through Friday with three days in the 80s.

I found a house to rent through www.vrbo.com. I've rented several houses/condos through VRBO in the U.S. and Caribbean and have always been very satisfied.

Best tour ever

I went on a Wild Horse Adventure Tour from Corolla in an open-air 4x4 Jeep. The paved road ends in Corolla, and the northern beaches (Seagull Beach, Penny's Hill, Swan Beach, North Swan Beach and Carova) are only accessible by a four-wheel-drive on the sand.

Our guide told of stories of legend, local lore and ecology as he covered about 20 miles of pristine beaches, looking for hoof prints, and we spotted 33 of the wild Spanish mustangs. There are only about 100 horses left, so we saw about one-third of them!

The Currituck National Wildlife Refuge is on the north end of Corolla Island, a few miles from the Currituck Beach lighthouse. Here Corolla's famous wild horses have a safe 1,800-acre haven.

The animals here are separated from more modern life by a 4-foot fence, which extends from the ocean to the interior sound. People can enter the refuge on foot or via four-wheel-drive vehicles over a cattle guard.

The history of the wild horses living on the Currituck Outer Banks begins more than 400 years ago. In the early 1500s, Spaniards explored coastal North Carolina. They brought with them horses that were raised in the Spanish colonies that are now Puerto Rico.

Along with other livestock including cattle, sheep and pigs, the horses were transported by being harnessed on the decks of Spanish ships. Because of the lack of deep harbors in North Carolina, some of the livestock made the final leg of the journey by swimming ashore.

The wild horses of the Currituck Outer Banks have survived nearly 500 years of fierce storms and hurricanes. Nowhere else can you see wild mustangs walking along the beach and grazing among beach homes.

KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. -- I rented a house in Kill Devil Hills at the Outer Banks in North Carolina at the end of September.

The Outer Banks are about 175 miles long from the Virginia line to below Cape Lookout. I like to go this time of the year because it is less crowded -- on the beach and in the restaurants -- houses are less expensive to rent and the weather is still nice. We had sunny days Monday through Friday with three days in the 80s.

I found a house to rent through www.vrbo.com. I've rented several houses/condos through VRBO in the U.S. and Caribbean and have always been very satisfied.

Best tour ever

I went on a Wild Horse Adventure Tour from Corolla in an open-air 4x4 Jeep. The paved road ends in Corolla, and the northern beaches (Seagull Beach, Penny's Hill, Swan Beach, North Swan Beach and Carova) are only accessible by a four-wheel-drive on the sand.

Our guide told of stories of legend, local lore and ecology as he covered about 20 miles of pristine beaches, looking for hoof prints, and we spotted 33 of the wild Spanish mustangs. There are only about 100 horses left, so we saw about one-third of them!

The Currituck National Wildlife Refuge is on the north end of Corolla Island, a few miles from the Currituck Beach lighthouse. Here Corolla's famous wild horses have a safe 1,800-acre haven.

The animals here are separated from more modern life by a 4-foot fence, which extends from the ocean to the interior sound. People can enter the refuge on foot or via four-wheel-drive vehicles over a cattle guard.

The history of the wild horses living on the Currituck Outer Banks begins more than 400 years ago. In the early 1500s, Spaniards explored coastal North Carolina. They brought with them horses that were raised in the Spanish colonies that are now Puerto Rico.

Along with other livestock including cattle, sheep and pigs, the horses were transported by being harnessed on the decks of Spanish ships. Because of the lack of deep harbors in North Carolina, some of the livestock made the final leg of the journey by swimming ashore.

The wild horses of the Currituck Outer Banks have survived nearly 500 years of fierce storms and hurricanes. Nowhere else can you see wild mustangs walking along the beach and grazing among beach homes.

A fun, free outing

We drove south below Hatteras and took the free ferry ride to Ocracoke Island, one of the barrier islands of the Outer Banks, where the pirate Blackbeard is known to have once roamed. The village encompasses 16 miles of undeveloped beaches and is home to 800 year-round residents.

Camping facilities are available with two local campgrounds as well as the National Park Service. Boats are available for charter fishing. We visited the 1823 Ocracoke lighthouse and many unique shops. We ate fresh fish sitting outside at Jolly Roger's watching pelicans, mallards and the ferries departing from Swan's Quarter and Cedar Island arriving at Ocracoke.

More lighthouse stops

In addition to Ocracoke, we visited three other lighthouses on the Outer Banks: Currituck, Bodie and Hatteras. You can climb two of the lighthouses for a $7 admission fee: Currituck (214 steps) and Hatteras (248 steps). Ocracoke and Bodie are undergoing renovations. You can still visit them and view them from the outside but cannot go inside.

Repairs to the Bodie lighthouse include strengthening the support of 10 flights of the lighthouse's spiral staircase, replacing cracked stair treads, removing lead paint and repainting the lighthouse interior, replacing electrical lines, conduit, interior lights and lightning protection, and installing a fire detection and suppression system.

The Fresnel lens that was made in Paris in 1871 is still in use at Bodie, and is one of just a few remaining original lenses. According to Wikipedia, the complicated system of multifaceted glass prisms -- introduced in 1822 -- focused the rays of light into a single beam. The beam from Bodie Island lighthouse can be seen for more than 20 miles out to sea.

The glass prisms will be removed from the tower for cleaning, and the metal panels that hold the prisms and the metal pedestal that supports the lens will be cleaned and restored. It is estimated that the Bodie lighthouse will reopen in spring 2011, and the public will be able to climb to the top.

Ocracoke lighthouse renovations will last about four months. Its Fresnel lens -- which produces a light visible for 14 miles -- will remain in place, but will be temporarily extinguished and protected while the renovation is underway. The repairs will include renovation of metal work on the interior and exterior, correcting the lightning protection measures and painting the interior of the lighthouse.

Favorite eateries

There are lots of great places to get fresh seafood. My favorites are Owens Restaurant in Nags Head and Flying Fish Café in Kill Devil Hills.

Jo Williams of Lansing can be e-mailed at jovi...@gmail.com.