Sometimes just having a mystery is more intriguing than it's actual cause...an old road is not too exciting so I'd lean toward the peat...very prevalent up to the north in Hyde county.
I agree with one of your other contributors and say maybe it's best to stay out of the ocean....lest you get knocked in the head by a piece of Rodanthe.
Great research into an intriguing issue, but I do need to make one correction: Hurricanes Bertha and Fran were both in ‘96. Why do I know this? I was at a church camp after 8th grade when Bertha came in and we were evacuated from Pine Knoll Shores to Kinston.
Fran hit later that fall and took out half of a pecan tree in my front yard. Three years later, Floyd came through and took out the other half of it.
It was before my time (I moved to Charlotte in 2005) but I've done enough stories about Bertha, Fran, and Floyd that I really should have those years memorized by now.
At first glance I thought it was "tar" which was very common in the Bahamas 30 years ago. Hotels would have tubs of water to wash your feet after being of the beach. The tar was a biproduct of oil spills. This is something different. What I don't understand in this day and age is why hasn't someone just send it off to get test to determine what the heck it actually is?
Was just out on the beach in North Topsail today. I think that what is out there is a mix of both theories. Most of it, especially down by Villa Capriani, is peat. But there are also parts that are a little brighter (still black) and do not crumble or squish like peat. It also looks exactly like blacktop. I can only assume these are parts of the moved road.
Yet another reason to stay out of the ocean...peat, asphalt, sharks, electric cars...
Sometimes just having a mystery is more intriguing than it's actual cause...an old road is not too exciting so I'd lean toward the peat...very prevalent up to the north in Hyde county.
I agree with one of your other contributors and say maybe it's best to stay out of the ocean....lest you get knocked in the head by a piece of Rodanthe.
Great research into an intriguing issue, but I do need to make one correction: Hurricanes Bertha and Fran were both in ‘96. Why do I know this? I was at a church camp after 8th grade when Bertha came in and we were evacuated from Pine Knoll Shores to Kinston.
Fran hit later that fall and took out half of a pecan tree in my front yard. Three years later, Floyd came through and took out the other half of it.
Ahh dammit I should know better than that.
I just figured you hadn’t moved down here yet. 🤷♂️
It was before my time (I moved to Charlotte in 2005) but I've done enough stories about Bertha, Fran, and Floyd that I really should have those years memorized by now.
At first glance I thought it was "tar" which was very common in the Bahamas 30 years ago. Hotels would have tubs of water to wash your feet after being of the beach. The tar was a biproduct of oil spills. This is something different. What I don't understand in this day and age is why hasn't someone just send it off to get test to determine what the heck it actually is?
Was just out on the beach in North Topsail today. I think that what is out there is a mix of both theories. Most of it, especially down by Villa Capriani, is peat. But there are also parts that are a little brighter (still black) and do not crumble or squish like peat. It also looks exactly like blacktop. I can only assume these are parts of the moved road.
This stuff was at North Topsail in the late 60s and early 70s, which definitely negates the old road theory. We used to call it "dolphin doo-doo."