OBXellent

I’m writing this as we drive the last leg of our Outer Banks Adventure. We are a few hours from home. I’m looking forward to getting there.
We left home 12 days ago for what was to be a very fun journey. Neither of us had ever been to the Outer Banks, which are a set of Barrier Islands on the Atlantic Coast of North Carolina.
The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a 200-mile (320 km) string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean.
First stop, Faver-Dykes State Park in St. Augustine, Florida. Our stop here and the stop tomorrow are one night stops. On our one night stands, I tend not to pull out the tablecloth and our recliner chairs for outside. We normally just park, turn on the air and wait for dinner time to come around. We don’t venture out, or unhook the car unless we have too. Many of the state parks have pull thru sites, which is very nice when you are towing a car.
Our stop at Faver-Dykes was not a pull thru, so we had to unhook the car, which is not a big deal. Jim has it down to a science, and normally only takes a few minutes. We had a nice dinner, watched some streamed video, and called it a night.

The following morning we were off early and headed to Fort McAllister State Park in Richmond Hill, Georgia. We have actually been to this park before. It’s nice and has big pull thru sites.
As I planned our trip, I looked to save some money by staying in State Parks. This turned out to be a disappointment as we got to the Outer Banks, but that’s a story for later. State Parks offer nice accommodations for at least half the cost of an RV Resort, so it makes sense to utilize them when you are just staying for a night. Most have electricity and water.
It is a super hot time of year and many times during this adventure I thought we were crazy to be doing this trip in August. It’s just not pleasant to be outside enjoying the lush green forests when the humidity is so high and the temperature is so high. We spent a lot of time in the RV with the air on during this adventure! 🥵

Visitor

Our next leg of the journey takes us to Myrtle Beach State Park in South Carolina. We stayed here for two nights and really had a great time. The park is beautiful and the beach is close by. We rode our bikes on the beach and I was able to spend several hours soaking up the sun. Myrtle Beach is a tourist town and there were plenty of people on the beach. I was kind of surprised.

Myrtle Beach Bikeride

Rocks I painted for this trip

This campground had many trails to walk and a nature center that peaked my interest. I wandered around and dropped many of my painted rocks for others to hopefully find and enjoy. I painted at least 40 rocks for this 2 week trip. Most of them were camping related and it was super fun to leave them around.

More fun, is when someone who finds the rocks I leave laying around, actually posts their find on the Facebook page I list on the back of the rock. Most people who find the rocks don’t post a picture. They either keep them, throw them, or rehide them. Maybe they don’t want to join the Facebook page in order to post the picture, which is totally understandable. Out of the hundreds of rocks I have hidden so far over the past several month, only about 30 people have actually posted pictures. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t do it for the acknowledgment, but it sure is fun to see the comments people leave when they do find one of my rocks. It’s usually very sweet and they did, indeed, make the person smile.

Our next stop was Cedar Point Campground in Cedar Point, North Carolina. We drove about 4 hours and arrived at a very remote camp. Nice big sites, but literally nothing to do. I’m sure I already told you how hot it was! Not worth taking the bikes down, and we were booked into two nights here. It was pretty, but with nothing to do, I asked Jim if we could eat the second day we already paid for and travel a few more hours up the road to a campground on the water. He of course said yes, so I canceled the second day and actually got a partial refund. This was the best decision ever! You’ll see why!

Cedar Point State Park.

We traveled the back roads to Cedar Beach Resort which happens to be right at the Ferry Terminal that we would be taking to get to the Outer Banks the following day. I was super exited about this part of the adventure. Driving our 32 foot RV plus the Mini Cooper we now tow behind, makes us over 40 feet of vehicle, we would drive, onto a ferry, for a two and a half hour boat trip, was going to be epic. I liken it to the excitement I felt when we were on our loop and preparing to place the Happy Destiny on a railway cart and cross land into the Georgian Bay.
As I prepared for this stop, I knew that they had riding stables and offered horseback riding on the beach where it was told, they had a few herds of wild stallions that roamed freely on the beach. As I checked into our site, I asked about the tours they offered. Dori, the manager of the campground told me she had an opening for the following morning. A 6:00 am sunrise horseback ride that she assured me would be totally worth the money I was about to spend for the adventure. I signed up immediately!
Jim relaxed and I rode my bike over to the beach. Miles and miles of ankle to knee deep waters! It was stunning and I took advantage of the semi cool water. I parked my chair right on a sandbar and enjoyed every single moment.

Jim and I attempted to ride our bikes on the beach, but, there was to much dry sand and not enough hard packed sand to ride comfortably. Our bikes are cool, but they do not like deep, dry sand. We don’t like to ride them in the salt water. That would not be good for the gears and batteries. The dry sand just makes the tires spin and I for one have taken a few spills. So, we returned to the camper, had a nice dinner and called it a night.
The following morning I walked over to the horse stables in the dark and met Dori. There were supposed to be 5 more riders, but they didn’t show, so I had a private 90 minute sunrise horseback ride. Just me, Faith Hill the beautiful horse, and Dori. Oh! And these:

Wild Stallions

It was a sight to behold and I know I had tears in my eyes. It was totally worth the 50 mosquito bites I endured along the way. This herd of Stallions are totally wild. They forge off the land and this herd had 2 babies that Dori said were a few months old. They were adorable.

We rode off and as the sun rose, I thanked my God for this beautiful moment and for all the amazing things I get to do today. I thanked God for Jim and of course for my sobriety. Without that, none of this would be possible. I never take for granted the enormity of the gift I have been given.

This was an adventure I will never forget!

We we’re booked on the North Carolina Ferry System boat for a 1:00 departure. Around noon, we packed up the RV and drove across the street to get in line. This boat ride will take us to Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, the southern most tip of the Barrier Islands Chain.

This is a map of the Outer Banks. The circled spots are our stops along the way. The Ferry from Cedar Beach to Ocracoke took a few hours. This is us getting on the ferry.

Have I told you how hot and humid it was! 🥵 Our campground for the night was Ocracoke National Seashore Park. We arrived and set up camp. I thought it would be a good idea to hike over the sand dune to see the Atlantic Ocean. I set out, climbed the very steep sand mountain, got to the top, and headed down the hill knowing full well I would have to do the exact same thing to get back. I was dripping wet from the humidity. I stuck my feet in the ocean just to cool down and headed back to the RV. It was horrible and I knew then that I’m not a camper or a hiker. I’m a “Glamper”. I like air conditioning and places with pools😂.
We drove the car back to town, bought some fresh fish and stopped at the Ocracoke Lighthouse. This lighthouse is the 2nd oldest working Lighthouse in the USA. The Cape Cod type vacation homes were scattered everywhere and they were painted beautiful fun colors. Jim said that this area reminded him of when he was a boy spending summers on the Cape in Massacucetts.

At our campground there was no electricity or water which meant we had to run the generator to have air conditioning. The problem with this is that these parks have quiet hours. 10:00 pm to 7:00 am there is a NO Generator rule. I guess it’s a noise thing, and evidently there are camp hosts that enforce this rule. So, at 10:00pm the generator was turned off. We prayed that the cool air that remained inside would last for awhile, but alas, it was a very hot night and I was suffering with bug bites from my horseback ride. I was kind of miserable and I know Jim was too.

Our Campsite.

🥵

To add insult to injury, our next stop was the same kind of campground as this one. Jim was on the phone to find us another RV Park that had electricity. We were going to eat the money we already paid, but, for both of us, that was ok. The new place had a pool too. Bonus!
We broke camp early and drove to the next ferry that would deliver us to Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It was a hour long ferry ride and it poured rain for a bit. The approach into Hatteras was pretty cool. Being boaters ourselves, watching the Captain of this ship maneuver the channels was very impressive. This is a big ship! Small channels and shallow waters make for some butt puckering times. This Captain was awesome and Jim and I had some fun conversations about his ability and skill.

We landed safely at The Hatteras Inlet and headed to Frisco Woods RV Resort in Frisco, North Carolina. The vacation rentals and beautiful homes along the way were amazing!

I googled the rental prices of some of these homes. If you have a spare $2500.00 you could spend a week in one of these many beautiful Seashore homes. Most have pools and beach access. They really are pretty awesome!

We settled into our campsite and I scampered off to the pool! I did a load of laundry while at the poolside and Jim joined me for awhile. After the swim, we drove to the Cape Hatteras Light Station.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, with its black and white candy-cane stripes, is one of the most famous and recognizable lighthouses in the world. Protecting one of the most treacherous stretches of the Outer Banks, with a beam of light that spans 20 miles into the ocean, the lighthouse is also the world's tallest brick lighthouse at a staggering 208' ft. tall.

We barbecued the red snapper we bought at the fish market the day before in Ocracoke, watched “The Big Fish” on Hulu and called it a night. RVing is no different than Looping. 9:00 pm is “glampers” midnight!

This day is our 9th day of our OBX adventure. Today we head to Nags Head, North Carolina and the Oregon Inlet National Park. Our stay is 2 nights and unlike the other National Campgrounds, this one has electricity and water. YAY!

Oregon Inlet

Nags Head, North Carolina

More sand dunes keep me from the Atlantic Ocean. Can I just say that the Barrier Islands have a lot of sand! I took my bike and headed over land to see the ocean. Guess what? I hit sand. Lots of sand!

I tried to ride my bike in the sand to the water. First mistake. Remember, bike does not like dry sand. So, I walked it. All the way to the water. Second mistake. Now I’ve got to walk back. Did I mention it was 100° outside with a humidity factor of, god only knows! Third mistake. Thinking I could drag my foot to help move the bike using the peddle assist throttle. Nope! I’m walking and pushing the bike through the sand. I thought I was going to die from heat exposure 😂 Forth mistake. Taking my bike in the sand period! I got back on the road and my bike would not go. I’m sure it got SAND in the battery area or something, but I had to peddle the bike (OMG) on my own power back to the campsite. I’ve certainly made a lot of sand dune mistakes on this trip. All to see the Atlantic Ocean that I didn’t even go swimming in! Ugh!
So, back in Ocracoke, as we were driving we saw this guy walking. He had what looked to be a pack and a walking stick. He was a bit disheveled looking. Jim and I both said “he’s nuts”! “What in the world”! “Who does that” ! The road we were traveling, Highway 12, which spans the entire length of the OBX, is desolate. It’s road and sand on either side unless you are driving through a city. This guy was walking! (I mentioned it was hot)!
On every day we traveled to get to Oregon Inlet, we saw this guy. Walking. Well, today, at Oregon Inlet, this guy, made camp right next to us. I was intrigued and approached him and struck up a conversation. His name is Eric. He is an Army Veteran. He’s not “nuts”. He’s a bit disheveled because he has been walking since the end of April. Walking the Blue Valor Trail. A 1400 mile trek, from Virginia to Boadie Island, North Carolina. His stop here is 20 miles from the end of his walk. He told me he did this walk to honor our fallen hero’s. He told me only about 5 people complete this walk a year, and here he was, 20 miles from being one of those 5.
I called him a badass and congratulated him on his amazing journey.
I thought of Eric’s adventure and the comparison to our Great Loop trip. We all had a beginning and an end. Challenges. Fears. He’s one of 5 who walked We were 1 of less than 100 people to complete a 6000 mile loop around the Eastern part of the US and Canada. I’m sure some thought we were nuts and looked a bit disheveled at times. Eric and us - Badasses!

Our final day before heading for home was a drive to Kitty Hawk to visit the Wright Brothers National Park.

They Taught the World to Fly!

Wind, sand, and a dream of flight brought Wilbur and Orville Wright to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where, after four years of scientific experimentation, they achieved the first successful airplane flights on December 17, 1903.
With courage and perseverance, these self-taught engineers relied on teamwork and application of the scientific process. What they achieved changed our world forever.

Everything is impressive! This Park is a memorial and a museum for the Wright Brothers. It is on the sight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where they took their first four flights and where they spent several years developing and practicing their skills.
Since the dawn of humanity, human flight has been a universal dream and aspiration. It was a dream that many people failed to achieve and many believed was not possible.
This memorial tells their story and shows you the hill where they practiced with gliders which helped them problem solve. It also has reproductions of their hangers and living quarters. In addition there are large stone markers that indicate where their first four flights started and where each landed. We listened to Park Ranger Ashley, who did a great job telling us the whole story of the Wright Brothers plight. If you are ever in this area Do not hesitate to stop!

We enjoyed a nice breakfast and headed back to the campground. I had bought tickets to a OBX outside theatre to see The Lost Colony of Roanoke, which is the story of Virginia Dare. I don’t know much about this history, but this play is tradition to the Outer Banks. I guess I’ll never find out the plot, unless I do some research, because they cancelled the performance just as we got dressed and started to head out. I heard later they canceled due to a COVID outbreak. Glad we didn’t go.

The following morning we packed up and started our first leg towards home. We stopped in Dillon South Carolina and the following day Brunswick, Georgia, then finally made our way to the Home Sweet Home.

Our OBX adventure was great. Other than the obnoxious heat and humidity, (I wouldn’t recommend this trip in August to anyone), being able to just up an go somewhere for a few weeks is quite nice and I feel very blessed that Jim and I get to travel to places we’ve never been. We, again, got to relive some of our Great Loop stops as we crossed over bodies of water that we drove our boat on. We listened many of hours of Johnny Dollar on the radio and marveled at all of the beautiful north and South Carolina lush green highways.
Our next adventure will be in November as we make the long trek across I-10 to California.
Thanks for peeking in on our OBX Adventure. If you got through the whole thing, thanks. These blogs sometimes drag on if you aren’t the one living it. But for me, it’s a hard copy of a life lived with a guy who loved me enough to put a ring on it and let’s me share in the adventure!
until next time.
peace and our love❤️