Monday, May 9
Just like the song says, we’re “on the road again”, and this time around we’re bound for North Carolina!
As I type this, it’s about 10:30pm and we’re parked for the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Biddeford, ME.
It’s unusually quiet here tonight. Generally these Wal-Marts take on the appearance of a campground as there are always RVs in the parking lot, but not tonight...we’re the only ones! Maybe because it’s still early in the season. Anyway, we arrived here around 7:30 tonight, at which point we wandered over to the store to pick up some groceries, then back to the trailer. We threw together some wraps and salads and called it supper. A few minutes ago we took the dogs for a quick stroll, and now it’s just about time to crawl into bed. We got away a bit later this morning than we normally might on the first day of a vacation. After doing The Fredericton Marathon yesterday, I was beat this morning, and not moving very fast. My feet and legs were still quite sore and decided to stay in bed for awhile! So with that being said, it was nearly noon before we finally got out of Saint John! The drive here was pretty much uneventful. Unless you want to include the border crossing into Maine, where we lost all our citrus fruit! Anyway, besides that, there’s been nothing out of ordinary to report...a couple of stops for fuel, snacks and bathroom breaks. That’s basically day one in a nutshell.
Tuesday, May 10
Here it is, the end of another travel day, and here we are in another Wal-Mart! This time around we’ve hunkered down in the
Hagerstown, MD location. We’re both a bit tired so now that we’re done supper, I can see us just going straight to bed, rather than perusing the store. Maybe in the morning. I’m about to put the dogs out one more time, then I’d say it’s off to bed!
Wednesday, May 11
As I had already mentioned, we’re staying at another Wal-Mart, and of course staying at another Wal-Mart can only
mean one thing...another shopping spree. So we spent some time in the store this morning, picking up groceries and
clothing. After finishing in Wal-Mart and putting away all our new treasures, we climbed in the truck and headed for the
Outer Banks!
For this segment of the trip, I decided to get off the Interstate for a bit and use some of the secondary
highways in Maryland and Virginia. I’m glad I did! I never would have realized that northern Virginia has so many beautiful farms, picture perfect horse ranches and photogenic vineyards! Traveling US 17, we felt as though we had been transported to Kentucky as we watched the many white fenced, horse filled, pastures roll by. Stunning! Then onto Chesapeake Bay of
Southern Virginia with its amazing bridge/tunnel.This was our first experience with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and it was incredible to see up close! This structure is a marvel of engineering. You first travel under a section of the
ocean, then you come back to the surface on an island where you continue your journey over an elaborate string of bridges that take you to the ‘Outer Banks’. First, let’s take a closer look at the Bridge-Tunnel...
Previously, ferry service was used to move people and vehicles back and forth across Chesapeake Bay, but in 1956, the Ferry Commission conducted a feasibility study for the construction of a fixed crossing. Initially, high-level bridges were contemplated to cross over the two main shipping channels, however, the U.S. Navy objected, due to concerns that collapse of high level bridge(s) (due to either accidental or deliberate action) could cause a large portion of the Atlantic fleet based at the Norfolk Navy Base at Sewell's Point and other craft within the Hampton Roads harbor area to be
blocked from access to the Atlantic Ocean. To deal with these concerns, the engineers recommended a series of bridges and
tunnels known as a bridge-tunnel with the tunnel portions anchored by four man-made islands of approximately 5.25 acres each, would be extended under the two main shipping channels. The end result is the “Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel”, a 23-mile (37km) long fixed link. Following its opening on April 15, 1964, the Bridge-Tunnel was selected as one of the “Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World" worldwide competition that included more than one hundred major projects. In addition, in 1965, it was distinguished as The Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement by the American Society of Civil Engineers. To date, over 100 million commercial and passenger vehicles have crossed the Bridge-Tunnel. From 1995 to 1999, at a cost of almost $200 million, the capacity of the above-water portion was increased to four lanes in order to meet future traffic demands and provide for a safer crossing. An upgrade of the two-lane tunnels was proposed but has not been carried out. No less challenging than construction of the original span, this project once again drew focus to a
remarkable achievement in engineering and construction.
Now for the Outer Banks...
For anyone that has never traveled to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, you are missing something special!
These series of islands that extends out into the ocean in a crescent shape is fascinating! Imagine islands built almost entirely on sandbars...at least that’s what it seems! That’s what we found as drove onto the Outer Banks...I’ve never seen anything like it! And the sand dunes are amazing...some of these monsters are 50 feet high! With the ocean hidden from view, I felt as though I was driving through the Sahara desert! Here at the “Camp Hatteras” campground, we are right on the water, and between the white sand dunes, the endless beach and the crashing surf, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking!Anyway, more on the Outer Banks tomorrow, for now it’s getting late, and time for bed.
Thursday, May 12
Got up early today and went for a walk on the beach before breakfast. What a wonderful spot for those early morning
walks! After breakfast we did some housecleaning then went driving around to discover some of the sights.
Just down the road from the campground is the community of Kitty Hawk. Yes, it’s the very same Kitty Hawk made
famous by Wilbur and Orville Wright, the brothers who pioneered the modern day airplane. Prevailing winds, soft sand
for landing and privacy from the media lured these self-taught engineers to this area from their home in Dayton, OH.
Their experiments actually took place on the sand dunes of nearby community Kill Devil Hills, not Kitty Hawk as is normally cited as the location of their first flight. Stone markers now indicate the starting and landing locations for the four experimental flights by the Wright brothers. Armed with courage and perseverance, they achieved their first successful airplane flight in 1903 after four years of experimentation with (hang) gliders. Also nearby is the Wright Brothers National Memorial, where tourists can stop by the Visitor Centre and museum to view a life sized replica of the Wright Brothers 1903 plane, “Flyer”. Also housed in the museum are models and actual tools and machines used by the Wright Brothers during their flight experiments. A full scale model of the Wright Brothers 1902 Glider is also present. Staying
with the subject of flying for a few minutes, I’ve always had a fascination with hang gliders. And as luck would have it, there is an adventure company here in Kitty Hawk called ‘Kitty Hawk Kites’ that does hang glider instruction. Hmmm...sounds like fun...maybe I should give that a try one of these days! While in Kitty Hawk, we visited some sand dunes in the same area as that famous flight. These massive dunes are unbelievable! After reaching the top of the first one, we discovered more dunes beyond...a lot more! Dunes as far as the eye could see! Amazing...simply amazing! After spending time wondering around this desert, it was time for lunch, and being big fans of pulled pork barbeque, we stopped at a local eatery called ‘Sooey’s BBQ’. The pulled pork platter comes with hushpuppies (their hushpuppies were especially good) and a couple of sides. We ordered the green beans and collards. Delicious! Back out on the road, we decided to search out an ice cream parlour for dessert. Not far away we came across Snowbird Ice Cream Grill with about 25 flavours of soft ice cream...OMG!That was a tough decision! I settled on Kahlua while Sheila went with German Chocolate. We both loved our choices!
Afterwards, we stopped in to the ‘Fudgery’ just down the street. Obviously we hadn’t finished satisfying our
sweet tooth yet!! Ten minutes and four varieties of fudge later, we head back to the trailer, with some awesome fudge
in hand (Chocolate Nut, Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Maple Nut)! Supper was quick tonight as neither of us felt like having a large meal. A garden salad with chicken did the trick...and of course, fudge!
Friday, May 13
Woke up to beautiful day! Got up early and had a quick breakfast of yogurt and berries. With brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures, the beach was beckoning! This was definitely a good day to relax and chill down on the waterfront. We grabbed
a blanket, chairs, some snacks and sauntered down to the beach. What a gorgeous day to kick back at the shore! The beach was a beehive of activity today. There were joggers, there were sunbathers, there were surfers, but mostly, there were a lot of people taking part in a common Carolina tradition of ‘surf fishing’. Yup, that is exactly what it sounds like, casting a line into the crashing surf! But I didn’t see much being reeled in...apparently the fish weren’t biting! We managed to find a quiet section of beach away from everyone and set up. Between the sun, sand, and crashing surf, it was actually quite relaxing...and quite serene. As morning turned to afternoon, we felt it was a good time to head back to the trailer and get out of the hot sun for a bit. We had some lunch, and made plans for our afternoon. We needed a few odds and ends from the store, and wanted to pick up some groceries for supper, so we hopped in the truck and drove into town. Driving by ‘Kitty Hawk Kites’, my thoughts once again turned to hang gliding. Hmmm...I really should give that a try. So, I popped into their store and picked up some brochures. HEY, look at that - classes ranging from Beginner to Advanced! Cool!
And it’s possible to combine different levels of classes into one full day!
Saturday, May 14
Another awesome day here on the shores of North Carolina! Put on a pot of coffee and scrambled up some eggs. With breakfast out of the way, we filled up our travel mugs with coffee, grabbed the beach chairs and headed to the beach. We stretched out and soaked up the sun for a bit, then opted to go for walk. They have these very convenient mile markers along the shoreline, so when strolling the beach, whether you want to walk ¼ mile or 4 miles, you know how far to go! We walked down to a massive fishing pier which was about 1 mile away, but with this gorgeous ribbon of white sandy beach stretching out ahead of us, we decided to keep going. We must have walked for about 2 miles before we decided to turn around and start back. It was getting pretty warm at this point, 26C and sunny! And the beach was getting busy…lots of surfers and lots of fishermen! This being such an interesting region and the houses are so unique, we decided to hop in the truck to do some
touring. The homes are usually three, but sometimes four, stories high and sitting on stilts...apparently stormy
weather and high water is a common occurrence! And the landscaping is like nothing you’ve ever seen before! To begin with, there is sand everywhere...I mean everywhere! With the prevalent winds that blow constantly here, the paved roads end up covered in sand and the driveways end up covered in sand. Not only that, but grass is a rare sight...front lawn, side lawn, back lawn, your entire lawn is - you guessed it – sand, with very little grass to be found!
As we were driving back to the trailer I noticed you can rent dune buggies and go off-roading through the
dunes. Now that sounds like fun, I’ll need to look into it! Got back to the trailer and threw some burgers on the barbeque for supper.
Sunday, May 15
This morning I went for my first run since the marathon. I could hardly manage 5kms...I can’t believe I actually ran 42 kms last weekend! I guess I still haven’t recovered from the marathon. It doesn’t surprise me...it normally takes me about 3 weeks to fully recover. Besides that, not much to report today. Today was a day to just do nothing...watched TV...did some reading...and took the puppy dogs for a walk around the campground, then down to the beach to play in the water. That’s about it. Barbequed some chicken for supper. Watching the Survivor finale right now…I can’t believe Phillip is still around! I can hardly wait for the Reunion Show to find out his real story!
Monday, May 16
Went for another run this morning. Legs are starting to feel a bit better!
Wow, today is shaping up to be a hot one! At 9:45am it’s already 25C!! And humid! YUCK! I’d say this is yet another good day to lounge on the beach :-) Packed some snacks, grabbed the chairs and off we go!
By early afternoon we had enough of the heat...went back to the trailer to relax in air conditioned comfort for the rest of the afternoon!
Thought we’d eat supper out for a change, so did some quick research on the 'net'...discovered a place about 30 minutes away in Manteo called Darrell’s. Sounds good, lots of good reviews, and the menu sounds quite enticing...both their seafood and their barbeque received high marks! Works for me! Darrell’s, here we come!
(…later…)
OMG, I have just found my new favorite restaurant!! We started out with their She Crab Soup as an appetizer along with an order of their famous crab balls. Absolutely delicious! Then for a main course, Sheila had their Seafood Platter and I went for the Pulled Pork Barbeque Platter with a side order of Hushpuppies. Oh my Lord, that was good!! Their hushpuppies were to die for...about the best I’ve ever had! And their Pork Barbeque was AWESOME!! Oh, did I mention I also ordered a small rack of Barbequed Ribs on the side? I have never had such mouth-watering, fall off the bone ribs as I had today!! So yummy!! And of course, being in the South, we ordered some sweet tea to wash it all down! And just like everything else, their tea was so good! Okay, after a gargantuan feast, when he’s stuffed to the gills, what’s a guy to do? Order dessert of course! I had noticed something in their menu called Brownie Delight...well, I’m thinking that would do nicely! I don’t think the waitress can quite believe the quantity of food she’s been bringing to our table...lol. So along comes dessert, and just like everything else we had ordered tonight – positively, absolutely awesome! A big, still warm, home-made brownie covered with a big slab of vanilla ice cream, drowned in rich, hot fudge sauce, then topped with a gigantic dollop of whipped cream!! YUM!!
So with supper over, we start to head for home, BUT, along the way we notice these gorgeous waterfront condominiums adjacent to a beautiful marina, with some beautiful yachts tied up. Well, we decided to investigate...and I’m glad we did. We discovered a gated community called “Pirates Cove”, and it’s nice...very nice! Basically it’s a small peninsula, covered with condos, having berths on both sides for the yachts. As we drove around, we discovered that every single unit has two accesses – land access for your Mercedes or Lexus, and water access for your yacht! Unbelievable!
Tuesday, May 17
Last evening we were treated to quite a light show in the night sky. Much to the puppies’ chagrin, we had one wicked electrical storm. Now recall that we’re essentially 20 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, so storms are basically unencumbered and can really let loose!! I tried getting some shots of the lightning, but I wasn’t able to do it justice...you had to see it to believe it!
Anyway, back to today. The dirty laundry was really piling up so we decided it was time. So after an omelet breakfast, our chore for this morning was to take care of the dirty clothes.
With that taken care of, we jumped in the truck and drove to Kill Devil Hills to check out the Wright brothers memorial. Our first stop was the Visitor’s Centre. Here the story of the brothers’ research and experimentation is told through a series of wall displays. There is also a display case containing various tools and parts used by the Wright brothers. Also in the Visitor’s Centre are meticulously recreated replicas of both the 1902 Glider and the 1903 Flyer. Pretty incredible! The engineering and sheer ingenuity that went into these creations is astounding! The Wright brothers are usually identified as the inventors of the airplane, but that’s not exactly true. Other people had come up with flying machines before them. What Wilbur and Orville accomplished was ‘controlled’ flight. While others were intent on creating big powerful engines for their machines, the Wright brothers were more focused on being able to control their aircraft. While a bit unstable at first, they eventually were successful in controlling pitch, roll and lateral movement of their airplane.
Outside were recreations of the brothers’ camp house and their hangar. Cramped quarters for sure, but it did the trick. Their experimental flights took place in the adjacent field. Here you can see a representation of the 60 foot rail, in the exact location, they used to guide their plane as it took off. Also in this field are stone markers indicating precisely where the plane came back down for each of the four flights…at 120, 175, 200 and finally 852 feet. Finally, way off in the distance and high up on a hill is the gigantic monument dedicated to the courage, perseverance and extraordinary accomplishments of the Wright brothers.
Wednesday, May 18
Got up early with the puppy dogs, thinking I’d go for a run, but it was rainy, windy...basically miserable. So we hung out at the trailer for a bit and had some breakfast. After breakfast we decided this might be a good day to travel and maybe track down the lighthouses that sit toward the southern end of the Outer Banks – on Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. We cleaned up, took the dogs outside so they could do their jobs, then hopped in the truck and took off! In the end it was a good little trip, we not only found the two lighthouses, but we also discovered so much more about these fascinating communities.
The Cape Hatteras lighthouse near the community of Buxton, is probably the most famous on the eastern seaboard, not only for its unique spiral stripe but also because at a height of 200 feet, it’s the tallest lighthouse in the U.S.
Cape Hatteras on Hatteras Island is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic* as it has been a very treacherous area for ships to navigate. In this area, the warm Golf Stream ocean current collides with the colder Labrador current. These are ideal conditions to create significant ocean storms and sea swells. This led to many ships running aground and striking the hazardous shoals off the coast of the island and sinking to the bottom of the ocean. To this day, the waters surrounding this island are still considered extremely dangerous!
*Cape Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia also has this same unfortunate nickname
After visiting the lighthouse, we started down the road to Ocracoke, but came across ‘The Scotch Bonnet’ fudge shop in the town of Frisco. WOW! I was the proverbial ‘kid in a candy store’! 20 flavors of saltwater taffy and over 30 flavors of fudge! Besides that, there were 100s of unique gifts, T-shirts, seashells, etc. Very interesting store!
Anyhow, back on the road...after driving another 15 minutes then a 45 minute ferry ride, we reach Ocracoke. This place is fascinating! On most of the Outer Banks, the lifestyle is very relaxed and laid back...for example, rush hour on the rest of the islands could mean two cars backed up at the local traffic light. Then there’s Ocracoke where life is even more slow paced. So much so, the usual means of transportation is, get this, golf carts! I kid you not! We were in the minority driving around in our Ford F250!
What an interesting little town! We killed some time just driving around and exploring the area. This island was actually home to one of history’s most feared pirates – Blackbeard. Edward Teach as he was better known (he also went by Edward Drummond), was known for certain to have a penchant for Ocracoke Island. During his short stint as a pirate in the Carolinas, one of Blackbeard’s favorite anchorage areas was at the south end of the island in a channel now known as “Teach’s Hole”. The perfect anchorage location in the midst of a busy commercial shipping lane. This body of water was actually the setting of one of the bloodiest battles ever when, on November 22, 1718, Blackbeard lost his head. It was on this day that Blackbeard battled Lt. Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy and had his head slashed away from the rest of his body by one of Maynard’s crewmen. Blackbeard’s head was taken away from Okracoke and tied to the bowsprit of Maynard’s sloop. The rest of Blackbeard’s body was simply thrown overboard into Pamlico Sound, where, as the legend goes, the headless body swam around the ship 7 times. It’s said that Blackbeard’s spirit still lives on and nocturnal visitors’ have reported seeing unusual lights on the water and hearing strange sounds coming from the forest.
Driving home tonight, we stopped for supper at Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant in Kill Devil Hills for their seafood buffet. It was incredible! Every kind of seafood you can imagine...crab, crawfish, clams, mussels, and so on. Delicious! Then there was the dessert table, where you could find every sort of pie, cookie, cheesecake and chocolate dessert imaginable!
Unfortunately I think I over-indulged last night! It’s now 10:00am Thursday morning as I write this, and I’m still stuffed!
Thursday, May 19
Once breakfast was done this morning, we decided to drive to Manteo and check out the Aquarium. North Carolina has 3 state run aquariums, and one happens to be just up the road in Manteo.
We arrived in Manteo around 11:30, and easily found the aquarium. We spent the next two hours walking through the facility looking at all their different displays. Very interesting. Much like the other two N.C. Aquarium locations, the focus of this aquarium is to highlight the sea life found in the local area. Very informative and very educational!
Next on the agenda was to learn about ‘The Lost Colony’, but first up is lunch. We popped into Big Al’s Diner. I had the crab cake sandwich with sweet potato fries and Sheila had the BBQ Chicken Salad. Everything was delicious!
After lunch we drove down to the Fort Raleigh National Historic State. Prior to arriving on the Outer Banks, we had no knowledge of the historical significance of this area. But we quickly learned, this region has a fascinating history! In 1584 a reconnaissance expedition was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I and led by Walter Raleigh to explore what is now North Carolina. Later, a group of colonists led by Ralph Lane arrived to establish headquarters on Roanoke Island here on the Outer Banks. After remaining for a year, and exploring far and wide, Lane and his men returned to England in 1586. In 1587, a group of 117 men, women and children led by Gov. John White arrived to further establish the settlement and would occupy the houses and fort left by Lane’s people. Brief notes left behind by White describe various problems that arose but also went on to describe the birth of the first English child in America. The journal then explains why White left to return to England for more supplies. His departure was the last contact with the settlers who made up the Lost Colony renowned in history , literature and folklore. To this day, the mystery remains about what happened to this colony. To commemorate and to preserve this important historical event, a play was written back in 1937, ‘The Lost Colony’. The play was so successful and popular, they brought it back the next year, and year after year, they continue to present The Lost Colony. This year will mark the 75th running of the play! Unfortunately we’ll be leaving the area before the play starts up for the season, otherwise we’d definitely get tickets! We then followed the nature trails, reading the various interpretive displays that are set up throughout the park. We then came to the earthen remains of their original fort. Amazing!
As we were leaving Manteo, wouldn’t you know it, we discovered an ice cream shop. ‘Old Town Creamery’!! So we had to stop in! Jess served us...I had the Peanut Butter Overboard (slice of peanut butter pie with peanut butter ice cream)...AWESOME! Sheila had ice cream – a scoop of chocolate raspberry and a scoop of coconut ice cream.
After having a full day, we headed back to the trailer and had a simple supper of eggs and sausage.
Friday, May 20
OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! Today was freakin’ amazing!!! Today I realized a boyhood dream! Today I took to the skies and flew like a bird! Today I soared through the air in a hang glider! It was incredible!
After seeing promos and billboards for the local adventure company ‘Kitty Hawk Kites’, I signed up for their full day hang gliding session and today was the day. It all started with a one hour classroom ‘ground school’ class, then we moved to the launch site on the dunes. As it so happens, these were very same dunes that Orville and Wilbur Wright used for their historical flights! After quickly reviewing what we covered in class on maneuvering the glider, our flights began. There were 6 of us taking the class and we took turns taking to the sky. It was fantastic! The adrenalin rush that you experience when your feet lift off the ground and you no longer feel Mother Earth under your feet is beyond description! Absolutely incredible!! I went on to complete 10 flights today! Amazing, simply amazing!
Well, as they say, ‘all good things must come to an end’, and our time did indeed come to an end. It was a big day, and by the end of it, I was getting tired. So after leaving the local State Park, where the hang gliding takes place (Jockey’s Ridge State Park) I picked up some pulled–pork barbeque to take home for supper.
Saturday, May 21
This morning I tried my hand at ‘Geocaching’...basically a modern day ‘high tech’ treasure hunt, using GPS coordinates. One central website (geocaching.com) is used to track these hidden caches, as well as providing the coordinates and any optional clues. I tried finding two from the website - found one, but couldn’t find the other :-(
Stopped at the Firefly restaurant in Kill Devil Hills for lunch. Started with the Deep Fried Green Beans for an appetizer then followed with their Lobster Mac and Cheese! Awesome! Absolutely delicious!! Wouldn’t hesitate to have it again!! Then after hearing about their dessert special we had to try it...Deep Fried Oatmeal Cream Pie. Yummy!
Later on in the afternoon, we were at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Centre to see the boats come in with the day’s catch. This wharf is used by many deep sea charter fishing boats, and we got to see a lot of them as they unveiled their customer’s catches. Some good size fish were hauled in today...4 and 5 footers!!
Supper tonight was chicken wraps...yummy! Then we wrapped up the day with a lovely bonfire at the campground.
Sunday, May 22
Nothing planned for today, so we headed out not really knowing where we’d end up. Breakfast was Eggs, Corned Beef Hash and Cheese Grits at Bob’s Grill (delicious, by the way) in Kill Devil Hills then afterwards we decided to explore the northern region of the Outer Banks – Duck and Corolla.
Visited the Currituck Light House in Corolla. I must say this is one of the more unusual layouts I’ve ever seen for a lighthouse. The lighthouse is surrounded by a park, filled with trees and park benches, and is nowhere near water, relatively speaking.
Did some shopping at a complex called Tim Buck II. Had a chicken and goat cheese salad for lunch at La Vita Dolce. Saw some beautiful neighborhoods. We learned about the wild horses that live in the extreme northern reaches of the Outer Banks. We were so intrigued that we signed up for one of Monday’s Wild Horse Tours. More on that in the next update! As we were leaving to head home we stumbled across a “Fudgery” in Corolla...well we didn’t hesitate. They have the best fudge ever! We left there with four varieties – Rocky Road, Maple Nut, Peanut Butter and Cookies and Cream. All very yummy!!
Had supper tonight at ‘Five Guys Burgers and Fries’. I must say these were the best burgers we’ve ever had. Awesome food...will definitely visit ‘Five Guys’ again!!
After supper, as we were heading home, we thought we’d try and seek out the house from “Nights in Rodenthe”...and we found it!
Monday, May 23
The northern section of the Outer Banks is one of the few remaining regions on earth where wild horses still exist. We thought this was incredibly interesting! So we got up early, had a quick breakfast and drove to Corolla today and went on a “Wild Horse Tour”. Davis was our guide and he was great! We spent about 2 hours on his narrated tour of the northern most areas of the Outer Banks, observing the wild horses in their natural habitat. They are such beautiful creatures!
There are a couple of theories as to how these wild horses came to be. The most common school of thought is that after Spanish settlers establish colonies in this region in the 1500s, and either left or moved on to other parts of North America, the horses were simply left behind. Theories also abound that some of these horses were survivors of shipwrecks, swam ashore and made themselves a home here on the Outer Banks. The horses have roughly 12,000 acres to themselves. In the 1920s, as many as 6,000 horses roamed these beaches and dunes unfortunately today the herd currently only numbers about 60. Conservation groups would like to see that number increase to at least 120.
Once we were done with the tour, we went searching for two more geocaches in Corolla...successfully found one, but couldn’t find the other! They can be tricky!!
Since it was getting on to about lunchtime, we decided on La Dolce Vita for lunch (in Duck) and their fish tacos. Delicious!!
After lunch, we drove around Duck. Found some shopping centres and did a little shopping for souvenirs.
Arrived back at the trailer late this afternoon and after enjoying the fish tacos in Duck this afternoon we decided to make some for supper. Yummy!
Tuesday, May 24
Flipped on the morning news and were mesmerized by the T.V. coverage of the devastation left by the tornado that swept through Joplin, Missouri. So sad. Our hearts go out to the residents affected by this tragedy. Simply unbelievable...death toll reaching 122 with about 100 people injured. Terrible. The tornado left a path of destruction about 7 miles long and ¾ mile wide. The power of Mother Nature can be astounding.
After breakfast, we debated what we wanted to do today, but agreed that it would be a good to relax here at the beach. Since we’ll soon be leaving, we wanted to take advantage of our final couple days. So for a better part of the day we relaxed on the beach. Took the puppies down to play in the surf. They had a blast running into the water, then as the huge waves approached, they’d turn tail and run...so funny!!
Early this afternoon, we headed into Mateo for more geocaching. We grabbed two caches. I love this pastime :-)
Once we were done with the caches, we felt we needed ice cream :-) We had enjoyed some yummy treats the other day at the Olde Towne Creamery in Mateo so we had to go back there for more ice cream today!
Afterwards, we headed into Nag’s Head for groceries for the trip home to Saint John and decided to pick up some fish for supper. Brought home some wahoo. I bought the wahoo for no other reason but the name. I have no idea how it tastes, I just like the name. I still can’t believe there’s a fish called wahoo…lol. As it turns out, I like wahoo…it’s quite good!!
Today was the warmest we’ve seen so far...at 4PM this afternoon, it was 34C!
Wednesday, May 25
Sigh. It’s time to start working our way home. Dealing with all the tasks needed before hitting the road - putting stuff away now...cleaning up the trailer...hooking the truck onto the trailer...undoing power and water connections...taking garbage over to the dumpster. And shortly, we’ll be hitting the road...
(...later...)
It’s now 7PM and we’ve set up camp in the parking lot of the Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Carlisle, PA. We both love Cracker Barrel, so this will work out nicely :-) Gave the puppies some supper, then we wandered over to the restaurant. Cracker Barrel is probably one of the more interesting chains you’ll ever come across. Half the building is a gift shop with the remaining half being their restaurant. We always spend lots of time browsing the gift shop before (and after) going into the restaurant. You can count on Cracker Barrel to have the most interesting collection of one-of-a-kind gifts you’ll ever find. Anyway, back to our supper - I ordered the Shrimp and Grits special while Sheila got their Spicy Grilled Catfish. We were both happy with our choices :-)
Thursday, May 26
Like I already mentioned, we both REALLY like Cracker Barrel, so we weren’t about to pass up this opportunity to have breakfast there too! Got cleaned up, took care of puppies then walked to the restaurant. I had their Veggie Omelet and Sheila had their Multigrain Pancakes. Everything was yummy!
By 10:30 we had the truck gassed up and were back on the road.
Today was a routine day of driving…nothing much happened…well, besides driving!
Tonight we’re staying at the Wal-Mart in Biddeford, ME. And luckily we have another one of our favorite restaurants just next door - Ruby Tuesday!! So now that the dog chores are done, Ruby Tuesday, here we come :-)
Friday, May 27
Final day on the road. We had a quick breakfast of yogurt and fruit at the trailer, took the dogs for a quick stroll and hit the Interstate.
We were passing through the Bangor, Maine area around lunch so we thought we’d take advantage of our last opportunity to do a little ‘cross border’ shopping before the final leg of our trip home.
So here we are at home, at the end of another trip. And it was a fantastic one. Considering that the Outer Banks was actually our second choice for a destination, we ended up having a fabulous time and managed to discover a real gem! We’ll definitely be back! Incredible scenery! Incredible sights! Incredible beaches! Incredible food! The Outer Banks had all that and more! We logged 6300 kms during this trip. So not the longest trip we’ve ever embarked on...but not the shortest either. Rather, a happy medium you could say...we got to try lots of new things and got to see lots of new things, all without rushing. We always had time to relax and unwind. Just the way a vacation should be! Our first choice had been Mississippi but it simply wasn’t in the cards for this year’s vacation. I still hope to see Mississippi. Someday. Maybe our next trip. Maybe not. Who knows! Regardless, I can hardly wait to see what adventure lies ahead for us, be it Mississippi or elsewhere, the next time we travel down The Long Road.
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