We headed south on Route 95 in New Hampshire into the great unknown. We got started a little later than planned (12:20), but this was to be expected with inevitable last minute preparations. I left with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Departure on a journey like this seems to bring back a feeling like standing at the edge of a diving board or the open door of an airplane. It's the first step that counts and after that the rest comes naturally.
I took the wheel for the first day of the journey as Emily began documenting and navigating. Traffic was moderate, weather very pleasant. When we hit NYC things got a little dicey. Rush hour was interesting, but really not as bad as the hype.
Emily was great in her navigation and support in checking the blind spots during merging, finding money for the tolls and documenting the events. I noticed that there are distinctive scents associated with certain states. NYC smells kind of like the subway. New Jersey smells pretty bad (paper mills?). There was a lot of construction resulting in slow progress. We finally decided to find a cheap motel.
The Relax Inn can be summed up on the following scale:
Creepy Motel Grading Scale:
1. Dimly lit creepy and depressing presentation (exterior): 4 skulls
2. Front desk employee's resemblance to a serial killer: 2 skulls.
3. Damage to doors showing evidence of police raid: 5 skulls.
4. Smell: 2 skulls.
5. Bugs: 1 skull
6. Stickiness: 1 skull
7. Mystery Stains: 3 skulls
8. Plumbing issues possibly related to an unsolved crime: 4 skulls
9. Horror movie noises: 4 skulls
10. Ominous blessings from strangers who seem fearful for our safety: 4 skulls.
Total Score for Relax Inn, Perryville, MD: 34 out of possible 50 skulls.
Survived the night! In the morning Emily took the wheel for day two of the adventure.
Made it into Virginia before noon shortly after Emily expertly dodged a shovel in the road. We soon discovered Krispy Kreme. There was a great celebration (mostly from me). Lisa Blue was contacted and consulted for suggestions on places to camp. Lisa Blue is apparently not into camping. We drove for quite a while through sweltering heat. As we drove on we began to have trouble finding a place to eat that did not involve deep fat. We found a state park in North Carolina right on the coast. It felt like we were camping in a jungle compared to the NH woods we are more familiar with.
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| NOT a venus fly trap |
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| North Carolina Camp #1 |
From Camp we headed into town to pick up essential morning supplies: coffee, sunglasses for Em, donuts for me. We discovered that asking for black coffee was a complicated process for everyone involved. It seems that most people in the south are quite fond of things sweet and creamy. It also seems that asking for coffee that does not contain pre added sweetening is comparable to demanding a donut turned inside out. Not easy..
Emily bought some awesome sunglasses at Walmart. We noticed that people in hot climates do not hurry.
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| Trucker Emily with new sunglasses |
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| 70 MPH |
We made our way further south and after a few wrong turns we arrived at Myrtle Beach.
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- When they say waterfront site in North Carolina it means you will be within striking distance of alligators. In South Carolina the same description means you may be able to see the ocean if you take a helicopter ride.
- Campsite in North Carolina is truly isolated from other campers. In South Carolina an isolated site has electrical hookup and the surrounding residents have recreated their living rooms around their RVs.
- In North Carolina you cannot possess fireworks in the state park. In South Carolina if you forgot your fireworks at home you can purchase them at the ranger station.
I saw a store called Food Lion. Not awesome. Piggly Wiggly is a much better supermarket. Wa Wa's and Ga Ga's are similar gas station type places.. Emily and I speculated how the sales pitch went for whoever got funding to start these places: Banker: "Sounds like a great business plan. What's the name going to be?"
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| Myrtle Beach State Park |
The beach was great! The moon was beautiful and the sandy beach felt good as we sank our toes in. It was nice to look at everything around us and realize that a few days before we were bored in NH. It felt good to escape to such a very different place.
That night we were raided by raccoons. I forgot to take our plastic cups off the picnic table. The last sips of Margarita and ice were a big hit with the marauders. They picked up the cups in their hands and it looked like they were drinking from buckets. I imagine that they probably toasted to our good fortune as everyone in the south seemed if nothing else, to be extraordinarily polite.
We left the next day after deciding that our next stop needed to be some place inaccessible to RVs. On the way we drove directly through USMC Camp Lejune. Signs cautioned us about tanks crossing the road and of live fire training beyond fences. The shadow of a helicopter (Apache?) went directly over us and down the highway.
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| Late image of passing helicopter Camp Lejune |
We knew that we wanted to get to the Outer Banks. We weren't positive which route to take, but we headed towards where it looked like there was a ferry. The landscape began to get more rural and more decorated with Rebel Flags.
We found that while people in this remote coastal area were very nice, they were not always knowledgable. Distances and directions were wildly creative. We finally arrived at a crossroads where a nice man told us that the only people going to the outer banks were fishermen because of the "rough" camping conditions and the lack of modern luxuries. We ignored his suggestion to take a $75 dollar ferry and headed towards the $15 dollar "old ferry" that he wasn't sure was even in operation. We passed a store that warned "Last chance for clean bathroom" and "Last chance for supplies." It was a relief to find the ferry running and we bought our ticket before returning to the store to take advantage of the last chance for modern conveniences.
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| On the Ferry |
When we arrived on Ocracoke Island at the ferry landing we discovered what appeared to be Key West. The rough cabins must be hidden behind the 5 star hotels. Bars with live bands pumped music and cheer into the night as we drove by to explore the landscape. It looked like fun, but we wanted to find a place to camp before getting distracted. So, we drove out of the small downtown area and quickly found more than what we had hoped for.
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| Red Moon. Ocracoke, NC |
Ocracoke is about 20 miles long. The two ends have the ferry terminals and the only signs of modern life. In between those two points on the narrow strip of land 4 feet above sea level there is basically nothing but the dunes and the ocean. It was magnificent to drive through the moonlight seeing water on both sides of the two lane road. Emily wanted to find a camp site, but I really wanted to see the whole 20 miles. I drove down until we could make out the neon lights and shadows of the next ferry terminal. I turned around and decided it would be fun to just take a short detour onto the beach.
There was a sign which made suggestions that should really be mandatory requirements. I locked the hubs and put the truck into 4 wheel drive. The long winding access road looked wild as crabs scurried out of the beams of our headlights.
I felt the tires bogging down and hit the gas. It was too late and we got stuck. I tried switching into 4 low which seemed to help at first, but I ended up getting the truck REALLY stuck in no time at all.
Eventually, help arrived. DJ and Zack have lived on Ocracoke (the whole 20 miles of sand) for their entire lives. It was cool to meet them, but they were not able to help us get the truck out. There was a lot of effort involving using other trucks to tow mine out. I know that DJ and Zack genuinely wanted to help, but the only help they could reach at a late hour was Shawn. Shawn arrived with his dog Jackson. Jackson seemed very interested in digging, but not under the truck. Shawn was not thrilled about being called out to the beach late at night, but he did try to help. Shawn muttered something about hoping we were all Christian and on several occasions yelled "Yo' mah boy DJ!" before chuckling to himself. His truck with monster tires appeared ready for the task, but he started sinking in as well and I think he'd had enough fun for one evening. Eventually, every one of our helpers got bored and left. They were very polite about it though.
That night we got a FREE campsite right on the beach! Not planned, but at that point it was our only option. No Plovers were harmed in setting up the tent.
The warm wind whipped along the dunes and I think I might have closed my eyes for an hour before deciding to go back to digging. A crab attempted to claim ownership of my truck by some kind of eminent domain. I dug, jacked up the axles, dug some more, etc. Around dawn I found some driftwood planks in the sand and managed to get the ends under the deepest tires. I really enjoyed the sunrise that morning. It was one of those out of the ordinary moments that I want to remember forever.
I don't think the pictures do the pit justice. Anyway, in the morning I dropped the tire pressure down to 20 psi, dug a little, positioned the boards and finally the truck backed out of the hole. We were covered in sand, insect bites and the stench of being stranded on a remote island for 10 hours. We took the ferry to Hatteras and stopped at the first hotel we found. Emily found a place downstairs that made the best breakfast sandwiches known to man. We got a deal on the room (possibly for looking like shipwreck survivors). A hot shower, bagel sandwich, clean bed and view of the ocean later we were better than ever.
We slept most of that day, but got up before sundown.
The next day we headed out to explore.
We discovered the place where two guys made a loud machine that flew 12 feet:
I felt the tires bogging down and hit the gas. It was too late and we got stuck. I tried switching into 4 low which seemed to help at first, but I ended up getting the truck REALLY stuck in no time at all.
Eventually, help arrived. DJ and Zack have lived on Ocracoke (the whole 20 miles of sand) for their entire lives. It was cool to meet them, but they were not able to help us get the truck out. There was a lot of effort involving using other trucks to tow mine out. I know that DJ and Zack genuinely wanted to help, but the only help they could reach at a late hour was Shawn. Shawn arrived with his dog Jackson. Jackson seemed very interested in digging, but not under the truck. Shawn was not thrilled about being called out to the beach late at night, but he did try to help. Shawn muttered something about hoping we were all Christian and on several occasions yelled "Yo' mah boy DJ!" before chuckling to himself. His truck with monster tires appeared ready for the task, but he started sinking in as well and I think he'd had enough fun for one evening. Eventually, every one of our helpers got bored and left. They were very polite about it though.
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| Meet Ocracoke! |
That night we got a FREE campsite right on the beach! Not planned, but at that point it was our only option. No Plovers were harmed in setting up the tent.
The warm wind whipped along the dunes and I think I might have closed my eyes for an hour before deciding to go back to digging. A crab attempted to claim ownership of my truck by some kind of eminent domain. I dug, jacked up the axles, dug some more, etc. Around dawn I found some driftwood planks in the sand and managed to get the ends under the deepest tires. I really enjoyed the sunrise that morning. It was one of those out of the ordinary moments that I want to remember forever.
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| Free |
I don't think the pictures do the pit justice. Anyway, in the morning I dropped the tire pressure down to 20 psi, dug a little, positioned the boards and finally the truck backed out of the hole. We were covered in sand, insect bites and the stench of being stranded on a remote island for 10 hours. We took the ferry to Hatteras and stopped at the first hotel we found. Emily found a place downstairs that made the best breakfast sandwiches known to man. We got a deal on the room (possibly for looking like shipwreck survivors). A hot shower, bagel sandwich, clean bed and view of the ocean later we were better than ever.
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| Feeling MUCH better! |
We slept most of that day, but got up before sundown.
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| Photo taken by waitress married to NH guy |
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| Great food! Shrimp, swordfish "bites" and hot wings. |
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| Cape Hatteras |
We discovered the place where two guys made a loud machine that flew 12 feet:
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| Flight distance markers from launch point. |
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| What's going on out there? |
