The Trek to Nag’s Head

Our next goal is making it to Texas for Thanksgiving and we were trying to decide how to get there. South through Florida, or west through Tennessee. Both had their benefits so we decided to ask folks at the Thanksgivings Misgivings campout.

The answer: East – for about 6 hours. We were told we simply could not miss The Outer Banks and Ocracoke Island.

Some of our favorite places have been recommendations that were not on our original route plan, so this was a no-brainer. It seemed unanimous, so we headed out early on Sunday for the drive to Nags Head.

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Once we got to the eastern-most island of North Carolina, we went a few miles north (probably the furthest we could go in trying to get to Texas). Kittyhawk – as in where the Wright Brothers discovered the 3 thingie-maddoodles that allowed controlled flight. Bode and I thought it was pretty cool, but Jason was a bit harder to impress.

The most interesting thing to me was that the interval between the first manned flight and space travel was only around 60 years.

We drove down to Bodie Island to impress our Bode with the lighthouse. He was only mildly amused.

A campground right on the beach was recommended, but when we got there the road was closed. Apparently, that hurricane/tropical storm we witnessed in DC hit the Carolina coast worse. Not news for those with a TV (or those watching news instead of The Andy Griffith Show.)

So, we found a cheap motel in Nags Head. The combination of off-season and recent hurricane meant that the hotels were hurting and cheap was REAL cheap. Luckily it had a kitchenette and we were able to cook without use of the coffee maker.

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The next morning Bode and I headed to the beach. There had been some damage to the piers and the stairs that lead over the dunes to the beach. We even saw a dead baby whale that had washed up on the shore. As good a time as any for that cycle of life talk.

The police officer that was blocking the road the night before seemed to have no information about when the roads would open, so we asked around the next day. There was a route you could take with 4-wheel drive, but Red Beard didn’t come with that option. I knew that a Syncro would have come in handy, if only we had the cash.

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Our next goal is making it to Texas for Thanksgiving, and we were trying to decide how to get there. South, through Florida, or west through Tennessee. Both had their benefits so we decided to ask folks at the Thanksgivings Misgivings campout which was a better route.

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