Dog Shower Sunday
Very breezy at the campground last night. I suppose there's a reason the kite surfers gather here. Luckily, we had some help breaking up the breeze from two travel trailers on either side of our site. This morning we chatted with one set of neighbors and heard about their year of traveling the world as a younger couple - through Australia, Thailand, Iran, Afghanistan, eventually over to England and Scotland.
The tail winds were with us again and they helped propel Rach and I through an easy 16 miles or so through the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Scrub grass and egrets, and sand dunes always drifting and shifting. The crash of the Atlantic Ocean just beyond. Rach and I rode out of the dunes and onto a very blustery bridge. It took a steady hand to keep the bikes tracking straight as the wind buffeted us. We took our first break at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. As people filled up their coolers and bought some bait for fishing charters, we ate bananas and muffins at a picnic table.
It was rainy off and on again today. Never too heavy and never too lengthy. We took a lunch break in Kill Devil Hills, the birthplace of modern aviation. This is where the Wright Brothers launched and flew their first plane over a hundred years ago. We took a seat on the beach and ate our snacks in a light drizzle - a true Stevenson holiday.
A little while later, we left the Outer Banks portion of our trip and turned inland to rejoin the mainland US. Now, another blustery bridge. This time we rode straight into a headwind over the couple miles. Speed dropped to about 10 mph. Left pedal, right pedal, left pedal, right pedal. Head down, pushing.
Eventually we got across the water to winding, pretty roads through low forest and the sun joined us once more. I got a flat on my front tire but we fixed it fairly quickly and rode on. We had designs on making it a longer day but after a few breaks and the flat it seemed better to call it around 60 miles and stay at Barry's Lodge and Restaurant on Walnut Island.
Now, it may be instructive to notice that when you arrive at a place the signage makes no mention of camping. We walked into the restaurant and a friendly woman mentioned a couple of places we could set up our tent. Once we paid we realized that there had been no discussion of showers and it seemed like if you wanted one you had to take the bait on an upsell to an 85 dollar motel room. No thank you. We found a hose and Rach sprayed me down. Upon reflection, the woman did seem a little sheepish taking the money and offered a very scant description of the place. We decided not to spend any money at the bar or restaurant in silent protest. Next big milestone is Richmond, Virginia which we're planning to hit on Wednesday.
On the upside, this place has stellar views and some comfortable outdoor chairs.
The tail winds were with us again and they helped propel Rach and I through an easy 16 miles or so through the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Scrub grass and egrets, and sand dunes always drifting and shifting. The crash of the Atlantic Ocean just beyond. Rach and I rode out of the dunes and onto a very blustery bridge. It took a steady hand to keep the bikes tracking straight as the wind buffeted us. We took our first break at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. As people filled up their coolers and bought some bait for fishing charters, we ate bananas and muffins at a picnic table.
It was rainy off and on again today. Never too heavy and never too lengthy. We took a lunch break in Kill Devil Hills, the birthplace of modern aviation. This is where the Wright Brothers launched and flew their first plane over a hundred years ago. We took a seat on the beach and ate our snacks in a light drizzle - a true Stevenson holiday.
A little while later, we left the Outer Banks portion of our trip and turned inland to rejoin the mainland US. Now, another blustery bridge. This time we rode straight into a headwind over the couple miles. Speed dropped to about 10 mph. Left pedal, right pedal, left pedal, right pedal. Head down, pushing.
Eventually we got across the water to winding, pretty roads through low forest and the sun joined us once more. I got a flat on my front tire but we fixed it fairly quickly and rode on. We had designs on making it a longer day but after a few breaks and the flat it seemed better to call it around 60 miles and stay at Barry's Lodge and Restaurant on Walnut Island.
Now, it may be instructive to notice that when you arrive at a place the signage makes no mention of camping. We walked into the restaurant and a friendly woman mentioned a couple of places we could set up our tent. Once we paid we realized that there had been no discussion of showers and it seemed like if you wanted one you had to take the bait on an upsell to an 85 dollar motel room. No thank you. We found a hose and Rach sprayed me down. Upon reflection, the woman did seem a little sheepish taking the money and offered a very scant description of the place. We decided not to spend any money at the bar or restaurant in silent protest. Next big milestone is Richmond, Virginia which we're planning to hit on Wednesday.
On the upside, this place has stellar views and some comfortable outdoor chairs.
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| View from a bridge |
Thanks for keeping up the blogs, don't know how you have the energy each day, but love reading them. Hope you get a good nights rest despite the lack of facilities. Xx
ReplyDeleteYour Dad and I were working on Grandpa's house yesterday and he read your blog to me from his phone as our end of the day treat. Thank you so much for sharing your days.
ReplyDeleteCheri