Category: Fun

Helen and I arrived in Kill Devil Hills, NC, as the Hurricane moved out and took six weeks of unbearable heat with it. Although we only needed to drive 175 miles from Cherry Point, the roads were narrow, and the traffic was heavy.  OBX Campground, our home for the week, was well-maintained and somewhat more extensive than I expected, but not full when we checked in.  A helpful attendant led us to a nice, flat campsite near the office. We pulled into the campground late in the afternoon and set up quickly.

Helen and I visited the area about eight years ago on our way up the East Coast but stayed for only a day to do some sightseeing. We looked forward to the return visit. A dear friend and former member of our church had made some suggestions of places to visit, which helped us to organize a rough plan for this trip, but since this stop would be our last before returning home, our main focus was to relax, walk the beach, and eat some great seafood.

The road leading to OBX Campground took us past the Wright Brothers Memorial, the site of the first flight, and we knew we had to tour the museum and listen to the narration of that historical event.  A young Park Ranger took us through the years, months, and days leading up to the flight.  She detailed all the successes and failures the Wright Brothers encountered in becoming the first to leave the ground in a heavier-than-air machine. She explained that Kill Devil Hills was chosen for its open, barren terrain and constant but favorable winds. Her narration took us through the four flights made on that cold December day in 1903, and every spectator hung on her every word. Today, we take flying for granted. Still, this young Ranger made everyone aware of the accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright. A tour of the museum reinforced the significance of that achievement.

After touring the grounds of the Memorial, we drove back to the campground, stopping first at Billy’s Seafood, located at a marina just past the Memorial. We learned that the owner of OBX Campground also owned Billy’s, and we were promised that we would not be disappointed with anything we purchased there.  Fresh seafood arrived daily at Billy’s, including shrimp, crabs, and fresh Atlantic Snapper. We picked up some Snapper and shrimp and treated ourselves for dinner later that evening.  Everything was as good as promised.

On another day, we drove south through Nag’s Head to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. We walked the beach there and toured the area around Bodie Island Lighthouse. The site is a bird sanctuary, and we took the walkway through the marsh to a lookout stand in search of seabirds.  It was a slow day for birding, but we stayed on our toes after seeing the sign pictured below. We also visited the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge—beautiful, but it must have been nap time for wildlife when we were there.

Because we chose to prepare seafood for dinner almost every night, we did very little eating out.  Nevertheless, there is one restaurant that I have to share—Capt’n Frank’s Restaurant. Our friend, Catherine, suggested Capt’n Frank’s in Kitty Hawk as the place to go IF we liked hot dogs. No one likes hot dogs better than I do, and we made it a point to visit this restaurant that had been serving them since 1975. The place was packed with tourists and locals, but we waited patiently for our turn to order and came away with two beauties.  Helen’s smile says everything about the anticipation.

After lunch, we walked off the calories at nearby Jennett’s Pier, where local fishermen were having a good day in the sun. Below the pier, surfers were making the most of the heavy surf created by the remnants of two hurricanes. I kept waiting for one of them to get hooked, but most knew to keep their distance.

The remainder of our time in Kill Devil Hills was spent walking the beach and searching for shark teeth.  Pets are prohibited on these beaches, so Mortimer had to stay back and mind the trailer.  He didn’t seem to mind the assignment.

We left the Outer Banks having accomplished all we intended.  We were relaxed, refreshed, and filled with seafood and good memories.  We stopped at Billy’s on the way out of town for some shrimp to freeze and a T-shirt as a souvenir.  We’re Easin’ Along.

Helen and I drove away from Onslow Beach, NC, with Hurricane Idalia in hot pursuit. Idalia was one of two hurricanes on the East Coast, making things difficult for vacationing beachgoers.  Hurricane Franklin was sitting offshore and no threat to land, but he was not in a hurry to move either. Rip tides and heavy surf were Franklin’s contributions. 

The forecast for Hurricane Idalia included high winds and heavy rain. Both conditions are not conducive to fun times in an RV park, but we drove on with hopes that the stormy weather would die down and perhaps offer a break from the unbearable heat of the past month. We arrived at Cherry Point Marine Air Station just in time to sign in before the campground manager left to secure her home for the impending threat.

Thankfully, Idalia passed over us as a Tropical Storm without the high winds.  She did give us hefty rain for nearly a day and a half.  We rode out the rain with a good book, Helen’s puzzle, and a draft of a future blog post. It was relaxing. As the rain moved north, we were treated to a beautiful evening sky over Cherry Point.

Although we were spared hurricane damage, Idalia took away two days of a five-day stay at Cherry Point, and we wanted to explore the area before time got away from us.  We decided to visit Emerald Isle on the recommendation of a friend from our church. By this time, Idalia was just a memory, and the weather was perfect, as were the temperatures.

Despite the perfect conditions for tourists, the hurricanes continued to churn up the surf, and the surfers were out in big numbers. I can’t blame them—gigantic waves rolled in one after another, with skilled surfers making the most of them. Helen and I walked out on the pier to better view the surfers and the Emerald Isle beachfront. Did I mention that it was a lovely day?

On the return trip to Cherry Point, we decided to visit nearby Beaufort, NC, for a late lunch of local seafood at Clawson’s 1905 Restaurant & Pub.  The food was as good as advertised (Helen’s crab bisque was divine). We drove back to Cherry Point with good memories and great leftovers in a doggie bag so Mortimer could watch us eat.

On our final day at Cherry Point, we included a drive to the charming town of New Bern, NC, for some sightseeing and perhaps a visit to an antique store or two for some browsing. We ended up doing some bear hunting. Our visit began at the visitor center near the waterfront, where we learned that New Bern was founded in 1710 by Swiss and German immigrants who named the settlement after Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Bern is the old Germanic name for bear. Thus, the bear became a symbol of the new settlement.

In 2010, the 300^th anniversary of New Bern, local businesses sponsored the creation of fiberglass bears and placed them throughout the city.  A local artist chose the theme for each bear and painted them in keeping with the theme. New Bern has 28 colorful bears in the downtown area and 80 throughout the city.  Helen and I went searching for them. I included pictures and the names of eight bears here.

New Bern is also the home of Pepsi-Cola, a creation of Caleb Bradham, a pharmacist, in the late 1800’s.  Bradham’s drugstore still stands, but it is now a retail store for Pepsi gear and a small museum. The store was closed during our visit.

The very helpful volunteers at the Visitor Center gave us directions to an antique and consignment store a short walk from the Center.  After we ended our bear hunt, we checked out Poor Charlie’s.  Readers know browsing through stores like Poor Charlie’s is my favorite pastime when visiting new cities and towns.  Poor Charlie’s was crammed with plenty to look at, but after giving the place a good going-over, I left empty-handed…probably a good thing.

We left Cherry Point the following day en route to Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. It was a beautiful day, and we’re Easin’ Along.

Helen and I pulled out of Camp Blakeslee and drove about 70 miles up the coast to Camp LeJeune Marine Corps Base and the military campground at Onslow Beach. We spent seven days at Kure Beach and were looking forward to the next seven days of our East Coast adventure. We had not visited Onslow Beach previously but had heard it was an excellent place for a beach vacation.

We pulled through the gate at Camp LeJeune and then drove another ten miles through this huge military installation until we reached the shores of the Atlantic. A charming young lady greeted us and assigned us to Site 33—less than 100 yards from the dune guarding the shoreline. All the campsites are gravel and grass with a covered patio beside each one.  The covered patio was very helpful in shielding us from the sun’s piercing rays.

Our week at Onslow Beach was very relaxing.  We only ventured out of the campground on one occasion, and that was to do a little shopping at the Exchange and Commissary—a ten-minute drive to the center of the Marine Base. I love shopping at Military Exchanges.  There are always great buys in the clearance section, mainly casual clothing.

The remainder of our week was spent on the beach in the mornings or under the covered patio in the late evening. We rose early each day to walk on the beach before the hot temperatures chased us inside.  Mortimer went with us a few times, although hot weather is not his “thing.” We were treated to some beautiful sunrises on those walks. I took my camera on several of them, but Helen and I were primarily hunting for shark teeth to add to our growing collection.

When we checked into the campground, we purchased a handy piece of beach gear called the Sand Dipper, an expandable hiking pole with a strainer attached to the lower end.  We made great use of the Sand Dipper every day.  We found The shark teeth on the small side, but the Dipper allowed us to sift through the sand to find many of them in the surf.

The literature attached to the pole explained that the Dipper could double as a hiking stick if the strainer was removed and a rubber tip attached over the end. The literature offered a free rubber tip if the user would send pictures of the Dipper in use and post photos of anything recovered on social media. Helen sent Mr. Dipper the image above and a note detailing our findings and location and posted a picture on Facebook.  Mr. Dipper sent us two tips and thanked us for promoting his product. He was especially impressed with the Great White tooth I found on our second morning.  I guess I took a “big bite” out of Onslow Beach.

Stay with us on our road trip.  Next up is Cherry Point, NC.  We’re Easin’ Along.