Easin' Along

Helen and I returned from our trip to the Outer Banks in early October and hit the ground running. The first few days after an RV trip always is a busy time. There are appointments and meetings, family matters to take care of, and the chore of unloading and cleaning the RV. After this trip, Helen and I even gave Dora a much-needed bath. Once we had everything under control, We rewarded ourselves by accepting two invitations from friends for overnight outings in their lovely vacation homes–one in the Foothills of our mountains and one on the lake. Both occasions helped to make our October special.

Blair Branch is a community of mountain homes adjacent to the world-class resort of Blackberry Farm. Our hostess and dear friend, Anne, has a lovely home in Blair Branch with access to Blackberry Farm and its facilities and grounds. Helen and I joined Anne and our friends from our first neighborhood as a couple for two days of fun and food. The highlight of that gathering was a hike through the grounds and gardens of Blackberry on a glorious day. We stopped at the heirloom seed garden, where the Blackberry Farm Naturalist gave us a presentation on the heirloom seeds grown at the farm and their uses as either foods or garden plants. We stood in rapt attention to his presentation but had to move on before his paying customers arrived for their tour and presentation. We thanked him profusely for his time. The pictures below give a glimpse of that day, the beauty of the surroundings, and Helen’s find of the last pumpkin of the growing season.

A couple of days after visiting Anne and our friends, Helen and I joined our wonderful, life-long friends, John and Judy, at their lake home just south of Knoxville. Also joining us were Steve and Catherine from Brevard, NC. Steve served as an interim minister at our church for almost two years and did a fantastic job leading us during that period. Catherine has an incredible singing voice and added another dimension to our choir. Together, they are a delightful couple, and Helen and I are blessed to call them friends.

Although the conditions on the lake were ripe for a boat cruise, John’s boat was a bit cranky that weekend. So, rather than spend time on the water, we enjoyed each other’s company. Catherine prepared a superb breakfast meal for us to enjoy each morning. Judy, Catherine, and Helen worked through a puzzle in record time, and the guys solved the world’s problems in casual conversation. To walk off some of our delicious meals, we took a long walk along the lake and around some of the nearby farmland. At the horse farm near John and Judy’s house, a nosy zebra walked over to welcome us. His horse buddies kept their distance but appeared interested in us nonetheless. It was a great day and a very relaxing visit.

Not to be left out, Mortimer needed his share of attention as well. While we were visiting our friends, we checked Mortimer into an animal hospital to have some surgery on his eyes. The problem involved inwardly turned lower eyelids, irritating his corneas from hair and eyelashes constantly in contact with them. He needed surgery to correct that. I’m happy to report that the surgery was successful, and his eyes are clearing up nicely.

During the third week of the month, Helen and I gave a presentation on the joys of the RV lifestyle at the monthly community luncheon held at our church. I prepared most of the presentation before our trip to the Outer Banks using pictures from our seven years of RV trips. When asked to do this, I was convinced that we would have no more than three attendees–Helen, myself, and the lady selling tickets. Surprisingly, more than thirty folks arrived to hear us speak about the lifestyle we enjoy so much. I can’t be confident that I persuaded any of the attendees to join us as fellow RVers, but we did get them interested enough to ask great questions!

October is not yet over. As I write this, we’re camping with church members in the Big South Fork National Recreation Area. We’re leaving on Sunday for a trip to Charleston (grandchildren :-)), followed by two weeks at Edisto Beach, SC. Retirement is a great gig! We’re blessed, we’re grateful, and we’re Easin’ Along.

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.