Winter Excursion 3, Day 14

Left camp this morning to explore Surf City, NC and see some of the hurricane damage from Florence. We are 30 miles north of Wilmington, NC.
There is still tons of sand in all the streets. It looks like they "plowed" the sand the same as we plow snow up north.

There are trash piles everywhere. Most of them are wood, drywall, carpets, mattresses, and furniture. These piles are along the roads waiting for removal. 

Another pile of drywall.

Probably 90% of the homes and hotels have roof damage. There are 100s of contractors in the area working on these roofs. We did not see any damage to any of the metal roofs.

The beach looks terrible. The sand is black and there is debris everywhere. Most of the decks and walkways to the beach are damaged or destroyed. The drive and walk on the beach was actually a little depressing. We feel for the folks in this area.

Here's one more shot of the camper and our site here.

We are looking forward to tomorrow as we will be in the Charleston area and get to see the Kiddos!👀💟😍

Winter Excursion 3, Day 13

We were up at 0600 and on the road by 0730. Did the drive to Hatteras and caught the ferry at 0900. It rained on the way there, but cleared off for the rest of the day.
We arrived at Ocracoke, NC around 1000. Parked the camper near the ferry landing and walked all over town looking for a place for lunch. None of the restaurants were open! We went back to the camper and had bologna sandwiches for lunch.

Caught the Ocracoke - Cedar Island ferry at 1230. Arrived at Cedar Island at 1530.

We did the 120 mile drive down RT12 and arrived at our campsite about 1800. We only drove 180 miles today, but we spent the entire day in the truck!
Here's a pic of the new campsite near Surf City, NC. This campground is private and is more like a trailer park than campground. We had to stay here as our original reservations at Cedar Point USFS were canceled due to hurricane damage.The site was a mud hole last night when we got here. Got the camper set up and had frozen pizza for dinner. And yep, a few toddies!  It's been a long day.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 12

Headed back to Kitty Hawk (Wright Brothers Historic Site) as we forgot to get a magnet while we were there.
After that we headed to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. This is where the "lost colony" happened. It is also the site of the first English baby born in the New World (Virginia Dare). Really a nice place with great walking trails.

These gardens are also in the area. We did not go in.

The entrance to the gardens is interesting.

We went back to camp and took Kaylee for a long walk on the beach. The weather has finally cooperated for once. The rain slacked off and the wind died down.

Watched a little TV and packed up the camper as we are moving tomorrow.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 11

Up early, a quick breakfast, then hit RT12 headed south. It's been raining hard almost all night, but started to slack off a little as we left. RT12 was flooded in many areas due to the rain. The small towns of Wave and Salvo were particularly bad. Not only were the roads flooded, but there was lots of ruined stuff on all the shoulders from the flooding hurricane Michael caused. They are still in the process of cleaning up.
We made it all the way to Hatteras to check out the ferry as we will be using it on Saturday.
Turned around and headed back. First stop was the lighthouse in Hatteras.

Checked out Frisco and Cape Point campgrounds. Both are part of the National Seashore, but neither have power. Both are right on the ocean like the one we are staying in.
Stopped at seafood market in Wave and picked up some tuna steaks and a pound of shrimp for peel n' eat.
Dropped Cath and Kaylee off at camp and ran into Nags Head for a few supplies.
One more day here, we will do a little more exploring tomorrow.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 10

We left Oceania Naval Air Station (Sea Mist RV Park) around 0830 this morning. Drove the backroads to Point Harbor, NC and then across the bridge to Kitty Hawk, NC at the northern part of the Outer Banks (OBX). Drove Rt 12 through Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head, NC. This area is very populated and very touristy!
We finally reached the entrance to Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the tourist stuff ended!

Got into our new campground at Oregon Inlet about 8 miles into the National Seashore. We are right on the dunes, the ocean is maybe 150 feet away. Got the camper all set up and then headed back north to Kill Devils Hill and the Wright Brothers National Monument.

Here's the sign at the entrance.

These are the four markers from the flights on 17 Dec 1903. The first three they were getting used to the controls. The last one (852 feet) is way in the back of the picture.

Here's the monument from the visitor center. The hill was used for the earlier glider flights in 1899 to 1902.

And a close up of the monument.

A replica of the plane and it's a playground! 

On the way back to camp we stopped at Bodie Island Light Station.

Picked up a few more geography shirts and a few fridge magnets. All in all a good day. Rain in the forecast, but we will do some more exploring tomorrow.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 9

We did a few errands today. Went to the Commissary here at Oceania Naval Air Station. It's the biggest one we have ever seen. Cath had a blast, Kaylee and I waited in the truck.
Back at camp Cath went to the laundromat here at the campground (100 ft from our site) and did all the wash.
Kaylee and I went for a walk on the beach.

We had a brief but intense thunderstorm roll through around 1500. I can't win keeping the truck clean!
Subway for dinner. We are off to Oregon Inlet tomorrow on the Outer Banks.

Winter Excursion 3, Day 8

Heavy rain started around 0430 this morning. The winds were strong enough to shake the camper. The rain continued until about 1300.
For the most part we hung out in the camper and watched some TV. I was able to wash the truck after the rain stopped. It sure needed it.
The Navy was firing missiles (drones) right behind the campground. It starts out with a rushing air sound (whoosh) and then a loud explosion when the missile goes off. They get shot out into the ocean (Maybe 15-20 miles) and then a helicopter recovers them and brings them back to land. Kaylee was beside herself and hid in the bedroom everytime one went off.
Nice dinner and a few toddies, then off to bed. Hope to do some exploring tomorrow if the weather cooperates.