Kickin' around OBX

Thursday, August 29 - Today was a day to explore around the Outer Banks.  We heard that there was a surfing competition at Janette Pier in Kill Devil Hills, so we headed over there to check it out.  Unfortunately, the waves were not good enough (or as the lifeguard told us, the "had nothing to work with"), so we just poked around the beach and pier for a bit.

The logo and artwork for the event is pretty great, so here's a good look at it on the back of the stage on the beach.  (And, just like Where's Waldo, see if you can pick me out...)  After learning a little more about the legends of OBX -- like the fact that Blackbeard tormented the waters off the Outer Banks with his pirate ship, but ultimately met his demise here -- it made the artwork a little more fun.  Note Blackbeard on a board.

Janette's Pier is a well-known fishing pier, and reopened a couple of years ago when it was completely rebuilt after being demolished by hurricanes.  There are serious fishermen here -- no amateur tourists with fishing poles were spotted -- and they even have cutting boards right on the benches for cleaning the fish on the spot.  They also have 3 huge wind turbines on the pier - another Sandy G favorite.

A few additional beach rules to live by which we saw posted nearby:

• Rule number one: don't go number two.
• The seagull you feed today will crap on you tomorrow.
• It's a beach, not an ashtray.
• The minimum required distance between you and the next group is twice the diameter of the largest umbrella.
• For every hour you swim after midnight, please remove one article of clothing.
• If more than three people point at your body, it's time to put on a shirt.

Morning beach walk

Thursday, August 29 - While I was at Crossfit, Sandy took a walk on the beach.   In other words, while I was dripping with sweat, Sandy was enjoying herself with some amazing scenery.  It was a beautiful morning, so it was great to be out and about early.

 

After her walk, Sandy made a stop at the legendary Duck Donuts, which was highly recommended to her by friends back home as THE place to go for donuts, since they make them to order!  While I wasn't there, it sounds like they didn't disappoint!

 

Crossfit OBX

Thursday, August 29 - Another great Crossfit stop!  As is typical, everyone was really friendly, and we had a great workout.  As I walked in to check in, I heard woman who was also in from out of town say, "I'm from Michigan," and the guy behind the desk say, "I'm from Michigan, too." So, I also said, "I'm from Michigan, too!"  Off to a good start!  It's always easy to make friends at Crossfit.

Clearly the Crossfit OBX coaches are very dedicated, as evidenced by the license plate in the front row.  Today's WOD was seven sets of 3 heavy thrusters, and then 2 minutes of as many pullups as possible.  A good, hard workout.  Thanks, Crossfit Outer Banks!

Another lighthouse, and a Brew Thru!

Wednesday, August 28 - As we rounded out the day, we made two more very important stops.  The first, of course, is another lighthouse.  The Bodie Island Light Station was just closing up as we got there, but it was still worth the stop to walk around the grounds a bit.  If the Hattaras Lighthouse is the big brother, this lighthouse is like his little sister -- not quite as big, and a little more refined.  It also has a nice little entry house at the base, which Hatteras didn't have.

When we were on the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke Ferry, our new friend Kevin from Denver told us about the Brew Thrus on OBX.  Well, they are everywhere!  Not only can you drive through to pick up some beer, but they also have an extensive collection of seasonal t-shirts, which Kevin told us about.  (He had a few in his pack on his bike.)  So, we couldn't just drive by without driving thru!  Sandy was willing to buy a beer, but you can't buy single beers at the Brew Thru (only the 24oz-ers), so instead we chose to browse their options for t-shirts and other wearable items.  The staff was very helpful, and quite persuasive!

Hatteras Lighthouse

Wednesday, August 28 – Sandy loves lighthouses, so this visit was pretty exciting too.  The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is tallest in North and South America, and we climbed all the way to the top – the equivalent of 12 stories.  And it’s pretty windy up there!

The most amazing thing about the lighthouse is that they moved it about a ¼ mile back in 1999, since the shoreline had changed and had gotten within 175 feet of the lighthouse.  When it was built back in 1870, it was about ¼ mile from the shoreline, so it is now back at a distance safe from the sea for a few more generations.

Hatteras Ferry and Island

Wednesday, August 28 – The next stop on OBX was Hattaras Island, and guess what… we get to take another ferry!  This one is only 30 minutes.  We’ve been using Google Maps as our primary navigation throughout the road trip (a couple of tries using the Apple Maps app proved that it is indeed very inferiors, even outside NYC), so we liked the visual on the app for taking the ferry:

On the way to the ferry, we headed into the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, where there is absolutely no commercial development.  Just a road through the dunes.

The Ocracoke-Hatteras ferry is a finely-tuned machine.  At least 3 boats going at once shuttling people back and forth.  Since Sandy is a lover of transportation infrastructure, this was also a fun event!  She thoroughly enjoyed every detail, from driving onto the boat, the bustle of all the boats coming into the dock, and even the seagull on the top of the flagpole.  As we approached the other side, everyone jumped back into their cars and turned on their engines - without even any cue from the crew.  Clearly they were a bunch of regulars.  In the excitement of driving off, Sandy started moving immediately as the car in front of us moved, but she then got a quick reprimand from one of the crew members:  "Stop ma'am!  You need to wait!"  Clearly, we are not regulars.  He made us back up and wait our turn until he let cars off from the other side, we're assuming so that the boat is unloaded evenly.  Lesson learned!

First stop on OBX: Ocracoke

Wednesday, August 28 – The town of Ocracoke on Ocracoke Island is just south of the Cape Hattaras National Seashore.  After rolling off the ferry, we stopped for a quick lunch outside on the marina at SMacNally’s:  “Food so good it’ll  make ya wanna to smack yo mama!”  The only problem is… both of our mamas would wanna smack ya right back!  We do have to say, that for bar food on the water, the food was pretty good.  And Sandy ranked the fries as the second best she’s ever had.

Ocracoke is a cute little resort town where the best way to get around is on a bike, and it’s still fairly untouched by the mass-commercialism that’s prevalent further north on OBX.  Too bad we’re just passing through.  

Ferry to Ocracoke on OBX

Wednesday, August 28 – We finished our drive to the coast this morning, arriving in Swan Quarter, NC to take the ferry for two and a half hours across Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke Island.  This was especially exciting for Sandy, since this was her first car ferry!

While on the boat we made a new friend in Kevin, a cop from Denver, who is doing a motorcycle road trip, and rode all the way from Denver on his bike!

Once the boat starts sailing, passengers can get out of their cars and hang out on the upper deck or in the interior passenger lounge.  We sat outside in the back talking to Kevin and one of the crew members, and got laughing about this emergency axe hanging on the wall.  Did it get used recently??  Or, as my colleague Mallory comments on Instagram, is Dexter here??  (It was appropriate that I was wearing my Dexter hat...)

Family visits

Tuesday, August 27 - My mom's sister's family all lives in North Carolina, and fortunately our route from Asheville to the Outer Banks took us right by some of them.  The first stop was in Greensboro where my cousin James and his wife Emily lives, along with their two little girls and another on the way!  It was so great to catch up with them and see their beautiful home.

Then, just an hour down the road, James' dad - my Uncle Bob - lives in Chapel Hill.  We met him for a late lunch at a Chapel Hill culinary institution, Mama Dip's Kitchen for some traditional country cooking.  It was fantastic to see him, too.  We're just sorry that my cousin Catherine and her family live a little too far in the wrong direction to make it to see them this trip.   Next time!

Must-Have Breakfast in Asheville

Tuesday, August 27 - My Uncle Bob recommended that we have breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe in downtown Asheville on our way out of town, and boy was he right on!  Both sweet and savory items on the menu were amazing, as were the biscuit "appetizer" with blueberry preserves.  Also, don't miss the rosemary peach lemonade.

As we were on our way back of the car, we had a brief encounter with a homeless man, who delivered to us our joke of the day:

"What do you call a line of rabbits going backwards?"

....wait for it....

"A receding hare line!"

Blue Ridge Crossfit!

Tuesday, August 27 – For those of you familiar with my athletic activities, you’ve probably been wondering, “Where are the Crossfit pictures?”  (or alternatively, “Thank goodness there haven’t been any Crossfit pictures!”)  I made an early morning visit to Blue Ridge Crossfit before we headed out of town.   As always, a Crossfit WOD (Workout of the Day) never disappoints.  Great to work out some of the kinks from sitting in the car for 4 days.  Thanks, Blue Ridge Crossfit, and to my Coach Sully for finding them for me!