By Mike Yager
This past weekend Kevin, Holly and myself made a beach run to the Cape
Hatteras National Seashore. We had a blast.
DAY 1 Saturday
I already had my doors off and top down, and at 5:30 the top came off of the
Four-Runner…. That looks so cool!!!. We left Kevin’s house at 6am and
after a brief stop at the grocery store/gas station and place of food, we
were rolling by 7am. We headed straight out 64 till we hit ocean. Then south
on Rt. 12 till we hit the campsite. Total driving time 4.5 hours counting
stops for fuel (me) and food (Kevin). We were lucky to get a site Saturday
night at the Oregon Inlet Camp Site. We quickly setup the tents, grabbed
some food, aired down then hit the beach. What a blast!!!. We cruised for a
while, then stooped to go swimming in the ocean. Some of the beach section
were still closed due to the storms, but what was open was still fun. We
were attacked by miniature sea urchins as we swam so needless to say we cut
swimming short. Nap time (Kevin & holly) and time to read the paper (me). OK
more driving. The sand was a little wet so it made driving that much easier.
What a wide selection of beach trucks. The guy camping next to us had a
awesome truck. This is hard to explain so follow close. 2 1/2 ton military
axles, GMC topkick tilt front end, 1 ton Chevy dully box, 363(336?) big
block Chevy (bus engine), Allison Automatic, Rear mounted PTO winch, 44″
super swapper/gumbo mudder tires.
About 4:30 we were starving so we headed into Nags Head for some eats. We
found an ok restaurant to eat. We then headed back to the camp sites to
rest, and at about 6:30 me and Kevin headed to the Wright Brothers National
Memorial for some twilight pictures. (I had never been there before, so what
a sight for me) The park was closed so I walked the 1/4 mile to the monument
on top of the hill. What an awesome view. (Thanks for the warning about the
cacti, Kevin. ouch, stay on the path) We then headed to the ABC store and
the Beer through drive in beer store. Cool… We headed back and BS’d for a
while then hit the sack. The breeze from the ocean made sleeping easy…
DAY2 Sunday
We woke up, cooked bacon and eggs while our other neighbors (college kids)
drooled in agony as they wasted away… (After some conversation the
previous day we learned that the were at Uwharrie during the last club run
and they thought remembered us from the “Jeep Jam” group they passed. Uhhhhh
ya that was us…….) After our complimentary cold showers we packed up and
headed out. Off to Ocracoke Island
We drove for about and hour and a half, only stopping for Ice. We then
waited in line for our ferry for about half an hour. Once on the 40 minute
ferry ride we could relax and nap for a while…. Once on Ocracoke Island we
immediately noticed less people, and cars as well as slightly more storm
damage.. We found our way to the camp site and we were glad I had called
Thursday (last minute as usual) to make reservations. We had an awesome dune
site. We pitched the tents and unloaded. Just then Kevin spots a white Jeep
Cherokee that looked familiar. Guess who we found? Rob, Megan and Moonshine
Sadler. We find them swimming and having a good old time. So we make plans
to hang out latter. And we were off to the beach our selves (the ORV
sections) to have some fun. We found a nice flat open area where the tide
covers when its in but dry when its out. We could get moving along really
fast out there plus throw in a few doughnuts we were talking a super time
here. Ok time to eat again. We found a nice local joint to eat plus more
ice… More beach on the way back and off to the camp site…. We chilled
for a while and hooked up with Rob, Megan and their friends (Mark and ???)
Nice couple. We pooled our resources for one hell of a cookout. They
supplied sea food, Shrimp crab, oysters, clams etc. We brought steaks,
burgers and beer. ( who are the red necks here?)
After the feast we dragged all the fire wood and beer out to the beach for
one hell of a bon fire. (Match light charcoal works great in windy
conditions) In no time flat we all were doing great.. The moon was so bright
you didn’t need a flashlight… The beach, the fire, the moon, the stars,
the ocean, it would have been a perfect night to share with someone.
anyways…. More beer and smores!!!!!! whhhhho whooo.
DAY3
We had some pop tarts and tea.. Packed up, showered than detoured to the
beach on the way to town for some brunch. After some food, beer and bad game
of pool, we bumped up our ferry reservation to 3pm. We had an hour to kill,
so we just bummed around town and relaxed. On the ferry we aired up our
tires, snoozed some more, and conversed with our neighbors. A really nice
ride, I would recommend it to everyone. After the ferry ride we gassed up
and headed back Rt 70 to Raleigh. I returned home about 8pm.
Pictures soon! If anyone want more info on the trip, I picked up many
brochures and maps. Feel free to contact me…
Hope you enjoyed reading about our basically uneventful but highly relaxing
trip. What a great weekend!!!!
-mike