Exploring Huntington Beach State Park

Day 21 – (Friday, 10-26-12) Exploring Huntington Beach S.P.

We woke up early and took the boys to the beach for a morning run. They both enjoyed the walk/run, but Kody broke out in a B500 and was crazy! He really needs to get in a good run often. The weather was not as great as we had hoped for; due to Hurricane Sandy, which is heading up along the east coast and expected to cause rain and wind here by tonight through tomorrow. Tomorrow’s forecast is even worse, with more rain and wind.

After having some breakfast, we got our stuff together to go kayaking. Murrell’s Inlet is just a couple of miles north of the park. We took the kayaks and launched on the salt water marsh near the inlet. We paddled around in the marsh, which has many channels. There were many people fishing from small boats and also in the shallow waters clamming. The weather was not too bad, just overcast and windy. As we paddled against the tide and into the wind (one of these days we’ll do it the easier way), the wind was becoming stronger and we headed back to the launch after paddling about 2 miles. It was an okay paddle; at least we can now say we paddled the salt water marshes in S. Carolina.

We decided to head back to the RV and go for a bike ride. The park has several trails and one that heads north to the inlet. We rode the trail through the park until it crossed over the dunes to the beach. We then rode on the packed sand beach about 2 miles to the inlet (into the wind again). We walked out on the south jetty and watched the growing waves. We headed back down the beach until we were back at the park. By this time, we were ready for Happy Hour! The dogs were ready for another run, so we took our drinks, chairs and dogs down to the beach for another relaxing evening libation!

After returning to the RV, we began preparing a dinner of Kurt’s chicken chili. After dinner, we started a campfire to enjoy for the remainder of the evening. We were exhausted and went to bed fairly early. For once, we were more worn out than the dogs!

Day 20 – (Thursday, 10-25-12) Heading to S. Carolina

So we did get out of bed before 6am! We unhooked the RV and prepared for our trip south to Huntington Beach State Park. The first leg was to drive south on Hatteras Island and head to the ferry docks, where we would then get to the island of Ocracoke. From there, we drove down to the south end and the ferry docks. This ferry ride would take 2 hours and drop us off at Cedar Island. This part of South Carolina is very remote and predominately fishing villages. It reminds me so much of where Bubba Gump’s had his shrimp fishing boat. From there we headed toward highway 17 south, which pretty much follows the coastline. We drove through multiple small towns along the way, including Myrtle Beach, which was only about 10 miles from the campground. We finally arrived at Huntington Beach S.P. and setup the RV. We were all very tired after the 7 hours of travel. After having some dinner, we went to bed early.

Tour Hatteras & Ocracoke

Day 19 – (Wednesday, 10-24-12) Tour the Outer Banks

We awoke early and walked over the dunes to the beach. The sun was just beginning to rise and it was awesome! The weather was perfect and we walked down the beach with the dogs. It was a great way to start the day.

Next, we got ready to head down the road to Ocracoke. The drive took us to the south end of Hatteras, which is about 29 miles from our campground. The drive is a two-lane road down the US12 to Hatteras Bight, with the ocean on the east side and Pamlico Sound to the west. It’s mostly all preserve areas with some beach and sound accesses. The road is dotted with several small towns. At the end of the island are the ferry docks. We got in line and were able to get on the 11:00am ferry. After loading the ferry, we were on a very pleasant ride. It felt really weird for the truck to be moving and no one is driving! We left the dogs in the truck and we were able to walk around the ferry deck. The ride over was nice and the weather was perfect. Upon arrival, the ferry was unloaded and we drove onto Ocracoke Island and explored the Village of Ocracoke. We stopped at the lighthouse to get some pictures. It was lunch time and we found a great little café where we could eat outside and have the dogs with us. We then headed back to the ferry docks and made the return trip to Hatteras.

Prior to leaving Ocracoke, we discovered that we could continue our journey by taking our truck and RV on a second ferry ride that will put us further south, closer to our next destination. This will save us many miles of driving north on Hatteras, then west and south, making a huge loop. We made the plans to take our rig via this route and save us some time on our trip. The last ferry ride will also save gas for our route south.

After arriving back at the RV, we decided to have Happy Hour on the beach. We took our drinks, chairs and dogs over the huge dunes and enjoyed a little time on the ocean. The beaches here are very nice and wide. They also allow vehicles on the beach; but obviously, 4-wheel drive. Apparently, the fishing here is really great and many fishermen are surf fishing. We walked on the beach with the dogs and headed back to the RV. There is much to get ready for our departure tomorrow and the trip back to the ferries to head south. Our destination tomorrow is Huntington Beach State Park in S.Carolina. This is just north of Charleston and is right on the beach. This location will provide more opportunities to kayak in the marshes and swamps around that area.

We then prepared dinner and got ready for bed. We HAVE to get up early to catch the two back-to-back ferry rides to get us to our next destination.

Day 18 – (Tuesday, 10-23-12) Travel to Outer Banks

We woke up fairly early, around 7:30. Began final preparations to pack up the RV and hit the road again. We ate breakfast then finished getting everything in the truck and RV. After saying our farewells to everyone, we headed out for the Outer Banks. The route would take us due east toward the coast of N.Carolina. The drive time was about 7 hours, and we had a stop for lunch and then another Walmart stop for food provisioning. It seemed like the drive would never end, we actually arrived a lot later than we had anticipated. Our RV park is on Cape Hatteras, about midway down the island, right on the beach. We were able to setup and connect the RV in record time. We were hungry and tired from the long haul. We decided to first unwind with drinks and a walk on the beach with the boys. The evening sky was clear and the large crescent moon lit up the beach.  It was relaxing and felt good to have sand between our toes again. The boys really loved running on the beach, as they had been cooped up all day in the truck.

Dinner was again leftovers, which was just enough. We discussed our plans for the next day and finally decided to just tour the island and go south to Ocracoke. We went to bed early, as we were going to try to get up for sunrise in the morning.

Family time!

Day 17 – (Monday, 10-22-12) Another hiking day

After breakfast at my sister’s house, we decided to go on a hike. We drove up to Hanging Rock State Park in the mountains. The weather was beautiful, sunny and cool in the mountains. Tommy drove us up there in their van. The dogs went with us and really enjoyed the ride since they were laying in the back at window height. We arrived at the park and found the trail head for Moore’s Wall, a 4.8 mile loop. The trail took us to the crest of the mountain, which had spectacular views. Kirby and Tommy stayed back at the van, since the trail was pretty steep and we knew it was not a good idea to take Kirby. We truly enjoyed this hike, even though the upper half was strenuous and steep. But the view was well worth the climb, especially with the leaves still turning color up there. The trek down was easier going downhill, but tougher on the old knees!

We had a beautiful drive home, thanks to our chauffer Tommy. We relaxed at the house and Cindy prepared a wonderful salmon dinner. Later, we watched the final Presidential debate. We all agreed that Romney was the winner, in that he again presented solid plans and was calm and showed leadership. Obama simply came off as an angry man, who was rude and constantly interrupted Romney, with his typical attacks and no new ideas. God help us all that Romney is elected!

Off to bed, get some rest for our travels tomorrow.

Day 16- (Sunday, 10-21-12) Visit with family!

In the morning, we packed up the RV and prepared for our trip to Winston-Salem to visit my sister and her family. We had a pleasant drive from the mountains down to their home. It only took us about 2 hours. They live in the country northwest of the city. It’s a nice place with 7 acres.

When we arrived at their home, we parked the RV on the back of the property next to a large storage garage. We were able to hook up the electricity and water so we were able to stay in the RV at night. The whole family was there, Cindy and her husband Tommy, Cindy’s sons, Cliff and Jeremy. We had a nice evening with a great beef stew dinner and drinks! We all went to bed early, before 10pm.

Errands and hikes!

Day 15 – (Saturday, 10-20-12) Errands and hikes!

Our day started very chilly and windy. Kurt decided quickly that kayaking would not be a great idea with this weather. He discovered that one of the brand new RV tires had a slow leak, so we had to take the it off and take it to a tire shop to patch the leak. The nearest tire shop that could fix it today and do it while we wait was in Boone. On our way to Boone, on Highway 105, the opposite direction (west bound) was backed up from Banner Elk almost to Boone. We were amazed at such a HUGE traffic jam in a mountain town! We couldn’t believe the traffic! We felt like we were on PGA Blvd at Christmas time! We have decided that Boone is not our kind of mountain town…

After getting the tire fixed, we moved on to Plan B. There is a lake on the south side of Grandfather Mountain, Price Lake and Park that we had found out about. Earlier, we had planned to take our kayaks there and paddle for awhile. But, with our unexpected change in plans, we decided to take the boys on a hike at the lake. The park is right on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a great drive through the mountains. When we arrived there, we were shocked by the number of people there! We were able to find a parking space and tailgate in the grass. Kurt, the boys and I enjoyed a sunny, but chilly picnic. Afterwards, we went on a hike in the park that ran along a creek, with rapids and small waterfalls. We hiked with the boys for about 1.5 miles and turned around before going too far. Some of the people we spoke with mentioned that most of the traffic there were people just driving through the mountains to enjoy the fall foliage. It was truly amazing! The day at the park turned out to be quite enjoyable!

We also had friends that live near our community at home, Sharon & Mike, who have a family home outside of Boone. They arrived at the house yesterday and asked us to stop by for a visit. They live near Valle Crucis, which is only about 4 miles from our campground. On our way out of Boone, we stopped by their house to see them and their home. We stayed for about an hour and had some drinks and conversation. They have a really nice, remote home that the whole family uses. We headed back to the RV to get the heater on and have some dinner. Tonight was another “clean out the fridge” night. We watched an old movie on TV and went to bed early, so we can pack up and head to my sister’s house near Winston-Salem.