Ah, Open Road, We’ve missed you

We survived the pandemic by sheltering in place on the mountain, limiting interactions and masking whenever we went to town for groceries or such. With my 92 year old dad living with us, we were especially mindful. Greg went to Alaska from May-October 2020, but I only joined him for July. He sold the Kenai house we built and enjoyed for ten years because the bluff began eroding at an accelerated rate.

Over the winter we decided to purchase an rv to pull to Alaska and live in until we figured out what we wanted to do for the next ten years. Of course we didn’t buy new—found a 10 year old fifth wheel that checked all our boxes. Spent several months this spring remodeling/updating it. This week we “did” the Outer Banks (OBX) to work out the kinks before hauling it across country then north to Alaska.

Dad decided that he was ready to go back to Texas and has chosen a senior center near where he & mom lived. That transition has been fraught with emotions, but we’re working through them. This week he visited my brother in Kentucky before we load up and move him to Texas at the end of the month.

For fifth wheel travel to be successful, I’m having to put on my big girl panties and get comfortable driving a big rig...it’s only going to be fun/fair if we split the driving. So far, so good. Haven’t hit anything yet, but I will share a couple of funnies. You know in movies when a person goes into suspended reality and they only hear the voice in their head? That was me when I first got behind the wheel. Glancing in the rear view mirror going down the highway, my initial reaction was “damn, they’re close! (It’s the fifth wheel, stupid.)” I may have held my breath when passing/being passed by semis in the next lane on the interstate. Going under bridges I feel like I need to duck.

First night out was at Cove Lake State Park, just north of Knoxville. Enjoyed a nice, flat pull-through by the lake with electric and water hook-ups. Honestly, it barely felt like camping. Second day we headed east and landed at Hanging Rock State Park in middle North Carolina. We arrived at the tight, rustic camp site in the woods in time to hike around the lake and then up Hanging Rock before the sun set. Met a young man at the top who had RUN past us on the way up. We invited NH back to the site for dinner and a fireside chat. It is good for our old(er) souls to hear hope & optimism from youth.

On Tuesday we drove on to the coast. We chose to locate mid-way on the OBX islands in a small, family operated rv park in Rodanthe with full utilities. The plan being: one day exploring south; one day exploring north; then head back west. Couple of days out and we are (overall) pleased with our new (to us) rig. Making a list of things to tweak before we take it on a long haul, but all the major stuff is working well.

Trip south: drove to tip of Hatteras and took the ferry to Ocracoke Island. Read about Pirate Blackbeard’s demise. Enjoyed a fresh seafood lunch (outdoors with wind blowing, sunshine streaming and giant raindrops pelting/evaporating.) Stopped & watched the Spanish descended ponies. Drove by the Cora witch tree. Enjoyed some Fat Belly ice cream. Looked for surfers in Buxton and tooled around the tallest lighthouse in America.

Trip north: wandered the preserve surrounding Currituck light house—built from a million hand-made bricks. Enjoyed another fresh seafood lunch. Experienced Wright Brothers National Memorial. Saw the largest Marlin ever caught.

Yes, we walked on the beach (a little). Yes, we gawked at the million dollar beach homes just waiting for the next hurricane. We. Are. Mountain. People. We enjoyed the OBX without much poison-ball-in-the-sky threat.

Greg & I have made a pact to locate and settle in to camping site by 3-4 each day we’re traveling. For most of the trip we were in by 5. Except the last night. Hoo-boy. I was driving. In the dark. On the interstate. In driving rain. Tons of semis. When we got to the park, Greg had to back into our spot (dark, pelting rain) totally blind. I ran to the window and gave specific instructions, he responded...foot-by-foot...until we were in. We may be “seasoned” rig drivers now...but we’re not doing THAT again!

We’ll be home for a couple of days to collect things we forgot, fix this & that & load for the long haul. A great start to our newest adventure. Pics here.