Eastern Shore Oct. 2

Day 9

Hiked 2 miles

Woke to rain (as predicted but we've essentially avoided it so far this trip). After breakfast, things cleared a bit so we took a hike on a Nature Trail to the sound side of the island. It was wet and very buggy. I forgot to mention all the warnings about bugs in all the campgrounds we've been on so far: “Mosquitoes can be a problem; netting and repellent are recommended”. And they're not kidding:

The rain returned and we spent most of the day lazing around inside, reading (me) and snoozing (not me). It did brighten enough for a beach walk along the rolling waves and a few intrepid fishermen. 

Everything is damp, but all the birds are enjoying it (including the Mockingbirds, Cardinals, Thrasher, Ibis and out-of-place shorebirds which surround us):

Here's the bunny view from my chair (actually from inside; it was still raining):

Eastern Shore Oct. 1

Day 8

Hiked 2 miles

We got an early start for the drive to the ferry to Ocracoke Island, our next stop on Cape Hatteras.

It was a beautiful, if a little wet, drive with construction twice where sand from the dunes was being removed from the roadway. At one point, we got badly splashed by some oily gunk from a dump truck. When we stopped to see the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, we noticed the damage.

Undaunted, we took in the beautiful lighthouse (the move from its original spot nearby was filmed by PBS and we had seen it long ago):

We continued the drive past many, many three storey beach houses (all for rent) very high and on stilts (to get the view over the dunes and to avoid storm and hurricane damage). Again, the quaint little villages were quiet, but we can only imagine things a month or so ago.

The ferry was about 30 minutes and we saw a couple of dolphins.

We got to the Ocracoke Campground and were welcomed by a flock of Ibis:

We set up in A20 (there are very few people here), took a walk on the beach, and are deciding how long we'll stay (the town is only three miles away by bicycle on a designated path).

Our first beach walk here netted some great sights (including this little ghost crab):

Here's the view from my chair:

Eastern Shore Sept. 30

Day 7

Hiked 8 miles

We woke and had a great beach walk. It was sunny and beautiful. There were scores of little Sanderlings, normally quite skittish, but not shy here:

We took the motorcycle out for the ride to the Wright Brother National Monument in Kill Devil Hills (not Kitty Hawk as the history books suggest).

It was a dedication to them and to aviation history. There were replicas of the 1902 Glider, the 1903 Flyer, the “camp” they lived in through the experiments and the four boulders representing the first four flights. Along with the imposing Wright Brothers monument, it is a beautiful place to visit:

We were lured in to a couple of T-shirt stores (50% Off; 75% Off) then headed back to camp and walked the beach yet again:

Here's the view from the bike (another Wright Brothers monument):

And the view from my chair:

Eastern Shore Sept. 29

Day 6

It was a stormy night and we wakened to a few uprooted tents nearby. Another reason to love the MoHo. It was time to say goodbye to the horses and move on to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

We were in Virginia by 9:00 and enjoyed the drive down Highway 13 to the Chesapeake Bridge and Tunnel. Along the way, we passed Tyson and Purdue chicken factories, several Hispanic churches, Saturday Flea Markets (even in the Medical Centre parking lot), and soybean, cotton and maybe peanut fields (need to check that out).

We saw several “Eastern Shore for Obama” signs!

Then “they” started. The signs like “I got my crabs from Dirty Dick's (Crab House) and the related “Try My Nuts”. And the “Weeping Radish: Brewery, Butchery and Pub”.

Once we crossed to the Outer Banks area at Kitty Hawk, we were bombarded by T-shirt stores, condos (mostly for rent), houses, and hotels, and we couldn't imagine the humanity during the summer.

We got to the peaceful Cape Hatteras National Park and the Oregon Inlet Campground where we got set up (in the rain) then met a guy from Washington State who had paddled Quetico twice (gave him your name, Kevin Callan).

Another nice beach awaits.

Here's the view of where my chair will be tomorrow:

Eastern Shore Sept. 28

Day 5

Biked and hiked 7 miles

It was a hot night, and these campgrounds have no electricity or water, so we cope. Since it gets dark quickly and there's no chance for TV, we're actually in bed ridiculously early, so sleep a LOT! Kind of embarrassing.

More egrets and horses on our bike ride:

Then we had to move to another site for one more night (B32). No great salt marsh view, but a lot of new songbirds enjoying the wild grapes in our new backyard. We could now see and hear Mockingbirds and Catbirds:

More beach walking and horses in the parking lot. We saw these two (I called them Ned and Ted) bachelor horses looking like they were drinking from the water fountain:

One pooped directly on another horse's pile (a phenomenon we'd heard about...talk about accuracy and intent).

Then we saw them later drinking from different “water fountain”:

We followed a Sika Deer fawn and doe for a while:

Speaking of pooping horses, a mare walked right up to David, sniffed his bike tires, then pooped very near.

The park was starting to fill (Friday night), so we're glad to be moving on.

Here's the view of my chair:

Eastern Shore Sept. 27

Day 4

Biked and hiked 6.1 miles

It was another sunny start to the day, so we decided to take a motorcycle ride. We heard that nearby Berlin had WiFi in its entire downtown area. So off we went (hoping to get the phone problem fixed).

We rode through a canopy of oaks that reminded me of southern plantations and reached the funky town:

Well, the WiFi was available, but weak, so we avoided further phone frustration (though did call my Dad via Gmail phone and shouted that we were fine) and rode.

Highway 13 is a great route through Maryland. We headed to Public Landing for a quick stop. Like everywhere on the Eastern Shore this trip, things are quiet but evocative of how busy it must be in the summer! But we like the peacefulness:

We rode back, had lunch then bicycled to the Old Ferry Landing and saw the salt marsh full of Great Egrets:

More shells, and more horses, of course:

Here's the view from the bike (Live Oaks lining the road):

And the view from my chair (yep, he flew right over our heads):

Eastern Shore: Sept. 26

Day 3

Biked and hiked 11.5 miles

We woke from a good sleep hoping to see horses, but only saw evidence. There is horseshit everywhere!

We met Bob and Kate next door, a couple from Delaware. She has MS and Bob has bought a Roadtrek-type of RV and has rigged a cargo trailer with every convenience you can imagine so they can camp, ride bikes, paddle kayaks and walk their rescued Golden Retriever who holds on to a blue ball as a pacifier. What perseverance.

Saw a Bald Eagle among the Egrets in our salt marsh! Horses came later in the loop beside us:

We rode our bicycles down to the small beach and watched kite boarders in the very strong winds:

We rode to the South Beach for our first beach walk and found all kinds of great shells. We had our first sighting of Horseshoe Crabs, interesting but dead (and even the shorebirds ignore them!):

Late afternoon, I took another bicycle ride and saw horses. Got David and we got some great shots. He followed them down the Dune Trail and was soon almost surrounded. There seemed to be a stallion and six mares (the stallion got a bit “excited” over one and peed to either show us aggression or show her some seduction):

It was a great day.

Here's the view from my chair (I love this tree):