Our time in the Outer Banks of NC has sadly come to an end.  We loved every minute!  Bill and I are already talking about coming back in the fall, after Labor Day.  Let me tell you about our final days there.

There was always something going on in OBX!  We watched a full moon rise over the ocean – a first for some in our group.

We had been hoping to have a fire on the beach that night – but the tide was VERY high and it wasn’t possible.  We did have one the following night that ended the evening with a bit of excitement.  There is an ordinance that you cannot have fires anywhere on Hatteras National Seashore except on the beach below the high tide line, which wasn’t difficult at Ocean Waves CG b/c the high tide comes right up to the dunes.  Our fireman, Craig, with the help of the other guys (no one does ANYTHING alone here – especially make FIRE!) made a HUGE fire – our group had expanded to 12 by this time.  Glyn, our driving instructor, and his wife, Diane had arrived earlier that day.

The evening started our quiet enough and the fire was HOT!  The waves were making their way up the beach, closer to us every time.  After a couple times of needing to pull our feet up to avoid getting wet, a few of the group made their way home, while the rest decided to wait til the waves put the fire out. It didn’t take too long!  Craig saw a big wave coming and announced “feet up!”  The rogue wave that came up was much larger than the others and it completely engulfed the fire.  We were not expecting what happened next at all!  The whole fire area exploded! Sand and salt water went UP and then fell back DOWN on all of us!  Bill says what happened is the cold water hit the very hot coal bed of the fire and it heated and expanded with steam so rapidly that it exploded!   It happened very quickly and it was a little scary.  Afterward we were in complete darkness!  It took a minute to make sure everyone was ok and then we started laughing!  Can you imagine?  Bill checked YouTube and couldn’t find any fire/water explosions – it’s a shame we didn’t know it was coming and so we could have recorded it.   It was quite spectacular!

There was also some solar installing happening.  Sue & Guy and Tracy & Lee both had systems installed.  Best of all, Bill got to add the extra panel he’s been wanting!  Thanks RV Solar Solutions!

 

One of my all favorite nights was Cinco de Mayo.  Cori & Greg served up very delicious tacos of chicken, beef and fish!  There was also guacamole and queso!  I personally do not care for margaritas, but everyone else became a HUGE fan of Bill the Bartenders Taco Tuesday Margaritas!  He was all set up with the ingredients and made them to order in the blender!  I’d have to ask him again for the exact numbers, but there was a lot of tequila consumed!  Lots of lemons and limes, and LOTS of ice!

Another one of my favorite dinners was the night Lee made us all homemade REAL Caesar Salad!  He had promised us a while back that if anyone of us came across a wood bowl, he would make it, and when Sue & Guy arrived, problem solved, they have a wood bowl!  I made lasagna and Cori made baked ziti.  Have I told you I LOVE Caesar salad?

One evening we were “scheduled” on the calendar for “date night” which was supposed to be each couple doing their own thing, going to dinner, staying in, whatever, taking a break from everyone else.  I’m not sure if it says more about how much we didn’t want to spend the evening with our spouses on our own, or more about how much we just enjoy each others company, but we ended up going out and meeting up at couple of the local places.  First stop was a place called Turners High Moon Bar, where they were going to have Open Mic Night.  Bill and Craig played some shuffle board.

 

After we had been here for a little while, we got a text from Cori that they were heading to StingWrays for karaoke.  Ok – pile in the car and away we go!

 

Sadly, I didn’t get a pic of Tracy and I doing our little ditty, Jack and Diane by John Cougar Mellencamp.

One day I got a text from a friend, Dr. Jo, wanting to know if we were aware that Tropical Storm Ana was heading in our general direction.  Being in the path of a bad storm while living in a RV can have serious implications, so it is definitely something we would want to keep an eye on.  Especially in the spring in OBX.  That whole area is well known for getting hit hard with tropical storms that turn into hurricanes very quickly.  Luckily, the worst of it blew out to see, we only got a day of wind and rain that wasn’t too bad.  The reward for “surviving” was a beautiful double rainbow!

Another day, we all piled in cars/trucks and made our way to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.  Sadly, we didn’t see a lot of wildlife, but the trail was very nice, and we all took some great pics!  And, as always, we ended the excursion with food!

Sadly, we missed a family event while we were in OBX, the wedding of (one of) Bill and my Goddaughters, Jessilynn.  Bill and I debated about going for a long time.  Initially, when we first heard about the upcoming wedding, we figured we would just drive the rig out and stay and it would be that easy.  Then in December, when my nephew passed away and then my Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer, we started to rethink that plan.  I feel like I need to be closer to my family to spend time with them and also be in more familiar territory.  The other issue is, the trip to DE threw off our budget and it would be a LOT of  fuel/gas money to get all the way to Vegas.  I did get some pics though – take a peak

Another day in OBX, our friend, Sue, who used to own a hair salon, offered to dye my hair – which made Bill very happy since he didn’t have to help me!  Sue also gave Tracy a GREAT haircut!

 

When we first arrived in OBX and started our (almost) daily walks on the beach, Tracy had decided she wanted to do a craft project.  She gathered interesting shells/pieces everyday.  She and Cori went to the Dollar Store one day and got each of us ladies a plain pic frame to decorate with the shells.  Cori opened her home and we had Ladies Night Out, each of us bringing our drink of choice and hot glue guns –  I think we all did a great job!

 

Don’t know if you noticed earlier, but I had mentioned that our group had gotten larger b/c our driver instructor and his wife arrived.  That’s right!  Driving lessons!  Cori, Sue, Tracy, Eileen and I all signed up for lessons to learn how to drive our BIG RIGS!  I had driven just the truck plenty of times, but NEVER towed the 5th Wheel!  Now was the time!  Tracy and I have 5th Wheels, Cori, Sue and Eileen have Class A motorhomes, and they all tow a “toad” (towed) vehicle.  There are a lot more buttons, etc. with the Class A’s to learn, air brakes, etc. but they sure do have it easier backing up!  The trucks we tow the 5ers with aren’t so complicated, but backing them up isn’t easy!  We all completed our lessons and did well!  I feel like I learned a lot – but still have a lot of practicing to do also!  At least now I feel like I have a much better understanding of the whole driving the rig thing, and I actually drove part of the way (about 2 hours) from OBX to where we are now in Rock Hill, SC.  Not too shabby!

I didn’t get a pick of Eileen going out – but she did great also!

Now – these are all me!  Glyn said I did good!

If anyone out there reading this feels they need lessons to drive their rig, I totally recommend Glyn Carson of RV Driving School.  He is a former ice road trucker and has been driving all kinds of big rigs for many, many years.  He is extremely patient and will cater each lesson to help each student gain what they want/need to from the lessons.  The lessons don’t come cheap – but I felt it important that I be able to help with the driving.  After the lessons were done, Tracy had called her insurance company and learned that they will be getting a discount on their insurance, so I called and we will be getting one also!  How cool is that?!

Our last night in OBX we celebrated Greg’s birthday – Happy Birthday, Greg!  Bill made a very yummy carrot cake for the occasion!  Later that evening, we had our last fire.  We will all miss OBX and will remember fondly our time here!

We are currently at Ebenezer Park in Rock Hill, SC.  Tracy & Lee found this place b/c it is near her sister, and it isn’t far from where we will be going next week for the RV Dreams Reunion Rally.  Catch up next time!  Should have lots of great stories from here and the rally!