In 1982 Anne and I embarked on an epic adventure.  Before we had kids, we took off from work for six months (April-September) and biked around the country.  This post pertains to the few days out of this trip, that we spent on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras.  Anne kept a journal of our travels and this provides the text for the rest of this post.  [I still remember my sleepless nights, with the clockwork repetition of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse’s beam sweeping over our tent.]

Day 27 on the bikes, Day 41 in total, Thursday, May, 13th, From Ocracoke to Cape Hatteras, 24 miles for Mark and 32 miles for Anne: 

Another day of sunshine and beaches!  Mark isn’t feeling too well though, poor baby, so I ride into Ocracoke by myself to mail packages and buy groceries.  I also stop at two art shops.  We finally leave the beach at noon and make an easy ride to the ferry.  Except for the last half mile when we see the ferry pulling in!  I stop at the arts and crafts shops on Hatteras, while Mark presses on regardless to the campground.  Nice and windy there which Mark likes.  Kind of a slow night, with book reading the big excitement.

Day 42 in total, Friday, May, 14th, Cape Hatteras, 5 miles for Anne: 

Mark had a high fever last night, so we decided to stay over at least for today.  After breakfast, I go to the beach and look at the North Carolina map and write home.  There is a porpoise in close!  Mark rigs the tarp alone as his hospital bed and spends most of the day there.  I walk the nature trail and mistakenly “rescue” a wild kitten.  At least the kitten got a good meal out of it.  After buying groceries in Buxton, I spend the afternoon stringing shells and thoroughly tangling the yarn.  A cold front blows in just before dinner.  I hope that it doesn’t rain.

Day 43 in total, Saturday, May, 15th, Cape Hatteras, 5 miles for Mark: 

Mark wanted one more day to recuperate.  We go to the beach in the morning and see lots of dead beasties, including the head of a stingray.  I go to the bird walk at ten.  Marcia Lyons is a very good guide.  Mark gets groceries in town, while I’m out nature walking.  After lunch, I take a very cold shower and then play with my shell yarn for a while.  Then we walk down to the lighthouse and back, by way of the beach to see the shipwrecked Altoons (1878).  There’s not much left of it.  Both of us got sunburned today.

Day 28 on the bikes, Day 44 in total, Sunday, May, 16th, From Cape Hatteras to Oregon Inlet, 42 miles: 

We miss out on some breakfast with some people who Mark met, but they leave us some English muffins and bacon.  We break camp slowly, because we’ve spread out over the last three days.  Always some excuse.  We go through Avon, Salvo, Wares and Rodanthe.  We take breaks of varying length in each town.  We eat lunch at the Chicamacomico Rescue Station.  There is a longish stretch through the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge, but it goes quickly.  The Oregon Inlet Bridge is not as bad as we had feared and then there is camp!