1093 May 18, 2024 Back To The Beach

Last night the more than half moon was bright in the sky, the stars sparkling.  It was warm enough to leave the windows open as we slept.

Sometime very early this morning, the rain began.  By nine though, the rain had stopped.  I walked into town. 

I stopped at the bakery looking for good bread but it is too early in the season for bread making.  I walked along the harbor.

Then I walked to the lighthouse.  This lighthouse is also under construction.  Hurricane Dorian did a lot of damage to the structure and it was flooded with 18 inches of water.  The new renovation will raise the lighthouse 4 feet to protect it from future storms.

While I walked, Tim went to Angie’s Gym to lift weights. He was able to buy a seven day membership for the time that we are here.

Tim and I went to the small grocery for a few things.

We rode our bikes from Jerniman’s on the paved bike path, all the way , 3.5 miles, to the Ocracoke Campground. We got a face full of wind. We did a loop around the campground and then headed back, the wind gently pushing us.

This afternoon, we took the Jeep to the beach.  The forecast was for rain and clouds today and it was a pleasant surprise to catch some sun.  We watched dozens of fishing boats come in. 

It began to sprinkle and we gathered our belongings.  It was near high tide and the water was encroaching on the beach access road.

On our way back to the campground, we took all the access roads to the bayside, exploring.

We had lots of thunder before dinner and then more rain. I grilled our yellow squash and salmon between raindrops.

We took an after dinner walk to the post office to mail postcards. and as we got back the rain began yet again…forecast is for more rain! We did get to enjoy the best part of the day! How lucky are we?

1092 May 17, 2024 Ocracoke

This morning, I took my walk along the gravel access road that led out to the beach.

Then walked the campground loop.  I saw this huge turtle.

I saw several rabbits.

This deer stood absolutely still as I walked by.

We traveled to the end of Hatteras and waited at the ferry terminal.

It was windy but the ferry was running and our passage was smooth.

We arrived in Ocracoke in the early afternoon and settled in for the week at Jerniman’s.

Our first priority was a trip to the seafood market where we got fresh tuna.

Later, we packed our dinner and drove out onto the beach.  We sat by the water, using the Jeep as wind protection. 

There were lots of people fishing.

We decided to drive to the visitor center in town where we found a picnic table.  I cooked the tuna and we ate another salad with the last of our gorgeous strawberries.

We walked along the marina.

1091 May 16, 2024 Hatteras

I walked the campground road this morning.  Since I biked 10 miles and walked more than 12,000 steps yesterday, I chose to take an easy walk.  When I got back, Tim was ready to roll.

We took the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

Every time we come this way; I think about how brave Tim is to drive here.  The tractor trailers are coming from the opposite direction and there isn’t a lot of wiggle room!

We stopped at the Currituck County Visitor Center and had our breakfast.

We stopped at Morris Farm.  We got fresh corn on the cob and zucchini and cucumbers and blackberries.   The prize by far were the “real” strawberries. 

We traveled on to the Hatteras National Seashore. 

Last autumn when we tried to stay here. It was raining sideways with gusty winds and no chance of improvement for several days.  We are happy to be back.

We settled for the night in the Cape Point Campground.  There are no hookups but it is $10.00 for the night with our Lifetime Senior Pass. 

We got a site near the beach access road and this afternoon; we drove the Jeep to the parking area.  There was only one fisherman on our stretch of beach.  It was a perfect beach day…not too hot and a gentle breeze!

For dinner, I made butter chicken and garlic naan.  We had greens with those beautiful berries and a strawberry balsamic dressing…delicious!!!

Another trip tot he beach to watch the sunset.

We went to the lighthouse to get our permits for beach driving and campfires. The lighthouse is currently closed and undergoing a historic renovation.

What a wonderful day!

1090 May 15, 2024 Life Is Good

It rained all night. It was still very wet and misty as I set out on my morning walk. I stayed on the pavement, walking on the park road out to the highway.

Later in the morning, we took the Jeep and the bikes to the Wildlife Refuge. We biked to the end of the trail and back, a nice 10-mile ride.

Tim helped to guide this turtle across the road.

The air was fragrant with honeysuckle.

We passed potato fields and saw geese grazing in the crops.

We took the Jeep to the end of the park where we had a great view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

We returned to the RV for lunch and rest.

We drove into town. We walked the boardwalk at the Cape Charles Natural Area.

The property abuts a concrete plant that is producing the pieces for the new bridge and tunnel.

Tim climbed over the rail and walked to the edge of the cliff above the beach and he saw this crab.

We took another boardwalk through a marsh. We saw a snake, lots of turtles, frogs, several huge bullfrogs, and a heron.

We drove to the beach and walked out to the water. It was very windy but we found a place mostly out of the wind and watched the water.

We went to the Irish Pub where Tim found a Guinness and I enjoyed a glass of wine.

On our way back tot he campground, we wandered through the Beach Market, a nice gourmet shop. We picked some salads for our dinner.

We went down to the Kiptopeke Beach to watch the sunset but the clouds were too dense.

We did have fun walking on the beach, watching the birds and the water. Tomorrow we will travel further south!

1089 May 14, 2024 Cape Charles

I took my morning walk along the jetty and stood for a while scanning the water for dolphin. 

There were lots of fisherman out and I saw a guy pull in a skate.

These guys had a good day!

Horseshoe crabs are beginning to congregate on the shore. This guy was swimming in a puddle.

We left Delaware and traveled south to Cape Charles, Virginia.

We parked the RV down by the beach and got out to walk the pier and then along the water’s edge.

We took the bikes off and cycled into town.  We stopped at the Mason Avenue Bakery and had delicious sandwiches.

Just as we got back to the Jeep, the rain began.

We drove further south to Kiptopeke State Park and settled in for a two-night stay.

What a luxury to have some afternoon quiet time!

This evening, we packed our dinner and took it to the picnic area.  I cooked Omelets with spinach, goat cheese and bruschetta and we had a fresh cantaloupe with a crusty baguette from the bakery!

We wanted to walk but it was raining again and so we stood in the shelter at the hawk watch observation platform.  Kiptopeke State Park has observed and recorded more migrating hawks than any place in North America.  This is an important migration route for these magnificent birds. 

The rain subsided enough for us to walk the Baywatch Trail to the boardwalk down to the beach.

It was a good day.  We definitely miss our family but we realized today that we haven’t really paid attention to the sunsets or the moon in the sky.  It is nice to be outside and enjoying nature again.  It is what we love.  It is what we do.

1088 May 13, 2024 Starting Out Again

Boy is it quiet…just us!

We left home in the RV, Jeep in tow.  We traveled across the Bay Bridge and across 404 into Delaware.  We camped at Delaware Seashore State Park. 

We walked on the pedestrian pathway over the Indian River Bridge.

This tiny turtle was only as big as a quarter.

Lisa and Walt came to visit in the late afternoon and then they took us to dinner at the Big Fish Grille.

We really enjoyed our time together!

1087 January 27, 2024 – May 12, 2024 Family Time

This has been the longest we have gone without posting since we started traveling and writing 6 years ago.  A lot has happened!

The last blog had me flying from Miami to Baltimore to go and help Kyle and his family.  Allison was 32 weeks pregnant and hospitalized with severe preeclampsia.  The goal was to manage her blood pressure and other complications for as long as possible to allow the baby more time to grow.  On January 29^th, Wade Thomas Pearce made a very early appearance.  He was 16 inches long and weighed 3 pounds and 9 ounces.  He initially required some CPAP assistance with his breathing but was quickly weaned.  His job was to rest and grow.  He thrived with the excellent care of the nurses at the Sinai Hospital NICU.  Fortunately, Allison recovered rapidly after an emergency C-section.  We spent 35 days driving back and forth to the hospital.  Wade gradually started feeding and began to gain weight.  Each day that we visited we had some good news.  He was the biggest and healthiest baby in the NICU and we were so grateful for his progress.  Finally, he was able to come home. 

Tim and I stayed in Reisterstown to help.  We washed bottles and cooked meals and did laundry.  We stayed up with the baby until midnight and we were ready to help again at 6am.  We got lots of baby snuggles!  It was an absolute gift to be able to be there and take care of this new family. 

We made sure that my mom got to come and visit often.  She loves babies too!

We did get to spend some time with friends. 

On April 22^nd, Kyle assumed responsibility for a second clinic, Allison went back to work, and Wade started daycare.  On the 23^rd, Tim and I left to travel to Atlanta.  We had promised to watch Oliver and Austin so that David and Dre could travel to Baltimore for a wedding.  We took the boys camping in the Jeep tent at Stone Mountain Park while the parents were away.  The boys had lots of playground time, we went fishing, cooked our dinner outside, had a campfire, and slept well!  We stayed in Atlanta another week to celebrate Austin’s 6^th birthday. 

On May 6^th we drove the Jeep back to Maryland.  We took two days to travel, stopping overnight at Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina.  Tim’s family called Henderson home.

We stayed with Kyle and Allison again.  We got to spend more time with the baby, picking him up from school and on Thursday, we kept him for the entire day.  My mom got come and help and she even brought dinner. 

We stayed to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Everyone is settled and doing well and it is time for us to move!  We haven’t spent 4 months at home in years!