Greenville to OBX NC
I woke around 7:30 and went into Cracker Barrel for blueberry pancakes. I’m not sure why Cracker Barrel allows people to overnight in their parking lot, but it seems to be a good business model for generating more sales. I do see people that overnight go in and eat and use the store. After breakfast, I cleaned out the car and then headed to Starbucks for coffee. I hung out at Starbucks for a while and then crabbed lunch at chipotle's.
The drive took 3.5 hours with breaks for gas, coffee and restrooms. About an hour from The Outer Banks (OBX) / Cape Hatteras the sky in my rear view mirror began to get orange. The sky before me for some reason was getting grey. As I traveled, an arch of orange formed in the sky to the west behind me. There were waterways all around, and the brilliant orange sky was being reflected off the water.
This created an interesting light that permeated everything. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to stop to get photos. I was on long bridges that wound across the waterways, above blowing sand dunes, and along tall grassy marshlands. It was probably the second most spectacular sunset I’ve ever seen (the other being in Switzerland) and I didn’t capture a photo of either.
I arrived at the Cape Hatteras / Outer Banks KOA resort while there was still a little daylight. After checking in, I walked out and saw this view from the campground entrance. I grabbed my camera and said to the guide, you’ll have to wait a moment. He said to me, “I don’t blame you, that’s amazing.” I knew I didn’t have time to setup the tripod and get the best shot possible. The brilliant sky was gone within minutes. I selected a very high ISO value and grab a couple shots. This caused the sky to be graining.
Tent Site
The temperature was dropping quickly and there was a breeze. It was getting chilly, but the site was so nice that it was pretty easy to get everything setup quickly. The actual tent area was an enclosed box, filled with sand (a sandbox) with several inches of chopped tires on top. This is brilliant because it kept the sand out of the tent and at the same time allowed for drainage. It was also softer on the knees and there were no stones to bend the tent poles.
In addition, each tent site had a picnic table, with a wooden floor, a roof above, and a bright LED light. There was water and electricity on the roof supports. For privacy, there were tall shrubs between the sites.
Dinner
A mile or two south of the campground is a Dollar General that sells groceries. Across the street is Wave’s Market and Deli. I ordered a sandwich from the deli, which was excellent. The staff weren’t very talkative which I understood. This being a resort area, they probably just try to do their jobs.
Fairies Wear Boots by Black Sabbath was playing and I said to the guy at the cashier, “So, you like Black Sabbath?” He was surprised that I knew the band. He immediately brightened up and told me how many times he has seen them. He was born in the 80s and enjoyed Black Sabbath and similar bands that I wasn’t familiar with.
I then asked if they carried Left Hand Milk Stout. They did but were out. He recommended the Lost Colony Charon Stout which was a local beer. He helped find the cans in the cooler. The beer was good.
I went back to the campsite, had my sandwich and a beer. It was very quiet and I could hear the waves breaking on the shore as I drifted off. It was a very relaxing deep sleep.