FINALLY OFF TO CAMP HATTERAS, IN THE OUTER BANKS (OBX)
After several phone calls with the staff at Camp Hatteras they finally said that it was safe to come down. Route 12, the only road down the OBX, was finally open. We were up early so we could get a few hours of work in before we started the 3 hour trip down south. At 1pm we packed up the (Really? Am I going to have to keep crossing these out) Bungalow which took all of 20 minutes and headed back out on the open road. Our adventure continuing to rattle on (quite literally).
About an hour into the journey we both decided we were hungry. Using the friendly Tripadvisor app I found a seafood place that I thought was right on the water called Frog Island Seafood and Restaurant. Sadly it wasn't on the water but it was still a great find. The food was awesome. The place was filled with locals who obviously knew about the hidden gem. There was no indoor seating as it was under renovation. It looked like they were expanding to have a larger restaurant area. While waiting for our order we chatted with a nice retired Army Colonel who was in the area for a duck hunting trip with a few buddies. We picked up our order of crab cake sandwiches and lobster and red pepper soup and headed outside to the picnic benches. Thankfully the weather was gorgeous. We can highly recommend Frog Island. Their crab cakes were incredible. We even went and picked up four more to have for another meal.
Once on Rt 12 we understood how hard the OBX were hit during the storm. Big diggers were working alongside the road removing large amounts of sand from the road. Flooding was still an issue in a couple of spots but overall the road was good. A massive bridge is under construction that will replace the current Rt 12 and we can see why it is needed.
Bill-
Yeah... that's a digger on the Sanddunes. They seemed to be operating 24/7 to get sand off the road. The scary part was that it hit harder on the south. So no snow plows... but road clearing was a thing.
We finally made it to Camp Hatteras Campground in Waves, NC at 3:30pm. We had initially asked for an oceanside side but after touring the place we decided to change and take a waterside spot (#383) on the Pamlico Sound side of the campground. The BEST decision. We quickly set up the Bungalow and got back to work for a little while. At 5pm we came outside to experience a truly amazing sunset. Wow, we had a front row seat to an unobstructed view over the water. It was hard to stop taking photos.
Bill-
Yeah... all the oceanside sites, certainly were close to the ocean, but... there were sand dunes in the way. Which meant we'd be looking at essentially a sandy parking lot for the whole week. Not really something worth driving across the country for. So that brings me to my point. Before you get set up, have a drive around the site, ESPECIALLY off season. Odds are, there are much better sites open that you can find and move too.
Next on the agenda was dinner. With us being here out of season it appeared that it was going to be a challenge to find an open restaurant. Our only available option that was nearby was Waterman's Bar & Grill. To order food you needed to decide what you wanted form the menu that was posted outside, then quickly order at the bar and wait outside on the deck for your food. It was a quirky place. It turns out that it was a base for kite surfing. They even held kite surfing competitions and the champions were listed going back to 2009. Even though it was only 6pm we had the place to ourselves. The food was so-so. The crab stuffed portabello mushrooms were definitely NOT a do again. Anyway we were fed and ready to get back to go to bed. We got to bed early to rest up for Thursday.
Bill-
Another trend of off season RVing... you end up having a lot of personal service. I think three times we ate at a place and were the only ones in the place.
Day 6 Pictures!
