hi all. i'm sorry i have not been writing. coffee shops with wifi are generally expensive [ i'm talking to you, starbucks ], small towns often don't have wifi, & honestly, sometimes i just don't feel like it.
to catch you up, i'll let you know that * we're now on the outer banks, nc, & have been for a few days. at this exact moment we are in hattaras village, on hattaras island. we are sitting in the van, in the beach parking lot, using the ferry terminal free wifi. earlier this morning we were on the front porch of a coffee shop called 'dancing turtle', where we sipped coffee [ i had two because refills were only $1 ] & enjoyed the breeze coming in off the water. i wrote a little there too, & while i did that luke set off on foot to find bread to slather with the peanut butter we've been carrying around for at least two weeks.
since arriving on the outer banks we've been enjoying glorious weather & a slower pace. last night was the fifth in a row we've slept at the beach. the two days & nights prior to this we were in kill devil hill & just before that we spent two nights in cape charles, virginia.
out here, every town we've come across has been near empty. the busy season hasn't yet arrived, & because of that we've met more locals than tourists, have had our pick of spots on the beach & have had many moments where we were the only two people in sight. unfortunately this won't last long as monday is memorial day - the official start to summer.
prior to making our way here, we found a number of our destinations less than desirable. burlington, washington, ocean city & virginia beach were disappointments due to either weather, gaudiness, or number of tourists, but, on a positive note, our going to each of these places is what got us to the smaller towns or suburbs; namely alexandria, berlin & cape charles.
i've told you about both alexandria & berlin in previous posts so i'll touch on assateague island & cape charles here.
assateague island is a state park in virginia where the wild ponies roam [ in actuality, they are feral ponies ]. we spent some time there, on the island, in awe of the beauty of the landscape & the creatures themselves as we made the trip to virginia beach. & though, admittedly, i was a little frightened, [ there were signs everywhere warning visitors not to approach the ponies as they are known to kick & bite ] seeing those ponies in that setting was a dream come true.
as for cape charles, we discovered it by accident. when we stopped to stretch our legs on route to virginia beach, we happened upon a waterfront restaurant. in this restaurant were two patrons, both from the area. she [ sarah ] was a marine biologist [ she hooked us up with guest passes to the aquarium in virginia beach ] & very interested in our trip. in conversation, she mentioned cape charles, the last stop before the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel, & it sounded lovely.
& it was. the town had one true main street which lead to the waterfront & at this waterfront was a stunning beach, complete with sand dunes, a pier that stretched out into the sea, a public restroom & ample free parking. the perfect spot to hunker down a few days. so we did. and, though the weather didn't exactly cooperate those two days, we managed to do a beachfront workout, have an outdoor shower & meet a few lively characters, all of whom we met on one night, the second [ & last ] we were there
these characters were michael, a businessman from baltimore that spends as much time in cape charles as he can get away with [ as his wife / his job will let him get away with ]. he was so kind, so knowledgeable about the area & he offered us a hot shower & a place to sleep should we want to get out of the van for the night.
now enter skip, a local & an acquaintance of michael's. he was in his early sixties, had a sun & salt water worn face & biceps like i'd never seen. he was an oysterman. his accent was the strongest we'd heard yet & i could barely understand him. but i wanted desperately to understand him because i knew he had stories to tell. & he did. he was a recovering opiate addict, he was a father, he was a cancer survivor. he was loud & enthusiastic & generous.
next, enter the captain & his sidekick. as the rain cleared, a building-sized yacht pulled into the harbour. we were enthralled. we all waited with baited breath to see who would step onto the dock. it was two men, both of whom stood out like sore thumbs [ perhaps even more than we did ]. the captain was taking the vessel from florida to new jersey & the sidekick was just along for the ride. though captain was a little uppity, the sidekick was lovely. he was genuinely intrigued by our trip & with our living in ireland [ he is headed there himself ]. he peppered us with questions, which we happily answered &, in return he bought us a beer &, before heading back to the yacht, made a speech about our journey & wished us well. it was really lovely.
\
& last but not least, at a pit stop on our way back to the van to sleep, we met hannah; a fun loving twenty-something local. we talked travel, the area & instagram. turns out she has over four thousand followers [ i can't even imagine ] & she [ very smartly ] uses this insta-fame to her benefit. [ if you have been following our instagram page you'll know that the next day she very kindly posted a photo of us, urging her followers to follow us & that this ended up providing us with a very unexpected & exciting experience in virginia beach later that afternoon ].
when we woke to more bad weather we made the difficult decision to leave. on one hand we wanted to stay & hook up with michael [ we had made tentative plans to meet ], but on the other hand, we were chasing the sun & it wasn't due to show up there any time soon, so we emailed michael to say farewell & hit the road again.
* i started writing this in hattaras village but finished it just now in a coffee shop in morehead city.
follow us on instagram: www.instagram.com/openheartsopenroad
to catch you up, i'll let you know that * we're now on the outer banks, nc, & have been for a few days. at this exact moment we are in hattaras village, on hattaras island. we are sitting in the van, in the beach parking lot, using the ferry terminal free wifi. earlier this morning we were on the front porch of a coffee shop called 'dancing turtle', where we sipped coffee [ i had two because refills were only $1 ] & enjoyed the breeze coming in off the water. i wrote a little there too, & while i did that luke set off on foot to find bread to slather with the peanut butter we've been carrying around for at least two weeks.
since arriving on the outer banks we've been enjoying glorious weather & a slower pace. last night was the fifth in a row we've slept at the beach. the two days & nights prior to this we were in kill devil hill & just before that we spent two nights in cape charles, virginia.
out here, every town we've come across has been near empty. the busy season hasn't yet arrived, & because of that we've met more locals than tourists, have had our pick of spots on the beach & have had many moments where we were the only two people in sight. unfortunately this won't last long as monday is memorial day - the official start to summer.
prior to making our way here, we found a number of our destinations less than desirable. burlington, washington, ocean city & virginia beach were disappointments due to either weather, gaudiness, or number of tourists, but, on a positive note, our going to each of these places is what got us to the smaller towns or suburbs; namely alexandria, berlin & cape charles.
i've told you about both alexandria & berlin in previous posts so i'll touch on assateague island & cape charles here.
assateague island is a state park in virginia where the wild ponies roam [ in actuality, they are feral ponies ]. we spent some time there, on the island, in awe of the beauty of the landscape & the creatures themselves as we made the trip to virginia beach. & though, admittedly, i was a little frightened, [ there were signs everywhere warning visitors not to approach the ponies as they are known to kick & bite ] seeing those ponies in that setting was a dream come true.
as for cape charles, we discovered it by accident. when we stopped to stretch our legs on route to virginia beach, we happened upon a waterfront restaurant. in this restaurant were two patrons, both from the area. she [ sarah ] was a marine biologist [ she hooked us up with guest passes to the aquarium in virginia beach ] & very interested in our trip. in conversation, she mentioned cape charles, the last stop before the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel, & it sounded lovely.
& it was. the town had one true main street which lead to the waterfront & at this waterfront was a stunning beach, complete with sand dunes, a pier that stretched out into the sea, a public restroom & ample free parking. the perfect spot to hunker down a few days. so we did. and, though the weather didn't exactly cooperate those two days, we managed to do a beachfront workout, have an outdoor shower & meet a few lively characters, all of whom we met on one night, the second [ & last ] we were there
these characters were michael, a businessman from baltimore that spends as much time in cape charles as he can get away with [ as his wife / his job will let him get away with ]. he was so kind, so knowledgeable about the area & he offered us a hot shower & a place to sleep should we want to get out of the van for the night.
now enter skip, a local & an acquaintance of michael's. he was in his early sixties, had a sun & salt water worn face & biceps like i'd never seen. he was an oysterman. his accent was the strongest we'd heard yet & i could barely understand him. but i wanted desperately to understand him because i knew he had stories to tell. & he did. he was a recovering opiate addict, he was a father, he was a cancer survivor. he was loud & enthusiastic & generous.
next, enter the captain & his sidekick. as the rain cleared, a building-sized yacht pulled into the harbour. we were enthralled. we all waited with baited breath to see who would step onto the dock. it was two men, both of whom stood out like sore thumbs [ perhaps even more than we did ]. the captain was taking the vessel from florida to new jersey & the sidekick was just along for the ride. though captain was a little uppity, the sidekick was lovely. he was genuinely intrigued by our trip & with our living in ireland [ he is headed there himself ]. he peppered us with questions, which we happily answered &, in return he bought us a beer &, before heading back to the yacht, made a speech about our journey & wished us well. it was really lovely.
\
& last but not least, at a pit stop on our way back to the van to sleep, we met hannah; a fun loving twenty-something local. we talked travel, the area & instagram. turns out she has over four thousand followers [ i can't even imagine ] & she [ very smartly ] uses this insta-fame to her benefit. [ if you have been following our instagram page you'll know that the next day she very kindly posted a photo of us, urging her followers to follow us & that this ended up providing us with a very unexpected & exciting experience in virginia beach later that afternoon ].
when we woke to more bad weather we made the difficult decision to leave. on one hand we wanted to stay & hook up with michael [ we had made tentative plans to meet ], but on the other hand, we were chasing the sun & it wasn't due to show up there any time soon, so we emailed michael to say farewell & hit the road again.
* i started writing this in hattaras village but finished it just now in a coffee shop in morehead city.
follow us on instagram: www.instagram.com/openheartsopenroad
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