Day 19

I didn't do a whole lot today. Took care of some chores that I've been meaning to do. Purchased some tubes and a patch for my pannier and made a stop at the local library. A moment after I returned to the house, it started to pour!

Thunder, lightning and heavy rain kept me from venturing outside for the rest of the day. At one point, I decided to stop putting off replacing the tube with a slow leak on my bike. When I started to roll my bike to a place where I could work on it, I found that both tires were totally flat. How does that happen?? I found a thorn in he from tire, but nothing in the back. I replaced the tubes, cleaned the chain and climbed into bed. I was eager to get back on the road again, though I did enjoy laying lazily on the couch for three days. 

No miles today. Off to Conway, SC tomorrow!

Day 18

What a lazy day today was! After waking up, I walked out onto the back deck, and was greeted by the morning sun. Man, life is rough

I spent most of my morning on this:



Got a little reading done, had some chats on the phone, and relaxed. I eventually got hungry and wandered over to the local grocery store. I bought three things: frozen burritos, frozen chicken nuggets, and ice cream. Healthy, huh? When I made my way back to the house, I spent the remainder of the day on the couch. I was exhausted and hadn't noticed before. So exhausted, I felt sick. I curled up in a ball and watched about 8 hours of TV before finally passing out.



Total Miles: 0.

I didn't get what I needed done, so I'll have to stay in Carolina beach for an extra day. Bummer.

Day 17

Today was a short, but wonderful day. I stated it off my waking up at 6 and snapping a few shots of the sunrise over the Atlantic, while standing on the beach.

It was magnificent.

I can cross this one off my bucket list.



Back on the road, I found myself back on the highways. What a joy they can be. At least I had my speakers!



I was able to get some shots of my shadow riding ahead of me. Apparently this is what people do.



When I got off the highway, I really enjoyed the scenery.


And happened upon these trash cans. I stopped and looked them up on my phone. Somehow, using these cans helps to benefit breast cancer research. I'm not sure how, and can't remember what they were called, but I loved the idea!



I soon rolled into Wilmington. This town had a lot of character. I really enjoyed it. Is that Spanish Moss?




This was called Shipyard Rd. I wonder why...



I passed by a brick fence along one of the side roads. I wasn't sure what it lead to, but I enjoyed the cat on the top of the iron fence. Can you see it?



Here is some more scenery as I got closer to my destination.



And some more.



Finally, my destination!



My beach shack for the next couple days. Life could be worse!



I did this for about 9 hours after getting there. I alternated reading, drinking and napping. I was living the dream.

Cheers!



Total mileage for the day: 55.

Off to no where tomorrow!

Day 16

After getting up with Alex in the morning and heading out from Newport at 7:00am - I was sure to make some good time today.

Within 10 miles, I encountered a closed road. No way. I'm not going around it. I''ll carry my bike through it if I have to. But, after passing through, there was no need. The road was closed because someone parked a large tractor in the middle of it. Really?

I had passed by so many things I wish I had taken pictures of on my journey already, I didn't want this one to go undocumented.

Shortly after, I came upon the water again.



There was some truly beautiful scenery along the way.



Again, a lot of fishing towns.



And some more farmland.



And then this.



I had hit US 17. What an ugly road this was. Hours upon hours of highway riding. What could be more fun?



It was exhilarating when a large truck nearly swiped me right off the road every now and then. I was booking it. I wanted to be off the highway. In some places, there wasn't even a shoulder. Could it get any better?



Of course it could! How about putting a bridge, with less of a shoulder, on a highway! Thank God for the "SHARE THE ROAD"  sign!




I could nearly see my destination from the pinnacle of the bridge. Along with another pretty site.



That bridge plopped me right onto Topsail.



Topsail is a lovely community where every single house looks the same. Big, new, stylish, and on the beach.



I pulled into Eric's condo complex at about 2:30. I had crushed the miles today, thanks to US 17. This is the view I was welcomed by after stepping into his apartment. Am I dreaming?



Needless to say, I pointed my toes right for the beach and the pool. At the beach, there were two birds that would not shut their beaks. After listening to them for nearly 2 hours, I made my way back to the condo. Eric had to step out for a while so While he was gone, I relaxed on the couch with my book. When he returned, we ordered some pizza and watched a movie on the tube. A perfect, relaxing evening.

Total mileage for the day: 78. Off to Carolina Beach tomorrow!

Thanks, Eric, so much for you hospitality. Good luck in your future tours!

Day 15

I apologize for taking so long to finally add words to these last few. I've been so sick of typing on the little keyboard on my phone each night. Blah. But here are the details - at least the ones I can remember from the past few days.

I woke up early - maybe around 5:30am - to break camp. I had heard that the first ferry departed at 7:00 and I wanted to get there in time for it. If I missed it, I would have to wait until 10:30 to leave the island. I packed my gear and was on my way. I found myself at the ferry gates at 6:45. Them I found out that the ferry didn't leave until 7:30. That was OK, it gave me time to munch on a breakfast of pop-tarts and enjoy the morning. Plus, I was first in line.

The ferry ride was beautiful. I didn't stay out on the deck very long - they had seats inside and AC. I also used the time to update the blog from the previous two days. Wow, I really am getting bad at keeping this up.




When we finally hit land, I traveled down long, smooth roads with my speakers blasting. It was somewhat nice to get away from the sand.



I eventually happened upon more water, but not the very salty type. A lot of fishermen populated this area. I also got to sea a lot of beautiful birds while on my trek.



You can kind of make out two of them in the picture below. I'm not sure what they were, but they were big and white and beautiful.



After emerging from the wilderness, I happened upon this fine boutique. I debated whether I should go in or not. But, the thought of cheap food finally overwhelmed me. I picked up some mac & cheese, spam, pop-tarts, and cookies. Oh, and some sour gummy worms. After making my purchase, I sat in the parking lot and housed the entire box of chocolate chip cookies. I got a little sick after.



Pedaling through this area got boring quick. Same old scenery - fisherfolk.



I was quite happy when I rolled into Newport, NC - my destination - at about 3:00pm. I had the pleasure of staying with Alex and Mary, and their two children: Ian and Cooper-Pooper.

They were about to head off to church and invited me but, feeling exhausted from the days heat, I declined. They told me to make myself at home and Alex gave me a bag of photos he had taken during his journey on the TransAm trail in the late 90's. I looked through each and every picture. The joy and excitement in those pictures made me even more excited, myself, for my own journey.

After much deliberation, I made myself spam and eggs for dinner. I had never had spam before - therefore this was a unique opportunity. I've got to say, it was not half bad. It was basically a loaf of Taylor Ham. Tasty, yet unbearably salty.

I finished my dinner and sat on the couch, watching movies on my phone until the family came home. With them, they brought pizzas and invited me for a before-bed snack. It was such a nice surprise. After munching on some grub and being shown the latest in video game technology, I set my mat up on the floor and crashed. Cooper-Pooper, wanting to join in on the adventure, did the same using his dad's sleeping pad.

Total mileage: 55 (on the bike), 75 (including ferry ride)

Thank you Alex, Mary and kids for everything! Off to Surf City tomorrow!

Day 14

I woke up in the morning happy to find that my tent was not compete soaked. The intense winds had worked like a blow dryer and had basically shed my tent of all the rain that was dumped on it during the night. I had myself a pop-tart and did a little reading before finally packing up my belongings. I was t planning one aging until noon, but I wanted to get all my stuff ready so I could venture to the beach without having to worry about it later. After Sean got back from breakfast, we made our way to the shore with hopes of swimming and body surfing. When we got there, we decided that was t a good idea. 

It was a lite rough. So we hung out on the sand and nearly got washed away a few times. After a while, we made our way to the pier. While there we sme some people kite boarding in the water that we didn't even want to step into. They made it look so easy. I had second thoughts about leaving - wondering if I should try kite boarding while I had the opportunity. But I didn't. After I got back to the campground, I showered and packed my bike. On my way out, Sean invited me for a sandwich, which I couldn't say not to. It was a pleasure meeting and hanging out with Sean. He's one of those guys that you know are incredibly generous, right off the bat - he has creases in his face from smiling so often during his life. Keep in touch. Sean. 

And so I was on my way. The road was smooth and flat. I was crushing the miles like you wouldn't believe. 

I maintained and average of about 22 mph for the first hour of my ride - getting nery half of my ride done within that time. I even hit 31 mph on flat ground at one point during the day.

I was cruising until I wandered into this town. I can't remember what it was called, but it was right before Spiro. The roads were awful. So slow! So I sat back, relaxed, and blasted some DMB on my speakers. 

I came across one of these, which I had read a about not too long ago. Freaky looking things! I can't believe it was actually intended to be a house at one point in time. 

I then found myself in Hatteras. It was beautiful. Like a treasure that the world hasnt quite found out about yet. I took my time through here, enjoying the scenery. 

And the. I found myself on get another ferry. This one was approximately 40 minutes long. 

It dropped me off at Ocracoke Island. Once again, the roads were flat and smooth and I crushed the miles until I reached town. 

The scenery along the road was beautiful. 

And varying enough that I didn't get bored. 

I first stopped at an ice cream shop. The ice cream was good, but I don't think I've ever met a ruder person that owned an ice cream store. I stopped in the local gorcedy store too, and grabbed to food for the night. Mystery lunch meat, chicken in a can, spaghetti and a banana were on the menu. I road around town until I found the volunteer fire station. Luckily someone was there and they let me set up camp behind the station. Right next to a little pond. Great. I was going to have to climb in my tent early, before sundown, to avoid all the mosquitoes. 

After setting up camp and taking a brief walk around town, I made myself some yummy dinner. Except for the chicken in a can. That tasted like cat food. 

I retired to my tent, early as planned and read until I passed out. It was nice to actually relax for the night. 

Total mileage for the day: 50

Off to Newport tomorrow!