OBX

The Outer Banks (OBX) are just that, banks of sand of no more than a few feet high lying off the Virginia and North Carolina Shores.

Like so much we have seen, just the most wonderful country and unusual landscape.

To get on to the strip of land that is the OBX we needed to get aboard a ferry at just past dawn.

So off at the crack, or in our case the pre crack of dawn to head to the ferry. and what a chance shot on the way, this of a shrimping boat.

and onto the OBX via ferry. little more than a very long sand dune.

and unquestionably a holiday destination...

One person that has not been on the blog much has been Marj, she has done a great job looking after us all. So many thanks Marj.

As the day went on it got hotter and hotter and the sky became wilder until finally the storm broke. And what a storm, you know how it is when the sky goes dark just before the storm, well this is what it looks like on The Outer Banks, in this case about 5:00 in the evening.

and in the morning, well just gorgeous.  Dawn over the Atlantic off The Outer Banks of North Carolina.

OBX (Outer Banks) Here We Come

Its hot, very hot, 110 degrees hot according to the weather people, so its a good job we started biking early. We arrived at the Camp Site at around lunch time and were looking forward to great WiFi but of course the staff then tell us   "....Why yes we have Wifi but it only does email...." Just drives me nuts!  So off to town, and everyone has to come, the joys of RV travel, to Starbucks, and sorry Sir no Wifi here, hu!

My favorite coffee shop has let us down.  But on to MacDonalds for some wifi and super cool AC.

So moan over and today's blog follows on from yesterday, back to the predictable, Dear Reader.

Heading toward the Outer Banks in the  company with a marine as guest biker and joined by several million mosquitoes of the biting kind.

More beautiful country on the route.

And more Walmarts of course.

But a Walmart with a MacDonalds inside, and inside that a great mural..

So that's all today folks, a truncated blog as we are short of time....Enjoy    B

Forward two steps back one

Dear Reader,

As you may have guessed from the title this blog is now going back, yes going back a day or two prior to our arrival on the Atlantic Coast, you may well be thinking that is Blogger has not a clue, you are right of course, but I could not stop myslf and had to post the photos of the successful completion of the trans US ride.

Come on now, how many times in your life can you look back on something quite as amazing as that, and wouldn't you want to share the news?

So now back a day or two.

So why not start the day with a dawn shot?  Don't let anyone tell you that there are no trees in the US, there are very many trees, many looked after by the US Forest Service.

These (at dawn) growing in pure sand as we head toward rthe Atlantic.

A beautiful time of the day.

This is North Carolina, confusingly (to me) a completely different state to South Carolina. Amazingly as you cross the state line, you can see a difference in the country.

One thing is for sure; they have hurricanes as well as tornados. My very limited understanding of the former is that they get called names, like Nora, and the have to have the ocean to get going, so  the ocean the people of this part of the world can choose, hurricane or tornado.

Whatever type of wind the Fire Service will be there to help if needed.

The tally of houses just, well, falling down on the roadside continues to rise, one thing in America I cannot 'get my head around' why do so many houses end up being abandoned? 

This one, and its here because it reminded me of the motel in the film  Psycho  was for sale.  A lovely old house.

On this day it was possible to get a Starbucks Coffee, always good and usually something in the store of interest. This time it was the case for sure.  First this seemed to some up the chain, many people work in the Coffee Shop, free and good Wi-Fi, great coffee and a good ambience. 

On the 'phone, on the PC.

But this was interesting as well.  Can you guess what this cowboy (Spurs and all) was doing in the East of North Carolina? No? Well he was delivering mules form California for the troops in Afghanistan.   Amazing no?  I assumed they were going to South America but no, he tells me that South American have Lama.

As and aside I have now overcome my nervousness of asking people if I can take their photographs, generally people just love it. My thanks go out to them, this Blog would be a mere shadow of itself without the pictures of such interesting people.

The later afternoon saw us all able to have the ceremony we do each day to remember the fallen at the Museum devoted to the Special Forces of the States.  

Just inside I discovered that HALO is the acronym for High Altitude Low Opening. In other words jumping out of a plane way up but not pulling the chord 'till near the ground.  This is what meets you as you enter.

In the evening we were guests at a restaurant and our thanks go to First Command for the evening, a great success, we were joined by members off Combat Vets Association, they just love Motor Bikes.