Road Trip
There is nothing like having the time for a road trip, especially a by-way road trip. This year we are traveling to Baltimore from Beaufort, NC and decided rather than suffering through the traffic of I-95, traveling down the shores of North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland. Hence, the by-way, the slow way, the family bonding way.
Our trip started with the ferry from Cedar Point to Ocracoke Island of North Carolina. Did you know that Ocracoke got its name from Blackbeard? Story goes that Blackbeard wanted to use Ocracoke as a hiding point for his booty (my boys laughed at that statement) and when he arrived ashore seeing only sand everywhere he yelled to the sky, “Oh Crow Cock” Boys again enjoyed hearing their mother say “cock.”
The ferry was running late due to the Coast Guard not arriving on time to inspect the boat.
“Why do we have to sit here?”
“It’s getting hot.”
“Does anyone know what is going on?”
The teenager complains.
Me? I decide to take the younger, more open to traveling child and let him skimboard the beach while we wait. There’s even a shower for rinsing off before boarding the ferry once it is ready to go.
The ride from Cedar Point to Ocracoke is 2 hours.
“Why is it so long?”
“What am I going to do with no cell phone reception?”
“It’s hot in here.”
“Are there any snacks?”
The teenager complains.
Ocracoke is a small island completely taken over by tourists for the summer. Most either riding golf carts or bicycles and not paying attention to anyone walking along the road.
“Hey, let’s rent a golf cart?” I say.
“That’s be COOL!” The youngest says.
“That’s stupid.” The teenager replies.
We decide to walk, or kids not paying attention to the golf carts and bicycles trying to run them down by the side of the road.
“Look at all these cool stores and buildings” I say.
“What are we eating for lunch?” The teenager replies.
The youngest decides he needs zinc on his face. The teenager looks at him with the orange all over his face then rolls his eyes. Add in a Surf's Up bucket hat and the teenager tries pulling it off his head, throwing it out the window. The youngest keeps the hat, staring at his brother making funny faces.
We have a nice lunch at the Jolly Roger Restaurant, then hop in the car for a drive to the Hatteras Ferry. Which the boys enjoy calling “HatterASS.”
The ferry from Ocracoke to Hatteras is a quicker 30 minutes. One idiot waiting for the ferry decides on feeding the seagulls. Bad idea as the birds descend on their car, reminding me of a film by Hitchcock I watched a long time ago.
The drive through the Outer Banks was full of sights.
“Did you know that all the names are from Indians? Maneo?”
“Why name it something you can’t say?” The teenager replies.
I make the family stop at the different light houses. “Did you know that the black and white design of the lighthouse is different with each one?” I explain to the family as we pull into a second one.
“You’ve see one lighthouse, you’ve seen them all.” The teenager replies, and decides to fall asleep.
The highlight of the drive for the youngest was not all the great sights, but the opportunity to use the Travel John portable urinal in the car. We stopped so I could go to the bathroom and I swear he specifically waited until we pulled out announcing he had to go to the bathroom.
The hubby, exasperated said, “You’ll just have to use the “Travel John Portable Urinal” thinking it would horrify the youngest.
Instead he got excited! “Really? Can I?”
So we hand it back, he opens it reading the directions to us, “Open, press against the body or mouth for throw up. The Absorbabeads collect liquid in the collection pouch.”
He opens the bag, using it as the teenager opens his eyes. The look on his face was priceless, “Ugggghhhh!”
Once done the youngest is amazed, “Look the absorbaBeads made it disappear!”
“Now what are you going to do with that?” The teenager askes.
“Put it by you.” The youngest replies.
There is a small fight in back seat of the car.
Nothing like solving the curiosity of a boy with a portable urinal. Everyone puts me in charge of finding out “cheap, but nice hotel with a piping hot breakfast.” My first website was the Midway Marina and Lodge, with a nice $80/night price tag and a restaurant called Crabbies next to it. Located in Coinjock, everyone agrees it sounds nice, so we drive down a side road in search. After passing through two trailer parks, we pull up on a dump everyone looking horrified when the guy walked out in a sweaty wife beater shirt and no shoes.
“Dad, it’s a drug dealer, punch it!” the teenager says.
Finally in Virginia Beach, a 3.5 star hotel with a 2 star price! Well, you get what you pay for, as Max sprays my essential oil around the room and the teenager says, “I thought tube televisions went by the way of the dinosaur.”
Before we go to sleep, the teenager opens his eyes, looks at his brother, "What did you do with that pee pouch?"
The youngest just laughs.
Another night in paradise.
Day two of the road trip, the teenager wakes up saying, “Why am I itching?”
“Maybe it’s bed bugs.” the youngest replies.
It’s gonna be a great day.
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