Day 21

G3 and I woke up early to watch the sunrise from the dunes. We couldn’t actually see the sun. It was hiding behind a cloud, but it didn’t matter. The sky was still stunning—swirls of bright orange and yellow lighting up the clouds. Once the sun was up we took a walk down the beach indulging in the peace and solitude. The baby piping plovers were adorable as they raced toward the water and the sprinted away from it. But the jellyfish didn’t make us happy. There were more tossed onto the sand from the tides than we saw yesterday.

Cars are permitted to drive on the beach here—with a permit. I can’t understand why anyone would want to do it. What exactly is the allure? And I can’t understand why it’s allowed. This is a National Seashore. I’m sure the cars aren’t paying attention to wildlife. And the cars detract from the beauty and the calm of being on the beach.

I have really enjoyed the Outer Banks. It is beautiful here. There is water everywhere and water makes me very very happy. I would not mind coming back some day and spending more time here.

I asked a Ranger why they permit people to drive on the sand. Before the 1940s, there were no roads on the barrier islands. The only way for vehicles to get around was to drive on the hard packed sand. Cape Hatteras became the first National Seashore (I think she said) in 1937. When the Park Service took over they allowed the driving to continue because the point of the Park Service is to provide a place for recreation. I said I thought the Park Service was concerned with preservation and protection of wildlife. She laughed and said, “Yeah, the park is kind of at odds with itself. It needs the revenue from the recreation to pay for protection and preservation.”

I also learned, unlike other places along the coast, the Outer Banks are not experiencing erosion. The barrier islands are made completely of sand and are constantly moving west and south. In essence, the water takes sand from one area and just redistributes it elsewhere causing the islands to move. The dunes and the grasses growing on them are all artificial to protect highway 12. Tourists bring in that much money. They protect the road for us. The bridges are built to accommodate the movement of the islands. They are curved instead of straight. Straight bridges don’t last as long. Sometimes construction begins on a bridge and they have to abort the building because the islands moved too much. The only place erosion is a problem is Roanoke Island. (Soon the lost Colony might also be the lost Island). But erosion there is due to the attempt to keep the other barrier islands from moving. A new law, called the Jersey law, does not allow the construction of any structure that obstructs the movement of the islands or that prevents erosion.

We drove down to Hatteras Island. We stopped by the Hatteras light house where we saw the Ranger who told us about the non-erosion. Then we headed to Cape Point where the Gulf Stream meets the Labrador Stream. It’s usually a violent meeting point with the streams crashing into each other and exploding into waves. But it was relatively calm today. Still it was cool to see. We couldn’t swim at the point. The Ranger advised us not to since sharks swim there. They are a bit worse than jellyfish, so we listened. She also told us that’s where the United States stretches furthest into the Atlantic Ocean.

Next we headed to Frisco beach. On the way we stopped for ice cream—always a pleasant snack in the summer.

We are quite a bit further south today and the water is bluer. More clear than further north. And the bonus: No Jellyfish. They don’t seem to have gotten here yet. The waves, however, are quite a bit gentler. Still we had fun in the water. G3 especially. He seemed to have more fun today than any other day we’ve had this summer on the road. After boogie boarding, he fell asleep for a bit on the beach. We’ve been so busy, I guess we might have neglected sleep.

We had the worst pizza for dinner. Okay, maybe not the worst, but definitely close. I shouldn’t have expected anything better. We aren’t in or near New York.

We showered at the campsite and then G3 and I climbed the tall dune to watch the sunset. Disappointedly, the clouds obscured the setting sun as they had the rising one. Still, it was enjoyable to stand in the wind, stare at the water, and watch darkness fall on the island. I need to live near the ocean. Once it was dark, we had fun sitting outside chatting and joking around with each other. The stars are magnificent.