ChrisAustin.com - NorthCarolina

Welcome to the Carolina Chronicles. This page describes the typical Austin vacation to North Carolina.

DAY ONE Sunday, July 29^th, 2001

We set off for North Carolina at 2:09 am, in high, though somewhat tired spirits. Personally, this 13 hour road trip would give me a chance to show my driving skills to my parents, in the hopes that someday, they might let me make road trips of my own. We drove to our grandparents house and dropped off Cookie (my dog) for the week. In return we got nice fluffy pillows for the rest of the trip. I drifted in and out of consciousness as the trip progressed, until around 7 where we stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds. There were a lot of people waiting in line already, because there were only 3 employees working in this McDonalds, and none of them appeared highly confident. While I was in the bathroom, Nate claimed that another worker came in - and the crowd applauded. Then one of the workers engaged in some verbal combat with one of the customers about the service, some harsh words were exchanged. A preacher walked in wearing full church attire, saw the long line, and walked out cursing. He fit in well with the majority of the cursing and generally loudmouthed and somewhat irritable group of Nascar fans. Then back to the car. I figured this would be where I would get to start driving but I was mistaken, so I sat back down and tried to sleep some more. We passed an army truck convoy, and went on to another fun meal at McDonalds for lunch. This McDonalds had installed over every door huge blowers that would turn on everytime someone walked in, blasting anyone in the vicinity with a wave of freezing air. We ate, and left. Again, I assumed I would begin my turn for driving, and again, I assumed wrong. So back to playing war and Boggle against Nate, and I was getting tired of the incessant rain that pelted us for most of the trip. A cop pulled us over, and we got a speeding ticket - something that would not have happened if I was driving. Eventually, after 15 hours went by, we arrived at Stan realty in the pouring rain, took our rental key, and went home. That’s about it.

DAY TWO Monday, July 30^th, 2001

Our first full day in North Carolina. We drove around the Outer Banks area for a while, and went to various shops and touristy locations. I got a new pair of sunglasses, they're cool. We went surfing for a while, and got trashed by the waves. The waves were pretty brutal. Steve thought he was superman and tried to jump a sewage drainage ditch, which was a bit too far, and he went down into it. We went shopping at the local Food Lion, and got lots of food for the week. I thought it would be fun to take pictures of it, and I was right. Then we went home and watched the movie Airplane which was quite funny. It was an old movie about this airplane and these whacked out people that rode on it and weird things kept happening, and it was just weird.

DAY THREE Tuesday, July 31^st, 2001

Our second full day in North Carolina. Also of importance, my birthday. I turned 19 today. We went to the beach and surfed for a while more, until the lifeguard came and lectured my mother on the dangers of riptides in these weather conditions, and how we should not be in the water. So, we got out and left. Then we watched a James Bond movie at home, and went out to Awful Arthurs to eat. It is a good restaurant. My father thought it would be cool to get to know some of the surfers in the area, so he starts talking to them. Then he goes out and talks to the touristy neighbors across the street, and he is having a regular old ball. We went out for another attempt of body surfing in the Atlantic, and met with mixed success. I for one was bashed time and time again by the waves, I have never been so pummeled in my life I should think. But it was fun all the same.

DAY FOUR Wednesday, August 1^st, 2001

This day promised to be less then active when most of the family members woke with some malady ailing them. For instance, Nate was complaining of soreness, as was I, and I also had a headache to boast of. Anna whined that she slept on her arm wrong, and probably broke it over night. Steve awoke with much pain in his knee due to the surfing the day before, and my dad took him to the medical center. I decided (because my headache wasn’t too bad yet) that I would take a run because I was supposed to for cross country. I set off down Beach Road, and figured I would look at the mile posts to know exactly how far I was going. I found mile post 8, and that is where I started my workout. Unfortunately, I did not see any more of them, which was bad because I was relying on them for all guidance because my watch has no battery in it. I finally just turned around, and headed back, not fully realizing how far I had actually run until I tried to run back. It was probably one of the most excruciating runs I have ever been on, as the headache, soreness, and length of the run combined with the unbearable heat, and I figured if I had not turned back any sooner, I would be passed out somewhere on Beach Road. Luckily, I finally made it home and panted my way to the coldest shower I have ever taken, and it felt good. I retreated to my room and read until my brother came home, with two new friends - left hand crutch and right hand crutch. He had busted his knee up and now is limping all around the house. Mom, Pop, Anna and I went for a drive to see some shops. I finally got the privilege of driving, and gladly gave up that privilege when we got to the shops because I get real nervous with my Dad sitting next to me commenting on my pour driving. After our brief visit to the shops, we headed back and I slept in the back. I figured it wouldn’t really matter if my seatbelt wasn't on perfect, because I was going to die of heat stroke sooner or later anyhow. We got back and I read/slept the rest of the afternoon, ate dinner, and was ready for bed. All in all a very unexciting day. I did take a picture of a ghetto-looking limousine and a chain gang of inmates, so that was fun.

DAY FIVE Thursday, August 2^nd, 2001

Travel day. Today, we left our rental to travel down the coastline, all the way to Ocracoke. It was a long drive, probably around an hour or so, with a ferry ride in between to get our trusty minivan from one island to another. Before we got on the ferry, Nate and I got drinks from a drink machine that was weird and gave back change in lots of dimes and nickels rather than quarters. The ferry ride was probably my favorite part, because we could get out of the car and walk around the deck, and stand by the front while we sailed to the island. Nate and I made bets on how many people would wave from the ferrys and fishing vessels that passed by us. Most boats were rather unreceptive to our waves, but we did have one massively happy boat upon which 8 people waved back to us - we were shocked. We made it to the island and found a picnic-like area to eat our lunch. I say picnic-like because there were some benches but no tables, so we made due with what we had. It was an enjoyable lunch, and then we went on our way towards the end of the island, and drove around for a while. Then we came back, and had pizza, and watched a movie and went to bed.

DAY SIX Friday, August 3^rd, 2001

We went to jockeys ridge, this huge sand dune, to spend the morning. A gator-jeep thingy took steve up because of his injury, and we flew kites and stuff. It was like a desert on a hill. Anna and I ran down the hill a lot, and we rolled down it too. Granted we were now covered in sand, but I didn't care - it was worth it. We took pictures by a castle that was part of a miniature golf course covered over by the dune, and called it a morning. Left over pizza for lunch, in case you care. Then we went to the beach after lunch and finally got some good boogie boarding in. We went to Tortuga's Lie for dinner, and it was a pretty good place to eat. However, it had a fascinating collection of license plates from different states, countries, etc. All different types, many vanity plates, marine corps plates, police, fire, you name it and they had it hanging from a rafter. I liked it a lot, but unfortunately I did not sneak a picture. We came home and did some cleaning to get ready for tomorrow's long trip home, starting at 6 am.

DAY SEVEN Saturday, August 4^th, 2001

Time of departure - 6:00 am.

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