Oregon Inlet - Cape Hatteras NP, Nag's Head, NC

Gaillardia - Common Blanket Flower

It has been a fairly wet May, and Deb and I have been looking for three or four day breaks in the weather for short get aways.  With Memorial Day just behind us, we headed for the Outer Banks. There are four campgrounds in Cape Hatteras National Seashore.  We did our first dry camping at the most southern campground, Ocracoke, in 2013 and have not been back since.  This time we stayed at the most northern, Oregon Inlet.  It's a little buggy, but the seashore is spectacular and there are nice little windy paths to get there.  Probably in the height of the summer, this place is packed, and with no shade, probably really hot.  But since we are retired, we will probably never find out what it's like on a weekend in July.  Next, we are traveling south to check out more of the campgrounds, more beaches, and more wildflowers.

The wildflowers are wonderful in the spring. These common blanket flowers are everywhere! Last night I saw Evening Primrose, a plant that only flowers in the evening.

First Landing SP - Virginia Beach, VA (day 2)

It's a special day...it's retired Mother's Day (that is the closest day to Mother's Day with good weather, so we celebrate just because we can!)...it's also the second Wednesday of the month which is Social Security check day (it's my very first Social Security check...can't wait to spend it on something)!

For Mother's Day we walked the beach and biked to Broad Bay.  After the walk on the beach, Drex had no more blood in his legs and decided to take a nap in the RV, after the twelve mile bike ride to Broad Bay, Deb had no more blood in her legs and decided to take a nap in the RV.  Once they had both recovered, we took the beach chairs, dog blanket, and umbrella to the beach to watch the surf.  after lugging everything back, I had no more blood in my legs...you can guess what came next.

Japanese rooftop irises

Tonight's meal is Beef Stew...except for...there was a little confusion as to whom was suppose to pack the potatoes.  Fortunately, there is a Food Lion only a few blocks from the campground.  With an expedited closing up of the RV, we rolled down to the store...got some potatoes and were back at the site within twenty minutes.  Beef Stew is much better with potatoes than with the other starch choices we had...spaghetti or rice...

To top off a great day, we had a fire...using another Dragon in the Box fire starter (an absolute must have for anyone making campfires)...With Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream, followed by an episode of Survivor.   Happy Retired Mother's Day!

First Landing SP - Virginia Beach, VA

After nearly two years, we finally got back to one of our favorite parks, First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach.  It's been crowded on the week-ends and the weather has not been good. So, we made our own week-end: Tuesaterday and Wedsunday.  To make it perfect, it was a hot/cold day...too hot for a sweatshirt in the sun, too cool in the shade without one.  Of course, that meant it was too hot/cold for a fire.

We roamed the beach with Drex trying to decide if it was too cold to lay down in the surf...eventually giving into his instincts and taking the plunge.  I couldn't decide whether or not to wear shorts until I realized I didn't bring any!  Actually, a wonderful way to spend a week-middle.