Yonder to quirky North Carolina

I’m coming back to the blog with a recap of two weeks in funky and fun North Carolina. My first week was spent in the Raleigh/Durham area. I was stationed at Falls Lake State Park which was a perfect location halfway between the two cities. On my first day in Raleigh it was raining. So I took the opportunity to settle at the campground and relax from an afternoon of driving. My camp spot was asphalted which I appreciated so much after heckling with sand from the beach all prior week. I made a route for Sunday and headed out to town. Even though it was raining again, I really took full advantage of the free day to check out a few attractions. The tour started with driving through historic Oakwood. Beautiful houses with wrap around porches and grandiose gardens felt so inviting and charming to the city. I took Ziggy to the dog park at Dorothea Dix Park before we headed to the N.C. Fairgrounds Flea Market. I was in absolute heaven as I got so many amazing finds. First I loved my new earrings from a local artist. Then I scored three camping signs for which I’ve been scouring Amazon for weeks. My favorite was one I found with an image of a poodle that looks exactly like Ziggy with a welcome sign and surrounded by sunflowers (official state flower of Kansas and the main decor around my van). This was the absolute best find of my trip and I still get so excited to put the stake in at every campground I land. Then I got a cool thrifted jean jacket and some other clothes. After the amazing shopping spree, Ziggy and I headed to the North Carolina Museum of Art. The weather cleared and I was able to walk Ziggy through the lusciously green lawn admiring the large sculptures after spending the rainy afternoon inside the museum. At my campground, I got an opportunity to make a duet playing my ukulele and my neighbor playing guitar. I also went into Raleigh on a couple of nights to explore the downtown area. I really was in awe of the talent from Combo Chimbita and Saphron bands that I saw at Pour House. I also loved the food at Morgan Street Food Hall and enjoyed a sunset at Wye Hill Kitchen and Brewing. Gallo Pellon Mezcaleria downtown had the best tacos I’ve had on the road so far. Downtown Raleigh is super walkable and reminds me of the Pacific West towns like Portland or Seattle.

The following weekend I took full advantage of my time before I left to explore downtown Durham. As I was walking through the Tobacco District, I noticed there were a lot of people heading to a Durham Bulls baseball game. I happened to be close to the ticket booth and a lady just walked up to me and offered me a free ticket. I was so grateful to get an amazing seat to a surprise baseball game. There I saw the famous Ripken the Bat Dog who collects baseball bats from the players after they have finished their round. He was an adorable black lab full of energy and spunk. Afterwards I headed to the newly opened Mettlesome Comedy Club where I watched a hilarious one hour show called Romance. I ended the night with a delicious caprese salad from Cugino Forno before I headed back to my campsite.

The weekend morning turned out to be one of the scariest drives I’ve had on this trip yet. I was headed to the Outer Banks. The winds were topping 50 mph. The Frisco Woods Campground where I was staying for the week was on the bottom peak of the Outer Banks. This meant I had to drive the entire stretch of the islands and pass through multiple bridges to get to my final destination. Roads were splitting sand dunes where sand was hitting my van, the wind on the bridges felt like it was going to knock my van off the ledge and the birds flying over made me feel like I entered a Hitchcock movie. It felt like the longest two hours of my life. Once I made it to the campground, I was beyond relieved when the wind died down. My campsite was on the canal but far enough from shore that I was able to relax for the night. From one of my neighbors I found out that I can catch a ferry to Ocracoke Island. The following day the skies cleared up. It was the best adventure yet to be able to go with my van on a ferry. The island had beautiful walking trails and nature preserves. I spent the day at the beach just relaxing and enjoying the breeze from the ocean. But not before doing a couple of hikes. Ziggy really loved looking out into the water on the ferry as well. I am always amazed at the people I meet on the road. On the return ferry I met two guys who were doing a similar route like mine with just bikes. They biked everywhere and had small tent setups for each place they stayed. And here I thought I was roughing it out.

I spent the entire week really soaking in the sun, enjoying the sunsets, the shallow water and being able to finally take my paddleboard out on the water. I met some new camping neighbors as well and performed a mini ukulele concert. I really loved my relaxing week in this area and look forward to returning there again one day. I decided to leave a day early on Friday night as the winds were going to pick up in the Outer Banks again. I loved North Carolina and really want to return and explore more.