Millers on the Road did not have a rest during the month of June! First, we moved into our new house, then my dad and brother visited and we all went to DC, and the subsequent week had us camping on Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina. Why would we do this to ourselves? Well, an out of town friend had made travel plans back in March to visit the third weekend in June. We had planned to camp on the beach during his visit.
As you probably already know, we Millers love the beach! It's probably our favorite place to go. We wish we could be closer to both swimming beaches and the mountains, but alas we are not fortunate enough to live in California. Ocracoke Island is probably the farthest beach from our home, a 5.5 hour drive from Cary. You have to go all the way out to Manteo, and follow route 12 south along the coast for 70 miles and take a ferry across the Hatteras Inlet. We chose a second option, to drive 3 hours to Swan Quarter and allow the 2.5 hour ferry to transport us across Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke.
The weather was almost perfect for the trip. Temperatures were in the 80's during the cloudless days and dipped into the upper 60's/low 70's at night. The "almost perfect" was due to lightning storms the second night in the tent. The flashes of light and humid air made it difficult to sleep.
Darwin did fantastic on the trip. He was very nervous on the loud ferry, so his tail stayed wrapped under his legs most of the trip. We are also having a difficult time breaking him of his fear of people who want to pet him. It doesn't matter if it is an adult or child, his tail immediately goes under and he tries to get behind me or Colin. When he meets other dogs, he has no problem going to greet them, but runs away the minute the owner tries to pet him.
Do you have suggestions to get him more comfortable around strangers and while in loud places?
The national park service campground on Ocracoke is amazing! There are a variety of campsites to choose from - grassy, wooded, or sandy areas and tents or RVs. Our late arrival on Friday meant all the sites along the dunes were taken, so we chose a grassy site. I would have liked to hear the rolling sounds of the waves, but I'm not sure anyone could hear waves over the strong winds that were prevalent. In addition, it is so much nicer to lay on a grassy area than a wooded area!
Darwin scoping out the campsite
Arriving late on Friday and leaving on an early ferry on Sunday meant we really had one full day at the beach. Our morning started with a 3 mile trip to downtown Ocracoke. We people rode bikes while Darwin trotted along with Colin. By 11am it was really hot and the trip back for Darwin was difficult. We had to make a few stops along the way. Our little guy also gave us quite a scare when he tried to chase a bird out into the road and Colin lost his grip on the leash! Thankfully, cars drive very slowly in this area and they stopped to let us get him out of the road.
The remainder of the day was spent on the beach - and oh how splendid it was! I could have enjoyed calmer waters, but the air and water temperatures were perfect. Darwin's first experience with the ocean was sub-optimal, but it was only his first time. As much as he wanted to be in the water with us, the waves would always force him back out. It was okay since he was so tired from the morning run! He spent most of the day napping beside us.
I love this adorable little face!
We love going to the beach and very much enjoyed Ocracoke. It is a place we will definitely go back and visit when the air temperature cools back down to the 80s (and 60s overnight) late summer or early fall.
There were definitely some challenges as well. Taking a visitor and a puppy camping for the first time means you have to plan ahead.
Here are some tips and lessons learned from our beach camping trip with a friend and a dog:
1. Secure a tent, sleeping bag, mattress pad for your out-of-town guest so they don't have to travel with these. I am lucky to be able to rent these through the University.
2. Ask about your friend's dietary preferences. Our friend is a vegetarian, so we included vegetarian friendly foods in our grilling options and stopped at a grocery store on the way to get any last minute choices.
3. Bring extra bug spray and sunscreen. North Carolina beaches have lots of people-eating insects.
4. If you plan to do something fun, be sure to include your friend in the planning process. We wanted to ride our bikes so we brought a 3rd bike for our friend to use. During the planning process, the main goal was to go camping on or near a beach and go to the beach, so that's what we did.
5. Decide how your dog will sleep when you are camping. Darwin normally sleeps in his crate at home, so we tried to make a "den-like" area for him with a tarp. He was not a fan of the strong winds that resulted in loud noises from the tarp. He did sleep well in the tent with us, but we did not because it was too crowded. We'll likely get him his own tent for next time.
6. Pack cool and refreshing things to eat during the heat of the day - lunchtime. We tried grilling portabello mushroom/vegetable sandwiches on the grill and it just felt too hot to eat them. Take a cooler and ice to keep cold foods cold.
7. Don't plan to do work while enjoying vacation! It never works for me. I didn't get to enjoy this trip much because I had a final paper for my summer class due the Monday after the weekend. With a 5 hour trip to and from the beach, I planned to get some done while driving and some down while hanging out at the campground. Needless to say, the work I did was minimal and not very good. I should have just enjoyed my time at the beach and settled down to work when I got home instead of not enjoying myself and still working 12 hours when I got home!
Next time I go to the beach, I plan to enjoy the sun, sand and water without distractions!
Do you sometimes take work with you when you travel for fun?
How do you manage to get your work done?
