Recap of Memorial Day camping

I almost didn't get to write this post about camping in the outer banks because we almost didn't get a campsite! Thankfully, the people who got the last site shared it with us.  We were actually there first, but they talked to the ranger first.  And, the site was large enough that we could each be fairly far apart.  Here's a short recap of our weekend in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and camping in Frisco.

The first, and largest National Park Service campground we tried was closed due to flooding, so we knew we might have trouble finding a spot in the second campground in the area.  But, we got lucky, or at least encountered some nice people who were willing to share.

Our campsite

Darwin found his shady spot immediately!  It was hot at 11am.

On Saturday, the beach was packed with SUVs lined up next to each other.  It made the beach look so ugly with so many cars on it!  It was super windy and the sand actually hurt because it was blowing so hard against you. We didn't lay on the beach very much and ended up going for a long walk instead. We also set up our campsite, drove around the area a bit, and spent most of the evening watching wind surfers that were loving the breezy conditions.  Apparently, I forgot to use my camera on the first day, but made up for it on day 2.  Here is a picture recap of our Sunday.

Heading to the beach to enjoy breakfast during the beautiful morning (~6:30am)

Some scattered showers allowed us to experience a rainbow

Darwin loved laying on our beach towels all weekend!

He did go into the water on his own and actually played in it 

(but no swimming yet - he's still afraid of the water when it gets above his belly)

The walk from the campsite to the beach

Rushing to take down our camping gear before the rain came. We had everything packed, except the tent! I'm so glad our down (feather) sleeping bags were already packed.

Darwin hiding under the table at lunch during the start to our drive back.  The rain was heavy in Frisco, so we made our way up the coast and stopped for lunch for a little delay in the hopes the rain would pass and we'd be able to enjoy a beach day.

My fish tacos were pretty good at the Atlantic Coast Cafe in Waves, NC

Colin opted for the fried medley (fries, shrimp, grouper, crab cakes)

We seemed to be driving away from the rain as we headed up Cape Hatteras National Seashore.  When we got to the last spot before getting on the main road away from the beach, we decided to take a little nap (full bellies after a night of poor sleep in a tent leaves you feeling so tired) and it seemed we were about 20-30 minutes ahead of the rain.  There were lots of clouds, but very little rain when we arrived around 1pm, so we put up the beach umbrella and rested our eyes for a bit.  As the day progressed, the clouds diminished and we slowly brought more of our things out to the beach.  By 3pm, we experienced more sun than clouds.  And with the threat of rain most of the day, we had the beach mostly to ourselves.


What started off as a day with scattered storms, turned into a day with heavy rain,
and later into a pleasant afternoon/evening.  

 Nags Head around 5pm - perfect!

It was a difficult 3 hour ride home from the beach, but after a nice, long shower, it felt amazing to sleep in my own bed.  My bed always feels amazing after sleeping on the ground and it was especially wonderful after experiencing two days of salt water and ocean air.  The best part was that we could sleep in on Monday since it was Memorial Day!

What did you do Memorial Day weekend?

Where is your favorite place to go in the Outer Banks?