Off Roading!
~Friday, May 7, 2021~
Day 327
Happy 🥳 Birthday Willie Mays ⚾️#90!
Surprisingly, we had a good night’s sleep. I say this because our neighbor decided to run his generator the ENTIRE night. The rule about generators at this campground is that they must be shut off by 10:00 p.m. when quiet time begins. With each passing hour until I went to bed (around 1:00 a.m.), I hoped they would get a clue. The darn thing was on until 9:30 a.m. this morning. We didn’t realize just how loud it really was until it was turned off (you know that ringing in your ears you get when all the sudden you have complete silence?) Trying to figure out how someone could not be sensitive enough to the noise, we tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they needed constant power all night for medical reasons, like for a C-pap machine or something. Some of the bigger rigs, like theirs have Onan generators, that have a bay specially rigged for the generator and are operational by the touch of a button/switch. Quite a nice concept. They also are bigger and hold more gas, allowing them to run longer. Ours could only run maybe 4 hours before running out of gas.
We’ve also noticed at our lovely campground, something that is quite annoying for pets. There are these sharp, prickly balls (not quite as bad as a goatherd) on the ground, and they are everywhere, mixed in with the sandy, weedy ground. They stick to everything, including Sadie’ s paws. Since the RV pad is only big enough for the RV, that leaves the prickly ground to walk on. Thank goodness we have the large outdoor rug which does help. We just have to be mindful of checking Sadie’s paws often, but she’s usually smart enough to let us know if one is bothering her.
Combining both the suggestions by the park attendant and the list from our own research, we’ve got our itinerary all planned out for the Outer Banks. One of the must-do’s if you have a 4WD vehicle and you love the beach, is driving ON THE BEACH! To do so requires the $50 purchase of a 10-day ORV (off-road vehicle) permit. Without hesitation, we purchased one and couldn’t wait to put it to use. Grabbed our jackets, the dog and some munchies and headed out.
From our campground there is a seasonal ORV route and about 4 access points that get you on to the sand before you head north. The map designates what time of the year each ORV route is accessible (smart! Or your vehicle will be swimming in the Atlantic). One of the most important rules about driving in sand, is to keep tire pressure low…..15-20 PSI low. Normally we have 60 PSI on the front tires and 65 PSI on the back tires. So it made us a little nervous to drop them down that low with the weight of our “garage” in the back. And it takes a while to drop the pressure that low. So we dropped it to 40. Being total rookies at off-roading, we should have heeded the warnings. Getting on the beach was fine. Getting off the beach….not so much. We must have only been out there for about 30 minutes, tops, when the clouds got darker, the wind picked up, and we saw lightning in the distance. Now I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t seem real smart to be out on an open beach, with no high points around; just open sky and open beach. Not a good combination. So we quickly packed up and tried to head back up the sandy slope to the access road. Here was the problem. The sand was really deep on the slope trying to get up to the access road, making it very tricky to maneuver. Our tire pressure was too high, and all we did was spin. So Jeff tried backing up, then moving forward, revving the engine a little too high. I’m sure it wasn’t happy.🥺 After a few tries, we finally had enough umph to get up the modest hill. Another thing we learned, slow is better. When we approached the slope to get up, Jeff tried to go too fast, which only made it worse. Are you visualizing this now? Anyway, lesson learned. I’m sure a few “regulars'' found it quite entertaining.
Within minutes of getting into the trailer, we had one of the heaviest downpours yet. About as heavy as what we experienced in Louisiana and South Carolina. What a show! And at the end of it all,
a double rainbow! 🌈
Oh and good news. Our neighbors shut off their generator right at 10:00 p.m.!! Not sure if someone else scolded them, but nice we didn’t have to. So instead, it looks like we’re in for nature sounds tonight 🦜🦉🌜 and a peaceful 😴night’s sleep.