Today's my day off...

Here is a pic of the beach up here in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore ;)

So I paid the 20 bucks because there was a guy with a wild tricked out van that he said he was taking with his wife, dog and two kids around the country. That being said, it was well worth it.

After hanging out for a few hours and learning a lot about how they are doing a totally connected, still running my business from the road, while raising my kids and managing one of their type I diabetes, trip. Wow, that's way more than I want to try and handle right now, but they were totally normal and seemed like they had it really figured out. They are also blogging and I'll be sharing you their link once it has its grand opening. They are webtrenurs and have a bunch of sites they operate about travel out west. Max got along with their dog really well and so it was a party.

I ate their leftovers. It included shrimp folks...

They let me record them giving me a half hour rundown of car camping and traveling out west with a dog. Priceless! If they are cool with it, I'll try to strip the audio from it and post it here.

We then got approached by our other neighbor who offered us a beer and when I graciously turned him down he asked if scotch would be better. I haven't had a drink since my birthday, so it went strait to my head LOL.

We all hung around. 3 guys from 2 or 3 hours away with their 4x4 Jeeps. 2 Parents/Business owners on the road. And then the guy who pulled up late with the camper and pickup also invited us over for some sausages he had going on the grill. He was a trip! He bought his pop up camper trailer used at 9pm the night before he came out here to the beach. He was from Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill NC and highly recommended considering moving there to live. I might put it on the itinerary but it would have to basically be my next stop, given where I am right now. Hopefully its on the way to lookout mountain :)
www.hanglide.com

So more on the pop up guy... I was so jealous, he had a gorgeous wife, who likes camping, who doesn't particularly want to have kids. And they met in church. Wow!

It was funny too because where he is from its so far inland from here that its about 20 degrees warmer. Its been mid sixties here most of the week and it was 80 in R-D-CH. So by the time he got here, and the fog had rolled in it was like 45 and 100% humidity and he was chillin (literally) in shorts and a T-shirt with two beach towels mummifying him into a soggy cold mess. I would have fallen over and died from hypothermia with my wearing long johns on the beach during the middle of the day self. (As I am on the beach wearing LJ's as we speak)

So this morning I had breakfast with my neighbors and got a tour of their van in the full daylight. They have done long road trips a bunch of times and they were impressed with my set up. I hope when they read this they can jot down some critique points on what I might want to work on (aside from throwing out half of my stuff, thanks, I already know that LOL).

We took a walk on the beach at the campground. Its basically the beginning of the end of the main outer bank. There were at least 25 pickup 4x4 trucks out tearing up the beach with our governments full endorsement. They even have signs and access roads built for them. And they aren't fishing, so they can't even claim to be a protected class of "sportsmen". It was so BS, and they were not staying stationary, just driving up and down the beach like it was a road. And half the occupants didn't look like they could have made the walk from the average beach parking lot to the average beach anyway. Its like a handicap access ramp for people too fat to want to be seen in a bathing suit so they tear up the sand with their truck tires instead. An Abomination in my book.

If a place is special, especially in a natural sense, then it should be enjoyed without engine noises.

And for the record, Skyline Drive was not ever present in the distance during my time in Shenondoah.

It gets better... So one prick drinking a beer with his 50's something friends from the back of his Cherokee suggests to me that I put Max on a leash (his E collar was turned on BTW) because "the beach patrol had just come by and they have a tight leash law here." This guy is driving his truck on the beach and has the audacity to be telling pedestrians (w two young kids in tow) to leash their dogs with a F'ing Bud Light in his hand. What do you say to that? I just kept walking w Max on voice.

So now I'm on the beach getting a sore shoulder from typing to you. Max is finally tired after chasing birds and playing with other dogs (Yay!) on the beach for the last 3 hours.

I might go venture down to another campground for tonight. Its Saturday :) Someone mentioned to me a campground south of here before the ferries that is like the Rainbow Gathering. With Max this tired, that might be perfect for another entertaining night.