Capital Off Road Enthusiasts, Inc.

Attending were:
Bruce Hatton, 05 Exploder
Jeremy, Rosemary, Curtis and Chelsea Slone 04 Taco
Keith Holman, 01 BlaZeR2
Mike Vincenty and Donna Edwards, 05 Rubicon
Loc Pham, 01 TJ
Bob and Leann and Ben and Sam Weaver, 04 Rubicon
Mike and HeYoung and Kim Weaver, Grand Cherokee

Somehow or other, the lid came off the Baccardi bottle and the ocean's breeze and salt air worked magic levels of evaporation.

The beach run just before Halloween started as an S10Extremist.org event but over time has become less vehicle-specific (as you could tell by looking at the list above). It is really more of an S10Extremist.org and CORE and other friends sort of event.

As we did last year, most of us stayed at the Falcon Motel in Buxton NC. The Falcon is reasonably-priced and friendly. This time of year, most of the guests on that part of Hatteras are surf fisherman.

We arrived Friday afternoon and evening. All the way down, clouds had been threatening and the rain started just after crossing the Oregon Inlet Bridge. Oh no! Another rainy weekend?

Dinner was at the Dunes Restaurant. Because of the hour and the timetable, we occupied two shifts with the Weaver taking the earlier seating. After all had eaten, we decided to head out to the point by the light to take a look around. Recent rains and a relatively high tide had us driving through the water on the pavement on our path to the sand. We drove a little and got out and walked around and looked up into the clearest night sky. You could see constellations and the Milky Way. Loc, who had never been this far south from the DC area, was especially impressed as this was his first really great sighting of the night skies in this part of the world. WOW!

We headed back to our motels with plans for the morning gathering after breakfast. We spent a few minute getting settled in and then developed into some serious planning and strategy sessions for the next day. Ok, you got me; it was really some serious BS'ing. Somehow or other, the lid came off the Baccardi bottle and the ocean's breeze and salt air worked magic levels of evaporation. All were within safe walking distance for the night so no designated drivers were required.

We straggled in for breakfast and met up as planned the next morning.

We decided to head north towards the Oregon Inlet where the dredge was working as is often the case. The combination of the shifting bottom and the amount of water pouring in and out through that pass make this a particularly treacherous passage for boat traffic and a real boon place for the fisherman. We drove in and stopped almost under the bridge for some rec time.

Next we headed north in the direction of lunch with a stop by the Bodie (pronounced body) Island Lighthouse. The lightkeeper's house is open as a sort of museum but the lighthouse itself is not open for tours. It seems it has been on the "coming soon" list for a number of years now. We looked around, snapped a few pics and headed on towards lunch.

We turned west across the causeway towards Manteo with some thoughts of fresh seafood at the Manteo docks but made a decision to try the Weeping Radish and the Microbrewery instead. (We stopped along the way at the ABC store to replenish the evaporated supply of Baccardi.)

Lunch for 15 without reservations will get you an interesting look from the hostess but on a Saturday afternoon in October, it will also get you a near-private room with windows all around. The menu at Weeping Radish is sufficiently varied to keep both adults and the kids content. (The microbrewery is pretty good, too.)

After lunch, we headed south again with Bruce and the Slones headed towards the motel and a little hiking. The rest of us took the opportunity to drive along the beach for a ways (and get a few pictures, of course.) We collectively decided that Mike Weaver should seriously consider the under-carriage wash on his next trip to the car wash!

After getting back, it was time to eat again. Not really but since we planned to head to the far end of Ocracoke for dinner and had to include a ferry ride in the route, it was time to get started in that direction.

Another excellent meal was had at Capt. Ben's in Ocracoke and a peaceful crossing both ways on the free ferry ride.

While it seemed that we spent a lot of time either eating or planning to eat, excellent conversation and company were the order of this trip. We managed to traverse from Manteo to Ocracoke along a combination of paved roadways, barely paved roadways, beach sand, flooded pavement and ferry boat rides. We sampled fine food of several types and got to spend some time visiting, sightseeing and walking along the beautiful beach in the daylight and the dark. It was a great trip!

Thanks to all who were able to accompany us.

Happy Trails and Tread Lightly!

~Keith

Keith Holman is an active member in CORE. He may be reached at keith.holman@verizon.net. Pictures courtesy of Keith Holman and Loc Pham.