We were up at a reasonably early time so we could get on the road – our goal was Ocracoke Island, to a hotel Mike S liked very much, and a restaurant we had all eaten at last year and enjoyed.
And look how bright and happy I am first thing in the morning!
I have to add that I LOVE MY DIRTBAGZ SADDLEBAGS. like, a lot. a whole lot.
They’re canvas and come off the bike super easy, so when we pulled in to our destination for the evening I would pop them off the bike, open the hat box and pull out a canvas tote bag, throw them all over my shoulders (as shown above), and hike into the room. it was so easy!
Besides proximity to Mike F’s friendly diner, the other reason we like to stop in Onley is that it’s only about 50 miles from the Bay Bridge Tunnel, so we were planning to have breakfast on the bridge (there’s a restaurant at the midway point). We got up and loaded the bikes and enjoyed our continental breakfast (but not too much!) and headed out to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Unfortunately the restaurant was closed! undergoing major renovations and due to open in JUNE 2010! We were a month too early! Which made us crabby!
Until we weren’t:
In Virginia Beach we practiced classic Rainmaker U-Turn Maneuvering Formation, and stopped to eat at a Waffle House. Delicious! However others in the party gave it mixed reviews.
After what felt like a long morning of fits and starts, we were finally off! It was pretty much gorgeous driving through VA and coastal NC and then there was a sudden (classic Rainmaker U-Turn Maneuvering Formation) u-turn and our party found itself in Kitty Hawk at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. You know what’s nice? being on a trip with a lot of other people and STILL being able to just stop off the cuff and check out a national park.
I’d been there before, but it’s such a neat place.
“By Dauntless Resolution and Unconcorable Faith”
After a couple of hours of walking around, we were back in the saddle and headed down to Ocracoke. Snacks were had by chipmunk riders everywhere.
We took the ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island, and happily, it was a regularly traveling ferry which left every 1/2 hour, so we didn’t have to worry about schedules at all. How lovely! Our innkeepers at the Silver Lake Inn called us while we were on the boat to warn us of a police stop on the way into town, which was really thoughtful of them, and before you knew it we were at our hotels and walking down to the restaurant (The Flying Melon) for some delicious local fish. A really lovely day!
[[check out the summary post with lessons learned, and a full index to this ride report post.]]
