Day 4 – Buffy’s ‘n Homers

Ahhhh…for once I’m not up at the crack ‘o dawn…but unfortunately, I have Mr. Hangover to thank for that. I am up not long after the crack tho, and am sayin hello to Mr. Advil who is kind enuf to clear the unwelcomed guest from hy head. As my brain fog begins to clear…I’m hit with a dreadful thought. My camera! Oh crap, I left my camera out in the weather. We did get a smidgen of rain last night as evidenced by our wet bikes out front…sooooo, I run ‘round to the now abandoned party-central only to find nuttin but empty chairs and a couple beer bottles. Oh man! All those pics from the last three days…and all those pics I’d miss in the three days to come. Damn! Much to my relief, Jim had picked up my camera after CK ‘n I hit the sack, and returned it to me before I could get in too big a hissy over it. Whew!

Anyways, after I get over my little panic attack, we all get the bikes packed, saddle up, and head out for a little breakfast. It was a bit dreary lookin out, but no rain as we waited for the ferry to retrieve us from our li’l island retreat, and deliver us to Cape Hatteras where we would start our trek up to Nags Head for the night. We had no mobile bar waitin with us in the boardin lines this time…but, twas just as well, as I really wasn’t in the mood to dump alcohol on top of dead pig ‘n eggs…’least not yet. This ferry ride would only be 30-45 minutes long, and we arrived in Hatteras without incident…but the skies were still fairly gloomy as we made our way to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse…our first stop of the day. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is quite massive, and if I remember its history correctly, was moved to its current location after storms eroded its underpinnings to dangerous levels. There was one tourist lady there that probably wishes we had missed the lighthouse altogether, as she got the privilege of takin our group shots…with EACH and EVERY camera in the group. Note to self…and group…we DO have email now…take one shot and SHARE fer cryin out loud. To this lady’s credit, she was a real sport ‘bout our shortsightedness…and actually seemed eager to do as we requested. Nice lady!

After torturin the tourists at the Hatteras lighthouse, we head on up the islands along the beaches with a couple stops to play in the sand…and eventually ride under blue skies and warming temps. Ahhhhhhhh. If you’ve never ridden along the coast of North Carolina’s barrier islands, I highly recommend it. Unlike many beach areas where the coast has been overrun by highrise condos and tourist attractions, this stretch of highway includes miles ‘n miles of unspoiled beaches and dunes with great views right from the saddle. We eventually make our way up to Bodie Island Lighthouse, and mill ‘bout the grounds for a little while. We’re not at Bodie long when this convertible fulla blondes comes cruisin in and makes its way ‘round the drive loop. Yesterday on Ocracoke Island, we had run into some gals in a convertible on several occassions…and at the risk of gettin in trouble with CK…they were right attractive. Well, it would seem that a certain solo rider in our group saw this as his prime opportunity, hopped on his scoot, and made tracks on an intercept course. Of course, the rest of us guys watched intently to see the score…or the crash ‘n burn…whichever it turned out to be. Expectin at least a moment of conversation, we were a bit surprised to see our two-wheeled casanova barely slow down as he reached his target…and instead, come zippin back to us like a frightened pup. Turns out it wasn’t the ragtop fulla Buffy’s we had seen yesterday. I didn’t really get a look-see, but it musta been a frightful sight to send our bud back to us with his tail ‘tween his legs like that. hehe

Anyways, we make our way on up to Nags Head, and to our destination for the night…the Colonial Inn. Now, I’m a pretty patient fellow…ok, who am I kidding?...I’m ‘bout as patient as ole Beelzebub waitin for Paris Hilton to step in front of a speedin bus…but on this particular occasion…whew! As we start checkin in at the Colonial Inn, we find out they had three beachfront rooms come available…and three of us could not have imagined the shitpot we would stir up by requestin to swap out for said rooms. The Homers behind the counter acted as tho we had just asked ‘em to plot us a course to Alpha Centauri…and proceeded on a mathematical pen ‘n paper re-calculation that woulda made NASA proud. After a while, I made the suggestion of just cancellin all our reservations against the credit cards, and just rent us the rooms we wanted instead. But noooooo…the head Homer was now on a mission…and he would NOT be deterred! After ‘bout a half-hour or more of watchin these geniuses get crosseyed over our changes, we finally get settled into our rooms. After ridin in formation…so to speak…for the last couple days, we decide to all do our own things for dinner…and just hook back up at the motel for brews ‘round the fire. We eventually end up out front of the beach front rooms…and lo ‘n behold, there’s no fire pit…but that never deters ole Muthuh. A tin pail and a small fire starter log…and we’re in business. Hey, it wasn’t the biggest or bestest fire we ever had…but coupled with the brews, buds, and the roar of ocean breakers…it was damned hard to beat.

Ya’ll pull up a chair and have a brew or two. We’re splittin the 500+ miles home ‘tween two days…so there’s no rush to turn in. Catch ya in the mornin on our way to the mainland.