Atlantic Beginnings
With eager spirits, we said "see you later" to our Charlotte-based family and friends, a storage unit of tightly packed belongings, and the comfort of the Queen City in exchange for eight months of global unknown. Pre-marriage dreams turned into newlywed reality as we put careers, a modest whiskey collection, and propagated succulents in our rear-view.
Our desire for worldwide travel was prefaced by a compulsory responsibility to first tour our own backyard and drive across the United States. Ahead awaited three continents hardly explored by either of us but a cross-country trip we thought deserved equal appreciation and could also serve as a trial run; allowing us to perfect the techniques and tricks of international wanderers in a more familiar environment.
Included in our over-packed Toyota 4-Runner; too much clothes, too much gear, and a large cooler to assist with the culinary budget. We have until mid-June to determine what makes the cut for abroad and what gets lovingly left behind. We chose the Outer Banks of North Carolina as our starting line because you can’t complete a cross-country trip without first touching some water.
We arrived in Nags Head several hours after initially planned and found live music and a fair seafood meal. Aside from starting our trip from the Atlantic, we had traveled there purposely to set a tent up near the dunes and camp with the waves crashing close by. Ryan, our bartender for the evening, informed us that tent camping is rarely done in the immediate area (more so further south in Hatteras) but he eagerly encouraged our plans with an "ask for forgiveness before permission" attitude.
With a car full of gear and the night wearing on, we became discouraged at No Parking and No Beach Access signs up and down the coastline. After several minutes, we started to discuss our options: 1) Ignore the signs and risk it 2) Check into a hotel and kiss the budget goodbye or 3) Knock on a door and borrow their “backbeach.”
Before failure had fully set in, we found a house lit like a beacon and a dozen late-nighters in the driveway around a makeshift fire pit. In a swift move of desperation and resolution, we pulled into the front of the house and put the car in park. Option three.
There amongst family and friends were Greg and Staci; newlyweds from earlier that afternoon winding down after a full day of “I dos” and celebration. After a well-deserved “Congratulations” from us and friendly laughs from them, they openly offered the gazebo behind their home for a safe place to park our tent for the night.
Grateful for their generosity, we quietly retired in our temporary dune-guarded oasis and quickly fell asleep to the crashing of the Atlantic. It wasn’t until the morning when we discovered the oceanfront paradise and warm welcome to the world ready to be explored.
