To Bell's Island

May 4, 2024

I have dug myself a deeper hole on the journal backlog so this will be a quick one.

Nick was out early this morning to take care of things at their Stack em High breakfast place. Dawn offers us her homemade granola with berries this morning, my favorite breakfast treat. She is on her way out the door too and tells us not to hurry off. I'm always amazed and grateful for the flexibility and trust that our WarmShowers hosts offer us.

The goats are still here to bid us farewell.

We're wrapping up our journey through North Carolina today with a shortish ride. For the most part, alternative roads let us stay off the busier Caratoke Highway/ Route 158.

We like this sort of road much better. Ride wherever you want.

Barry clearly wants to move faster than I do today. Go for it man.

There aren't so many beach houses on the route today. This one reminds me of a Cape Cod house with the weathered shingles. I'm so happy we decided to extend our tour to finish up there.

We pass quite a few cyclists riding these beautiful roads on this cool Saturday morning.

Good stop for dinner provisions and reggae music at Morris Farm Market

For the most part the riding has been pleasant through North Carolina, so I'm disappointed by a nasty 5 mile stretch on the highway on our last day here. The return of the dastardly rumble strip on a narrow shoulder drives us back out to take the lane. A few drivers express their displeasure as they roar around us. Then 158 swings to the west toward Elizabeth City and we're done with it, continuing north on 168 to the turnoff for Bell's Island.

Bell's Island road runs three miles through serene wetlands on the way to the campground at the southern tip of the island. The campground is mostly an RV park, but the tent camping is pretty nice. We have the grassy tent space on the water to ourselves.

It's windy in the campground with intermittent sprinkles. The shower house has a nice covered area with chairs where we can plug in our devices and get some shelter from the wind. We'll give this campground six thumbs up.

We get a peek at an elusive white heron here and there along the road

The northern end of Currituck Sound from our spot on Bell's Island

The breeze drives the mosquitos to hang out in the shelter of the trees. As long we stay away, there's no problem.

Chairs are an unusual and welcome amenity in a campground. We dragged one into the spacious and clean bathroom so I could trim up Barry's hair.

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Today's ride: 36 miles (58 km)
Total: 1,633 miles (2,628 km)

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