Southern Motion

Hi folks! I'm writing from the deck of the m/v Carteret somewhere between Ocracoke, NC and Cedar Island, NC. We have been on the road for almost a week now, and finally feel like we are adjusting to life on the move. It was a frantic dash to pack up the Red Hook apartment and get going, but it's all starting to feel worth it. We spent our first night just across the river from our Red Hook apartment at Lake Onteora. After a sad but exciting good bye with old friends who decided to tag along for the first little leg of travel, we hit the road and drove three hours west to Ithaca. Though our first "real" stop was in the wrong direction, it felt necessary to visit a close friend and former roommate before heading out of New York for good. We spent most if our time upstate cooking, reading, hiking gorges, and generally relaxing. After a two day detour, the real journey began. We hit the road with a fury, and drove all the way from New York to Virginia. The Blue Ridge Mountains beckoned to us, but not before Ben's second, and my first stop at The Thunderbird Cafe for a bite. Once we both felt satiated, it was up to the Skyline Drive and over to Loft Mountain for a cool, windy night of fireside chatting and folking (thanks for the pumpkin beers, Joanna!). One of the few things I really looked forward to seeing on the East Coast was the Outer Banks of North Carolina. So, without much ado, we rolled out if the mountains in the early morning light to zig out to the Atlantic for a breath of fresh salty air. The first night we ate seafood sitting sea side, and camped on the dunes just south of Nags Head. In the morning, Ben, Gunk, and I walked down a stretch if windswept beach, littered with pelicans, shells, and anglers. Later that day, the three of us made our way down coast via vehicle and ferry to Ocracoke Island where we walked, longboarded, and ate more seafood. That brings us neatly to this morning during which we woke before sunrise to hop another ferry back to the mainland! I think I'll sign off so I can soak up some sun and salt before the long haul to Atlanta today. Hope everyone is healthy and happy. Looking forward to seeing many of you in the coming weeks!

A gorge in Ithaca

Fall foliage

Sunrise over ocracoke island