Days 28-33: Six Days in the Red

Miguel's Pizza

After another good night's rest in the Pathfinder, I woke up in a Lexington parking lot excited about the days to come at the Red River Gorge.  Before I made the hour long trip, I stopped by a bakery and farmers' market to stock up on some food.  The veggies at the market were small and perfect for preparing dishes for just one.  By around lunch time, I had already arrived at my base camp for the next six days; Miguel's Pizza and Rock Shop.

Miguel's is a special place for climbers or perhaps better put, the place for climbers.  Not only do they sell pizza and climbing supplies, they also allow climbers to camp and use their facilities for only $2 a night.  I paid for 3 nights, set up my tent in a field behind the shop and took a drive over to the nearest crag, Roadside, to check out the rock. 



Miguel's is busy at night with most
campers making their own food.



Roadside's easy to moderate climbs and minimal approach make it a popular crag and it was no problem finding people to climb with.  The first people I met to climb with were a group of guys from Michigan.  They had already put up some draws on a route called Dragonslayer (5.10d), and offered to give me a belay.  I didn't get through the climb cleanly and took a number of good whippers at the crux, but it was a good taste of what RRG climbing embodies; steep, pockety, sandstone pumpfests.  I got on the climb one more time before heading back to Miguel's for dinner and realizing how out of climbing shape I was. 

Miguel's was packed with climbers drinking beers, cooking up dinner and swapping stories of heroic ascents of the day.  It was among this energized gathering of climbers that I met Mike and Andrew, two college friends from Kansas University.  We shared a table and stories as we cooked up our dinners and by the time we were finished they were kind enough to invite me to climb with them the next day. 



A fun and relaxed climb on One
Armed Bandit (5.9)

 Muir Valley is an area of RRG with dozens of crags for climbers of all levels.  It happens to be on private land the but the owners are friendly and allow climbers access to the hundreds of routes, given they follow a few rules and sign a waiver.  Both Mike and Andrew had been to RRG a few time before so they had a good idea of which crags they liked and what climbs they had their eyes on.  It was obvious from the beginning that they were both pretty strong climbers as they easily sent a couple of 5.10s for warm up.  I was happy to be climbing with people above my level and to have someone put the quickdraws up on the route for my flash attempts.  We climbed a couple of 5.11s and then they let me pick an easier climb that I could just enjoy and relax climbing.  I picked one called One Armed Bandit (5.9) and we all climbed it before heading over to a super overhung crag called Midnight Surf to finish up the day. 



Natural Bridge of sandstone



This guy had a classic jacket



The next day I didn't have anyone to climb with so I cleaned up my bike and took a hike through a state park called Natural Bridge.  It turned out to be quite an impressive natural bridge and the walk up there felt easy without a pack of gear on my back.  There were lots of tourists on the trail and along the way I spotted an old guy wearing a funny jacket reading "Big Bone Baptist" and snapped a good shot of him.  I returned to the car by 3 o'clock and despite half my body telling me to rest, I headed back to Roadside crag to try to get in a climb.  I met two Notre Dame students as they were heading to another crag and they invited me along.  We climbed a wild route called Breakfast Burrito (5.10d) and checked out some other super hard climbs including a project Chris Sharma has that looks insanely difficult. 




Armadillo (5.10d)

 That night I met Jason and Lee, who invited me to climb with them the next day.  It sounded like they were climbing more around my level than a lot of people at Miguel's and I liked their 'just have fun' approach to climbing.  We went to a crag across the street from Roadside called The Zoo and had the whole place to ourselves all day.  We started on some slabby climbs which required some balancey moves while seeking out small holds.  Later on, we moved down the wall for some overhanging routes with lots of jugs.  Lee had a great DSLR with some fantastic lenses so we took turns anchoring at the top of the climbs to shoot each other as we climbed up.  I took a quite a few falls as the day went on and my forearms wore out, but overall it was a great day of climbing. 



Lots of tents in the fields behind
Miguel's.

 When we returned to Miguel's we treated ourselves to some of their famous pizza.  They have a huge list of ingredients to choose from so you can totally customize your pizza.  Throughout the night more and more people kept rolling in.  It was Friday and some university was having holiday and by the next morning, the field had doubled with tents. 



The Walmartification
of Trad (5.8)

 On Saturday, Jason, Lee, and some of their friends and I headed to some other crags in the Pendergrass area.  We took an alternative road to the parking lot that had us four wheeling through Kentucky forests and streams.  I started with a nice looking and easy trad line before moving on to some more sport lines in the 5.10 to 5.11 range at the Volunteer wall.  The weather was like it had been all week, 70s and sunny and the colors in the forest were bright and warm.   



Miguel's fire in full swing; what
an amazing place and community

 On the way back to Miguel's we stopped at the beer trailer (the county Miguel's is in is dry) to get some drinks for the night.  They make a fire every night but on that night there was a great crowd.  The nights actually got pretty cold and so the cardboard fueled fire was a great place to hang out at after dinner.  It was also a great place to meet people and hear about all the crazy things these climbing 'dirt bags' are up too.  In fact, I met quite a few people who were on the road like me or had been living out of their car for much longer.  There were people from all over the country and world, many of whom were staying at the Red for months at a time.  It truly is a world class climbing destination. 

Great pocketed sandstone
climbing on steep walls
Fifth Bolt Faith (5.10c)



What a crack!  Roadside
Attraction (5.7)



My final day at the Red was a bit more laid back; no 5.11s.  We went back to the Muir Valley and did all the climbs on Tectonic Wall including 'Gettin Lucky in Kentucky' (5.10b) and Fifth Bolt Faith (5.10c).  Finally, another Jason that was with us was interested in doing some trad climbing.  I had had my eye on an easy 5.7 classic called Roadside Attraction.  It was said to be the best 5.7 in Kentucky and after climbing it I would have to agree.  The moves were crack climbing at its best, with hand jams and laybacking up a solid, well edged dihedral. 

After a couple more Miguel slices, I was on the road headed back to Asheville for some real rest.  Thanks to Jason, Lee, Mike, Andrew and all the others I climbed with at the Red.  And on a final note, if you're a climber and haven't been to the RRG, put it on your list of things to do before you die.  You won't regret it!

Days 25, 26, and 27: Bigfoot Explores Asheville

Looks a lot worse than
it felt

The more I was in Asheville, the more I liked it.  The friendly,down to earth people, the street musicians, the beer, and the natural beauty all made this small city a place to remember for possible future living.  I also had the opportunity to experience another aspect of Asheville life; the health care facilities.

For about 9 days prior, my left leg had been slowly swelling.  It started in my lower inside thigh with some redness, but then moved down into my calf and foot.  It didn't really hurt but I knew something was wrong as the swelling hadn't ceased.  Armed with my Valuemed insurance card (the bare bones $150/month), I lined up at the Sisters of Mercy urgent care clinic.  As I waited I overheard some interesting conversations including a solution to Mexico's drug trade violence; legalize guns so people can protect themselves (a "Obama's gonna take away our guns" comment soon followed).  I saw the doctor within 25 minutes and she was really nice.  She hadn't seen anything quite like my conditions (the swelling moving part) so she ordered me a strong antibiotic shot to help with the infection and sent me over to the hospital for a sonogram.  I feared a blood clot, which would have hospitalized me for a while but the nurse there found none and the final diagnosis was cellulitus, a bacterial skin infection.  I picked up some more antibiotics at CVS for about $12 and that was all I spent the whole day.  We'll see if Valuemed actually picks up the other stuff or not. 



Brian at his best; low
and slow brewing



A happily married pair of pizza
scientists at work in their lab



When I got back to Brian's he was well into the batch of beer he had been brewing the whole day.  Kaitlin was entertaining guests that were making their way in for the pizza party that night.  The school that Kaitlin works at employs like minded folks and they all live somewhere along the same gravel side road together.  They often exercise together, cook together, brew together and share things like a healthy neighborhood should.  It was fun meeting all these new people and the conversations flowed unabated the whole night.  Almost everyone had their shot to make a pizza of their dreams.  Pesto pizzas, squash sauce pizzas, sun dried tomato and chicken pizzas were just a few of the creations to come out of the dining room turned pizza laboratory.  I, on the other hand, mainly watched, rested my foot, and ate till my heart was delighted.  



The very blue sky was a great
contrast to the colorful leaves



Not too steep, slabby
and with lots of slopey
underclings



The next day Brian had to work so with my foot feeling a bit better, Kaitlin showed me around some of the area's highlights.  First we went up to Looking Glass Rock, a climbing and hiking place.  The fall colors were peaking and the 20 minute hike up to the granite summit was beautiful.  Once I saw the rock, this feeling overcame me and I just had to climb it.  Actually, that plan hasn't materialized yet since Brian and I decided we really didn't have enough time on Monday.  After Looking Glass Rock, Kaitlin took me along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic mountain road with tons of great stop-offs.  We also got to view Looking Glass Rock from a far and it was just as spectacular. 



Looking Glass Rock
from the Blue Ridge
Parkway.



Kaitlin with her friend's bags



The time was flying and we were feeling a bit hungry so we headed into downtown Asheville for some food and a walkabout.  The city has a nice central park that serves as a gathering area for weekly drum circles, street performers and other events.  There was lots of art in the shops and it was obvious by store advertisements how much people there value local products.  Kaitlin even found some bags for sale that her friend had made.  We stopped at a great little cafe for a sandwich and tea (the tea was free and reminded me how they do it in Taiwan).  Finally, with dinner quickly approaching and Brian getting off work soon, we made a stop at one of the many healthy supermarkets of Asheville to get some stuff for dinner. 



Micheal Franti (left) and Spearhead



On Monday morning I realized that it wasn't the best idea to climb Looking Glass Rock, drive 6 hours, and dance all night at a Micheal Franti concert so we put off the climbing and took care of some errands around town.  Unfortunately, 12 Bones,  a famous rib joint (Obama goes there a couple times a year) was closed so we had something quick and met Kaitlin and her friend Em for a beer.  Shortly after I was on my way to Lexington, Kentucky to see Micheal Franti and Spearhead.  I had been really looking forward to this show since last time I saw him was about 7 years ago at the Bonnaroo music festival.  I arrived with about 15 minutes to spare before the show started.  The show was good but not as good as the first time I saw him.  His political message that I appreciated so much before had been substituted for poppy love feelings.  Nevertheless he put on a good show and energized the crowd like few performers can.  Everything was going great until..."dude, where's my car?".  Towed, that's where. A mile and $118 later I had my life back and parked in a quite lot for a good night's rest.  Big thanks to Brian and Kaitlin for a great time in Asheville.

Days 23 and 24: From Wilderness to Wildness

The southern part of Linville Gorge
looking from the top of the cliff side

One of the things I was really excited about doing in Asheville was climbing and since my cousin Brian works at REI I figured he would have some inside beta (info) on the scene here.  He did, and the previous night he laid out two options: a one day climb at a place called Looking Glass or a two day wilderness climb at a part of Linville Gorge called Shortoff Mountain.  When I was climbing at the Gunks, my partner Bruce had highly recommended Linville Gorge, so I was inclined to follow his advice despite what I had heard from a few sources about a long and challenging approach.  In addition, a couple of Brian's co-workers, Brian W. and Torry, had been planning to go so they'd be able to offer us valuable information about the routes and area.

The cave with fireplace on the
right and flat rocks on the left

When we woke up on the wet Thursday morning our minds were still not entirely made up but since the weather was expected to be clear and sunny with a bit of wind, we took our chances and headed to Linville Gorge.  Our risk had paid off and by the time we arrived temps were in the 70s and the rock was dry as a bone.  Brian and I made the 45 minute hike up to the top of the gorge to meet up with Torry and Brian.  From there, Brian W. showed us to our camp, a perfect cave set up with a fireplace, flat boulders for sleeping on and plenty of natural seating around the fire.   We set our packs down and racked up for our first climb. 



Part of the approach
down the gully
involves shimmying
down that tree

 The reason why the approach is so grueling at Shortoff Mt. is that first, you must hike to the top of the gorge, then scramble down a gully and finally bushwhack along the rock face until you find your route.  It took at least 30 minutes to get down the gully and another 15 to find our route, Little Corner, a 5.6 500 foot 3 pitch climb. 



Great seating around a fire is
conducive to good conversation

 The climb was lots of fun and it felt great to get back on the rock.  It looked and felt similar to the Gunks and by the third pitch we were hundreds of feet in the air watching the sun set behind the mountains.  After the climb we found our way back to the cave, collected some wood, started a fire and cooked up some dinner.  At that point I realized that I had forgotten to bring my stove, fuel and pots but fortunately Brian W. had one that he was kind enough to share.  We sat around the fire for a few hours trading stories before tucking into our bags for a brisk autumn night under the stars. 

Shortly after we had laid down for bed we were struck with an attempted burglary.  A brave cave mouse tried to make off with our tortilla shells but Torry defended our food and chased the mouse back into his territory.  The next morning however, we discovered what real persistence this thieving rodent had; Brian's socks (yeah both of them) were gone!



A cave with a view!

 I had a light breakfast consisting of apples and bit of oatmeal before going to collect some water.  I hadn't wilderness camped in a while so I had forgotten how laborous it can be to get water.  In fact, it took me over an hour to get about 1.5 liters of water. 



Maginot Line 5.7+
400 feet

 We were going to do one more climb that day before heading back to Asheville for a concert in the evening.  Maginot Line (5.7+) was our route and everyone said it was an ultra classic.  This time when exiting the cave, instead of walking around some rocks, we did a short and direct climb up to the trail that led the gully.  It was a good warm up, but actually took a little longer than just waking.  I despised walking down the treacherous gully again and bushwhacking to our route which shows you how spoiled I am in terms of getting to the climbing spots, (Golden Valley trail is like a walk in the park now) but once we arrived at the aesthetic line I was glad we had done it. 



Brian doing his best with hiking boots
on our adventure climb

 The first pitch of the climb went great.  I built an anchor and began pulling up the rope.  Then I heard the words I never expected from Brian "Hey man, I can't find my shoes".  It turns out he had left them at the top of the gorge.  Luckily, I was right near a horn I could sling so I rappelled down without leaving any gear beside a sling.  The next problem was how we were going to get out of the gorge.  Neither of us wanted to walk back up that god forsaken gorge and so we started bushwhacking along the cliffs toward a ridge line that would eventually lead back up to the cave.  On the way over we realized how long the walk would really be so we made the risky decision to adventure climb our way out.  With me leading and Brian following in his sockless hiking boots we found the easiest route to the top of the 400 foot cliff.  It truly was and adventure but my route finding skills successfully led us safely to the top. 


Beauty ain't free!



We left a little later than expected but we were so glad to have avoided the walk up the gully or ridge line.  On the way down we even came across a 3 or 4 foot black snake that was poised to strike was I tried to get some shots of it. Ironically, all the things forgotten on that trip really made it unforgettable.

When we got back to Asheville we went over to one of Brian's friend's houses to shower and waited for Kaitlin and her friend to get off work and come meet us.  It was really nice of Brian's friend to let us use her shower especially since she wasn't even there at the time, and it saved us at least 1.5 hours worth of extra driving. 



Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC

 Everyone was excited because we had tickets to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, a rock band that I'd never heard of.  For dinner we went to this place Brian had heard about called Neo Burrito.  They serve huge burritos (I couldn't finish mine) and it reminded me of this place in Albany, NY that I frequented during college called Bombers Burrito Bar.  The one main difference between the two is that on Friday's Neo Burrito has the deal of the century with 10 cent local beers.  That's right, $1 will get your 10 beers!  And the beer is a local craft beer.  We finished up there and headed to a bar to play some darts and choose a beer from the largest craft beer selection in Asheville.  It really is incredible how many craft beers there are in Asheville. 



The Orange Peel had great acoustics

 Finally we walked across the street to the Orange Peel, Asheville's main music venue, to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.  It was a great venue and by the look of it, they get plenty of great names to come through on a regular basis.  We arrived just in time and within 5 minutes they were rocking on stage and the atmosphere was electric.  The music is rock 'n' roll with a little folk and funk thrown in; some stuff you can dance to and other stuff you just nod your head to.  They put on a great performance which is centered around the beautiful, energetic, hip, and talented Grace Potter.  She really looked incredible and her lively dancing reverberated a lot of energy to the crowd.  Finally, around midnight, we headed home and quickly ended a long day.

Days 20, 21, and 22: Insane rain in the Keys and driving the never ending state of Florida



One of the many bridges along
Highway 1

 On Monday I left Port Saint Lucie and drove through the sunny 80 degree weather to the Florida Keys.  I arrived in the middle Keys just before dusk so I got to see nice views of the water and some of the many islands that make up this archipelago in addition to checking out one of the state parks where I was thinking about camping.  Th e fee was an outrageous $41 and the sites, although being right on the water, were also about 20 meters from the road too.  Thanks, but no thanks.  I used the rest of the daylight to cruise Highway 1 in search of some free overnight parking and a supermarket.

Highway 1 is an amazingly convenient road that opened up a beautiful area of the world while simultaneously choking it's very beauty.  It connects tons of small islands all the way down to Key West (the southern most point on the continental US) and even has a 7 mile bridge.  While the natural beauty indeed resembles paradise, the monotonous and antiquated tourist industry has brought down some of its appeal to me. 

I finally found a parking spot on the end of Grassy Island and I wasn't parked much further away from the road than the state park's camp sites.  Of  course, like nearly everywhere on the small key islands, I was right near the water.  Sometime in the middle of the night the rain started.



One of the uninhabited tropical islands



Seven Mile bridge when I could see.

The next day was raining in the morning, but it let up a bit after I had finished breakfast so I decided to keep heading down the keys until I reached Bihai Honda State Park.  I was really hoping to do some snorkeling in the keys but I could tell that wouldn't be possible with the choppy water and low light.  Sure enough they had cancelled all tours when I arrived at the park but I paid my $4.50 and went in anyway, mainly to use their facilities.  I went for a short bike ride around the park, and found a beach at the other end so I rode back, got changed and returned for a swim.  The water was warm, just like Taiwan and as I was just getting out, the rain came back with a furry.  It was so much fun riding through the park soaking wet in the warm tropic rain and it really reminded me of being caught in the rain in Taipei.  After showering and drying, I decided it was time to leave the Keys since the worst rain predicted was still yet to come. 

I guess the road wasn't the first thing
to start choking the Keys' beauty.
This abandoned railroad line has been
an amazing eyesore since the 1930s.

Driving back over the Seven Mile bridge, I encountered some of the heaviest rain ever.  Visibility was down to about 30 or 40 feet with the occasional nearby lightning strike.  Apparently, a hurricane in the southern Caribbean was lashing the keys with its rain drenched arms.  My only plan was to get as far north as I could until the weather got better and sleep in my car again.  I ended out making to just past Daytona Beach, and slept in at a rest area. 



A great temperature is
maintained under the
forest canopy of
Spanish Moss



Well rested from a long day's driving, day 22 started like it had ended, Interstate 95.  After I passed Jacksonville I was really hating the endless I-95 and felt like I'd never be out of Florida.  At the same time I felt like I'd been driving all over Florida and for what?  On a whim, I exited at the Jacksonville zoo and headed toward the Timucuan national preserve and Fort Caroline.  I had no idea what I was in for but this was possibly my last chance to see some natural beauty in Florida.  Turned out that there were some excellent trails winding through high canopy forests which hang with Spanish Moss.  I rode for about 1.5 hours, having to walk my bike some on the hilly sandy parts (still had the city slicks on and they did surprisingly well) and somewhere about half way went up to an observation deck overlooking a salt marsh.  Although I didn't see much wild life (I really wanted to see some gators and crocs) I was a great forest environment and made me leave Florida with more appreciation for its less developed areas. 



Florida has tons of marshes and
wetlands.  This is just one of one
kinds; a salt marsh.



The cotton fields of
Georgia bring to
mind more history of
the south than anything
else I encountered so far.

As I was nearing Brian's and Kaitlin's place in Asheville, North Carolina, I took a detour so that I could see some of these southern country roads you always hear about in songs.  It was interesting to say the least.  The 30 mile stretch of highway drove right through the heart of what once were cotton plantations.  Only difference now is that the plantations are gone.  The area seemed predominantly black and there sure were a bunch of cotton fields.  I stopped at some to get my hands on this historical cash crop of the south.  I also drove down a couple of side roads, which in off an old country road, are actually just dirt roads. 

Finally I arrived at Brian and Kaitlin's place.  It's really out there and the silhouette of the hills at dusk made me anxious to see it in the morning light. 

Days 18 and 19: Speeding over water and asphalt

Bruce, Michelle, Kate and Arron

The speed limit down south is 70 mph, so most people keep it at around 80 and I'm no different.  This speed increase, however, has seemed to make my usually way to optimistic ETAs much more realistic and accurate.  That being said, before I knew it, I had driven from Savannah to Port Saint Lucie in 6 hours and still felt pretty good.  My Uncle Bruce and Aunt Michelle live there with their kids Arron and Kate.  They were kind enough to host me for a couple of days and when I arrived on Saturday evening, Michelle had already prepared a wonderful spread for dinner.  We had a few beers and caught up on old times; it had been nearly 10 years since the last time we met.  In fact I was meeting Kate, who is now 7 and speaking with Arron, who is 10, for the first time.



I wanted to tow into huge waves
in Hawaii after riding this baby!

 The next day Michelle had to work, but Bruce, the kids and I had other plans.  We packed some coolers, put on our swimming trunks, and took out Bruce's Sea Doo jet ski at the Saint Pierce Inlet.  It was the first time I used the hitch on the Pathfinder, so it was great to see how well it handled towing.  Bruce's jet ski is a beast.  It's 215hp engine will rocket you across the water at 70 mph, although I only reached 69 due to a little chop and wind.  It's a three seater and offers great handling in turns, which can be taken abruptly at 50mph.  I had fun seeing how far I could make the spray go when I turned and carved my way throughout the inlet and trying to make as tight a turn as possible.  After an afternoon at Jaycee Park, where we launched the boat and had a picnic, we went home an washed the ski and Pathfinder.  I picked up a steak at the supermarket and roasted some of Robert's potatoes for a real American dinner that also included a great salad and garlic bread made by Michelle. 

The inlet is protected by barrier
islands so its a great place to rip
around on motor boats and skis

We watched a bit of Sunday night football and hit the hay.  I'm up for a big day on Monday as I head down the Florida Keys to the southern most point of the continental U.S., Key West.  Thanks again to Bruce, Michelle, Arron and Kate for a great stay in Port Saint Lucie.

One more funny thing that I did, but forgot to mention; I gave myself a haircut.  It's the shortest buzz cut I've ever had, but it wasn't meant to be that way.  My 7 year old cousin Kate and I were in the bathroom and I was using the the clippers with a good sized guard on it.  However my hair was so crusty from the saltwater I'd been swimming in all that even the clipper's were hardly doing the job.  I took off the guard to do my sideburns while under a barrage of questions from curious Kate.  Next thing I know, I put the clippers up to my head again...without the guard.  I stopped, realized what I had done and just laughed.  "You're gonna look funny" said Kate.

Nobody has said anything about the low mow streak, but
I'm looking forward for it to fill in a bit.

Day 17: Savannah, here I come!

Thanks Genie and Allen

It was great staying over a Genie and Allen's place in Wilmington, NC and we had great conversations, which is one of the things I've really learned to cherish since living in a nation with a bit of a language barrier.  On Friday morning I left their place with a bunch of delicious breakfast cookies, an excellent chicken salad sandwich, and another contact to make a long the way; Paul Lambert in Arizona near the Grand Canyon.  Thanks to Genie and Allen for their great company and hospitality. 

My next stop was to be Savannah, Georgia.  I've always loved the sound of the words that name the historic southern city, which bring to mind friendly smiles, slow streets and sunny weather.  I didn't have any place to stay there so it was my first opportunity to do some couch surfing.  I had sent a few emails a couple days before and had received one reply offering me a couch to sleep on.  I was excited, but also a bit nervous since Ramya, the girl who offered her couch to me, didn't have any other couch surfer comments or experience. 



Ramya and I after Saturday breakfast

 When Ramya greeted me outside her place, I was relieved and had a safe and welcome feeling.  She showed me around her place, which she shared with 3 other SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) students and we got acquainted.  They were all of Indian decent and so Ramya fixed me a burrito of some wonderful and spicy Indian food that her roommate had prepared.  Shortly after, we were out on the town in Savannah's central party district. 

We started at a chocolate bar called Lulu's for some dessert before heading to some rooftop bar for a drink.  That was followed by a dance bar themed in Savannah's haunted tradition.  Finally we wound up at some multi-level dance club that featured top 40 hits, dirty dancing, and poles for us to practice our pole dancing (which we all did).  A brief comment regarding the few clubs I've been to down south; they're customers are not modest about their sexual intentions and express them vividly through close contact dancing.  It's a big difference from what I'm used to in Taiwan, where grinding can be found but is not nearly as prevalent or overt.  To be honest, it's a bit of a turn off although interesting to observe. 



This is one of the many squares in
Savannah; a seemingly great place
to spend a summer's day

 On Saturday, Ramya and I went out to breakfast at a renovated car garage that now serves huge portioned meals and displays local art on the colorful walls.  We walked around some of the historical city squares, decorated with Spanish moss and lined with beautiful architecture.  But alas, it was time to leave as I had to be at my Uncle Bruce's place in Port Saint Lucie that evening.  Thanks Ramya for the fun surfing!

Day 14, 15, and 16: Cape Hatteras Beachbreaks Pump, Fresh Seafood is Abundant, and I Work to Clean Up an Oil Spill

This place was empty
when I was there and I
guess they want to keep
it that way...snobs!!

I woke up on Tuesday feeling refreshed from a good nights sleep in the car.  I was about 30 miles out of Cape Hatteras aka The Outer Banks, a long string of barrier islands that protect North Carolina's coast.  To a surfer, barrier islands also bring to mind exposed coast line's that catch every bit of swell that's in the area. 

I had no real plan other than to surf and camp there so when I reached the island and headed north I was a bit discouraged.  Signs like the one posted to the left cover the exclusive northern getaway to protect these multi-home owners' precious beaches from the throngs of common folk that flock there in the summer.  At the time of my visit however, over 80% of the houses were vacant.  The bottom line is, don't go there looking for surfing or you may get your car towed; after all, freedom ain't free.



One of many fishing piers along
the cape's endless beaches.

 After I figured out what the northern part of the island was about I headed south past Kitty Hawk (Wright Bros.) to Nags Head.  I didn't see anyone else out surfing so I decided to get camp set up and search around a little more.  I camped at the Oregon Inlet and paid $20!!! for a camp site with a BBQ, shared bathrooms and cold showers. It was a nice spot despite the thistle barbs that constantly got caught between the soles of my feet and shoe beds, and although the waves weren't good there, about 15 minutes down the road they were.



About 80 meters past those dunes
is the Atlantic Ocean.

 The cross shore winds were strong on the Outer Banks but I did find one place that seemed significantly bigger than other spots.  I later found out at a near by surf shop that this place was called S Turns (after the way the road turns) and is quite a popular spot.  I went out alone with no one out, but only had it that way for about an hour.  The waves were at head high to over head on the big sets and I surfed till it was nearly dark before heading back to camp. 

Earlier in the day I had stopped and picked up a fillet of Tile Grouper, which is a local fish.  I cooked it up on the BBQ in a foil pack with some of Robert's seemingly endless supply of awesome potatoes and admired the star-filled sky and prominent Milky Way. 



The surf this day was nearly perfect



The wave breaks so fast that there's
hardly any time to make a turn



The next morning, I made some pancakes, packed up and was on the road in less than an hour.  Back at S Turns the surf was absolutely pumping and had about 25 guys spread along 4 or 5 peaks.  It was a barrel fest and the wind had shifted off shore to create makeable tubes.  I shared a peak with two other locals and surfed until low tide around 1:30.



Beautiful colors in the
sky for the sunset
behind the Lighthouse



I continued to another area that had $20 camping (the private campgrounds were pushing $40 a night!) called Frisco, which is just south of the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  I choose my site and set up camp quickly hoping to catch the tail end of the swell at a small jetty near the light house.  There was some kayak surf club in the water so for my own safety I paddle over to another peak on the other side of the jetty.  The surf had really died down with a few OK sets rolling in.  After the dusk session I picked up a Mahi Mahi fillet and took it back to the campsite for another BBQ. 



Mahi Mahi, beets, and potatoes,
never knew camp food could taste
so good!

The next day I still had a few "things to do" before leaving the outer banks.  1) Find out if a Nissan Pathfinder is beach worthy and 2) use the ferry system to exit the Cape without having to back track.  All along the main road (rt. 12) are ramps that lead to the beach.  They are primarily used by fishermen who cast out in the surf and reel in surprisingly large fish.  My plan was to take the free ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke and drive some of the way along the beach. 

 I deflated the pressure in the tires to about 22 psi and got on the first ramp I found.  Luckily that ramp led to a stretch of the beach with firm sand and since it was low tide, the driving are greatly increased.  However, as I soon found out, 'you can't really use the beach like its a highway' (so that's what the guy in the surf shop meant).  Closings between the ramps for sea turtles blocked my attempt to cruise uninhabited along the miles of beach.  I still had a few hours to kill so I went down a couple of other trails and to another part of the beach where the sand was much deeper and I was actually a bit worried because the clearance on the Pathfinder isn't much.  It was all good and soon I was back on rt. 12 and searching for a place to cook lunch before I boarded the ferry back to the mainland. 

While I was cooking lunch, I had an oil spill, olive oil that is.  I spent some time cleaning the car and made it to the ferry with plenty of time to spare.  After the 2 hour and 15 minute trip, I had arrived on Cedar island and then headed to Genie and Allen's house for a great dinner and conversation. 

The NC ferries were
well organized and a lot
better than driving