The roadtrip crew from left to right: David, Kelli, Ben, Sahil and Amy.
           Photo: Ben Landis

The moment after I turned in my last assignment, I was busy rallying friends to go on a small sojourn to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.   As usual, this semester was busy with little opportunity to spend quality time with friends and enjoy North Carolina's beautiful coast.  Luckily, I found that some of my friends had a little time to spare before running off to summer internships or off into the job market.  Of the five of us, two even brought their laptops to work on assignments due later on in the week.

The 5.5 hour drive to Cape Hatteras National Seashore seemed to zoom by with a car full of stress-free conversation and bluegrass and reggae beats.  We were heading to the Frisco campgrounds, where some other Nich schoolers had arrived a day prior.  In the trunk, we packed coolers of fresh food, free camping equipment courtesy of Duke Outpost, and beach necessities.

Although I had been to the Outer Banks last semester as part of a Wetlands field trip, I had not fully realized the extent to which the islands were developed.  Gargantuan beach houses dotted the main road along with a multitude of restaurants, convenience stores, shops, equipment rental businesses, and motels.  And here I was thinking that we were traveling to a remote place.

Once we turned off the main road, I did feel a little farther away from civilization.  The Frisco campgrounds were fairly rustic.  At $20 a night, we had a campsite for five fit with a picnic bench and grill.  There were adequate facilities including clean bathrooms and cold showers.  The view from the campsite was beautiful.  Nestled amongst sand dunes, we could see the blue Atlantic peeking over the horizon.  We only had to walk 10 minutes to the beach, which to my surprise was dotted with 4x4 vehicles and their fishermen drivers.  I would learn that off-roading is legal, with more restrictions being implemented to accommodate nesting sites for endangered turtle and bird species.

    From left to right: The Cape Hatteras lighthouse looming over Amy and I, Thomas and Lincoln packing lunches for a hike, and Ben showing off his grilling skills.

During our time on the coast, we visited the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, went on a tick-infested hike through a pine forest bordered by bogs, had smores around a bonfire on the beach, jumped in the surprisingly warm ocean water, and played on the beach.   It was a fitting end to my first year.

                                  Cape Hatteras sunset