Part III: Ocracoke

Hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to Ocracoke we go! The final leg of our journey was about to commence and I don't think Ocracoke knew what was in store when the Sanger's and BLT's arrived!

On the way down to Ocracoke we drove down Highway 12 which drives through the Outerbanks and is a beautiful drive, especially when the sun is shining! We took two detours on the trip to see a few lighthouses.

First up, Bodie Island Lighthouse and Keeper's house


Next up on the lighthouse tour was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse


We continued the trip to the ferry docks where we queued up in line for our trip over to Ocracoke. While we were waiting we thought it might be a good idea to break in the boards that Scott and I got for Heather and Jason to see if they might have a little "home field advantage". You see there is finally a team that we all agree to route for, besides we were cheering for the Durham Bulls but we got blamed that they didn't win, so we knew that we were going to get some Duke boards for them.



The lines starting to move onto the ferry so we did a quick Zamboni clean up and onto the ferry we went.

A few pics from ferry



Once on the island of Ocracoke, we drove to our B&B villa for the duration of the trip, The Castle B&B.


After settling into our digs, we headed out on our beach cruisers for a guided tour of the island. First stop was lunch though since we were all starving! A recurring theme starting from lunch which was that Jason and Scott were wearing Boston and Yankees gear, respectively. People kept asking, "You two are friends?". We had a good laugh with all the commentary around that. So here is a photo op of the two boys in their gear.


We explored the rest of the island that afternoon with stops at the lighthouse, Blackbeard's beach for some shells, crab hunting and a few pictures.

After working up a sweat on the beach, well not really, but some parched mouths, it was time to grab some coffee at Ocracoke Coffee Shop. This place was packed but had some damn good coffee. Heather and I ordered the drinks in which the guys wanted the mother of all frappachino like drinks. The lady asks if we want whip cream on them and Heather says no and I say yes. Fast forward now to drinks in hand and Jason asks where his whip cream is and Heather says, "I didn't order any for you." That started what Jason called the downfall of the coffee since he went back and asked for whip cream, they had to change the cup his drink was then in which had chocolate sauce down the side and now said new cup did not. Needless to say, Jason is enjoying the mother of all frappachino drinks WITH whip cream as well as Scott. Heather and I settled with iced coffee...see simple. The relaxing life we had!

We headed back to the villa in order to prep for our dinner festivities on the beach. We loaded up in our car with firewood in the trunk, beach chairs, blanket, beer, wine, and our dinner to be cooked on the fire.

The guys set out to find a bit more driftwood, if possible, since after getting all the wood from our car to the beach, Jason thought we would need more since it would burn pretty quickly with the ocean breeze.



The fire was started and we were settling in quite nicely!


Hazy view of the sunset



Hot Dogs were being roasted on an open fire!



We were starting to get some admirer's of our campfire. If you click on the photo you will see some crabs that wanted to come join our little party we had.



Smores time with our Escazu chocolates we bought in Raleigh.


Here is where things start getting interesting since we didn't have a flashlight, there are crabs all around us and we are starting to take photos. See they don't look too bad a little blurry at times but not too bad.





This is where I think the guys were trying to pull a fast one on Heather and I. This is a string of photos that I put into a video to show the constant movement that Heather and I were doing so that we could not get eaten by the crabs.

The next day, we had a nice day at the beach and then got back on our old trusty bikes and headed out for another coffee. Yes the guys both got another mammoth frozen drink with whipped cream on top and chocolate chips.

After that I wanted to go check out the British Cemetery so we headed further down the road and I put on the breaks when I saw this place, Zillie's. I popped the bike in the rack and went inside to pursue....or the guys did.

After a glass of wine/beer on the porch of Zillie's and some 6-packs to go....is that legal? We headed off for the British Cemetery.

We pulled into the cemetery and in about two minutes after that Jason says, "I don't think this is my bike." We are all standing there like "huh....you STOLE some one's bike", he quickly rode off back to Zillie's to retrieve his bike while we walked around the cemetery.

One recovered bike and time to head back to get ready for campfire number 2.

Scott and I headed to the general store for stuff for dinner while Heather and Jason went to pick up some fresh fish for our fish taco dinner. After we buy the groceries but forgot the firewood, Scott and I head back in and ask to buy a few bundles of wood and the cashier asks us what we are up to and this is where the problem starts

Scott says: Just having a fire on the beach tonight.

Cashier: You know they are banned right now due to the heat?

Scott: Since when?

Cashier: Awhile, just like the rest of the OBX beaches.

Scott: Oh, ok. Thanks for your help.

After we got back to the villa and broke the news, we felt satisfied that we had a nice 6 hour fire the night before and that not a sole in sight said anything to us!

So we improvised with fish tacos on the charcoal grill at the villa. We pulled it off well with a sundowner on the deck, fish tacos for dinner and a game in the villa afterward.

Day three, was a repeat of Day 2 but with Heather and I going out shopping at the local stores and the guys watching the baseball and taking a little nap. We caught back up with them at home and then headed back out for Zillie's then home for a sundowner again with a few photo ops, where we tested out the timer on the camera!

After a nice meal out that night we bid farewell to our bikes and called it a night. We had a bite to eat in the am and headed out for the ferry back over to the Hatteras. We said our goodbye's until next time. We had a wonderful trip with Heather and Jason and absolutely agree that Ocracoke is one of the best places on earth.

I am finishing this post up on the night that they are evacuating Ocracoke as Hurricane Irene is supposed to be making her way up the coast. I sure hope they don't get hit hard.

Arts & Crafty Beer

Now that you have been reacquainted with the BLT's, it is time to move on to our next adventure on the trip. NC Craft Beers.

The day truly started off with a trip to a new artisan chocolate shop/maker, Escazu, to pick up some fine chocolates to make some smores on the beach one night. We did end up picking up a few chocolate bars as well as a few chocolates to sample right there. I mean who can resist the smell of chocolate and these delicacies below?





With a few chocolates in our belly's, we headed off for some proper lunch at Busy Bee Cafe. Now that our skinny bitches were full, we could think a little better and it was time to get our drink on. First stop, The Raleigh Wine Shop, to pick up some provisions for our trip to the beach. With a few bottles of Vinho Verde, White and Rose picked out we headed back to the Sanger household to finish off preparations for our trip to the beach.


Just before dinner time, Heather had booked a private tour of Big Boss Brewery for the four of us and three of Jason's co-workers. When Scott and I first came to Raleigh back in April, I had sampled a few of Big Boss's finest and truly enjoyed them. We gathered at their bar and we were all given a pint of any beer we chose. As our glasses were emptying they must have thought we all looked parched and filled them up again!!

















Big Boss got the names of their beers from old airplane nicknames, hence the signs with all of the ladies on them.
















Now it was time to start the tour of the brewery itself. We were lead downstairs into the heart, heat, of the brewery. We were introduced to the brew master whom started talking about the process of making beer, etc. What was really funny was that on his computer screen was a YouTube video of the Royal Wedding. I don't know maybe he has a thing for Pippa?





















I love the look of their labels on the beer. They are vintage looking with their colors and style.

After we finished off the tour, it was time to pose for a photo or two.














We proceeded back to Busy Bee's Cafe so Jason could get his hands on a Basil Farmhouse cask beer made with Thai basil. That was the real purpose of our lunch trip but you see it didn't get brought out until 6pm. We scurried back there and bellied up to the bar so the guys could try a pint of the Basil beer. It was time to get some grub, so where better to go than another brewery, Boylan Bridge Brewpub. This time with a view that overlooks downtown Raleigh!



We woke up the next morning with orders that we had to be on the road at 9:30am to make our private tour at Duck-Rabbit. Scott and I got our car packed and I helped Heather get some of their stuff in the car, while Jason was typing up a work email. I think in the time he first told Heather he would be done with it in 5 minutes, that he actually wrote a novel and got it published, or maybe it just seemed that way. Needless to say, Jason was showered, packed and in the car at 9:28am so kudos to him until he had to go back into the apt and grab his work laptop. We hit the road and made great time to Duck-Rabbit and were greeted by our tour guide right at 11am! Duck-Rabbit is a very small craft brewery but makes some damn good beers! Unfortunately for Scott and I you can't buy them in New Jersey so Heather and Jason when you guys are up in this neck of the woods you will have to bring a few with you!

We had a brief tour of the brewery and got to meet one of their brew masters, who happens to be from Cornwall. Such a small world. We were told how brewing is as much of an art as a science.




After a quick chat with the brew master, we were guided to their new tasting room which has not been opened yet and therefore making us the first guests to sit at the bar and do a tasting. We asked quite a few questions, made small talk with our guide and enjoyed a few productions made by the brew master with him.
































And of course we got to test out our pouring skills behind the bar. What do you mean the taps don't work???






























During our conversation with our guide and the brew master, Jason started to enquire about working at said brewery since one of the perks is free beer. Then we got into their website/social media updates, etc. and Heather was then named Queen of Social Media for Duck-Rabbit.

Here is the Queen making her first pose.

We headed out for one last photo op.

We thanked them for an awesome tour, by far the best tour we have been on. We were given a little bit of advice for lunch as we were leaving and decided we would hit it up, if we were lucky enough to get there before they ran out. We arrived at B's Barbecue in Greenville, NC and walked up to the window at the side of the building and said "2 small and 2 large please". The guys response was "Plate or Dinner". We said "2 plates and 2 dinners please."

We were all smiles when we opened up our containers of lunch and found this yummy goodness.

So now not only did we have the best beer tour we have now just hit the jackpot of barbecue in North Carolina too! B's was an old gas station that was bought and then transformed into a barbecue joint. They cook 8 pigs a day and when they run out, the run out, which is normally around 1pm. Glad we made it since it was delicious! B's barbecue is also on the NC BBQ Trail, which I subsequently found out.

Food coma had sunk in and it was time to hit the road for our 3 hour drive to the Weeping Radish Brewery. We were in a bit of a rush since it closed at 4pm and if calculations worked in our favor we would be there with 20 minutes to spare. Just enough time to grab a beer. We hit the road and headed to the coast. We got there with plenty of time to spare since they actually don't close until 5pm and even that is open ended since they stay open if there are people in there.



We ordered a flight for each of us and sampled away. By far there was no comparison to these beers versus Big Boss and Duck-Rabbit but when in Rome do as the Romans do and finish your beer.

We left Weeping Radish and headed off to our B&B for the night, which was a lady's home that was opened to us for the night. We found her home got settled into our rooms and headed out for dinner to the Outerbanks Brewing Station. We found some seats at the bar, had dinner and then headed outside to enjoy a game of cornhole, BLT's vs. Sanger's. I will add that the BLT's were victorious which makes up for our washer toss loss back in April to them.

Team BLT: 1

Team Sanger: 1

After good food, drinks, music and a cornhole game we headed for a walk on the beach before headed back to the B&B. Back at the B&B we decided it was too early for bed so we got out the scrabble board and got into a game.

The game got a little serious when I challenged Jason's word of "ID" as being an abbreviation and not a word. It was time to set off and look for a dictionary in this house. Scott hit the ladder and pondered where the dictionary might be and Jason looked around the rest of the downstairs for the dictionary too. Heather took to the camera and I just sat in amusement!


Jason won the battle with ID, won the game of scrabble and we called it a night.

Next up- Part 3 Ocracoke