The morning started around 6:30AM when the sun peaked over our rocking RV.  The experience was best described as “mild to moderate turbulence” on an airplane.  Not surprisingly, there was still no sign of water and little sign of anyone working there – so we left around 8AM after breakfast and showers in the RV (we still had plenty of water – we arrived in tonight’s campground with our gauge at 2/3 full.)

As predicted, Hatteras Ferry service was not resumed due to high winds and we executed Plan B – Heading inland for the Cliff’s of the Neuse State Park.

With our new “smell the roses” mantra, we watched carefully for signs for roadside attractions to delight and amaze us.  While North Carolina has great roads, it apparently suffers from few attractions – at least on the drive from Nags Head to Goldsboro.  Mostly swamps, trees and cotton fields in full bloom and being harvested – an Interesting spectacle for Northerners.

We stopped in Grifton (under the water tower,) for a lunch of chili dogs, coleslaw, pickles, cornbread, tomatoes, and such – a genuine feast.  We then decided to drive to our campsite at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, then go to the Wayne County museum and/or ride our bikes around.  We stopped at the park visitor center on the way in and interrupted the nice lady there who was eating her lunch (no one else in sight.)  Turns out she was able to register us for the campground (as the camp store and office was closed,) and happily explained which trails were too rugged for us obviously old men, even on fat tire electric bikes.  We asked her about the Wayne County museum (20 minutes away in Goldsboro,) and she said she had never heard of it.  After giving us a map and more advice, we drove to our huge campsite (number 8), parked the camper and decided to ride the bikes and see the park sights rather than hit the museum.

The campsite has huge trees, so we were pretty sure that the Starlink would not work but we set it up anyway.  This campsite has cellphone service, so we did not need to rely on Starlink but it worked pretty well most of time – amazing given its limited view of the sky,

Riding these electric bikes on narrow, twisting paths where they cared more about small trees in the path than the safety of elderly riders was quite the adrenaline rush. 

On our trip we circled back to the visitors center and asked the nice lady where we should go for dinner.  We chose BBQ over Southern cooking, and were told to go to Wilber’s – the best place around – in Goldsboro.  Apparently it’s better known than the Wayne County Museum.  The nice lady said to be sure to look for the jets landing at nearby Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.  She did not mention they flew at a low altitude over Wilber’s on short final for landing…

As we re-entered our campground, Tom decided to read the rules plainly posted on the entrance, which says no one in or out after 6PM.  While surely they could not lock everybody up for the night, we decided to go back to the visitors center for the third time to be sure.  When asked, Tom was assured that there was no way to get in or out after 6PM unless there was a medical emergency.  He forgot to ask if that included those with a 4 wheel drive jeep – we decided to follow the rules.

We then decided to go to the Walmart 2 miles from Wilber’s to buy the stuff we needed – flipflops, tissues, fly swatters, dishwashing detergent, and bike helmets, then pick up a takeout dinner we could eat at the campsite without risking being locked out.

Our trips to Walmart are always an adventure.  Turns out the only flipflops we were directed to were in the summer clearance bin “where the layaway department used to be.”  We found good buys there, and bought everything except the flyswatters – no one at Walmart had any idea where such a thing might be in the event they sold them.

Wilber’s was great.  We had read the menu ahead of time and had our items ready.  We drove to the “Q” tent where a nice young girl (they all look young to us) took our order, but was confused when we asked if BBQ sauce could be delivered separately.  While we ordered different quantities of pulled pork, green beans, slaw, and sauce, we got a pint of everything.  But it was very good.

As we left the Q tent, we heard a roar and what we’re fairly certain was a K135 tanker screamed overhead, followed by fighters that Tom thought were F15s,  We have pictures and videos, though Scott’s were kinda blurry.

Back to the camper to eat our second feast outdoors, then inside the camper for more email then bed.