We woke up at Cliffs of the Neuse fairly refreshed and wondering when we could leave (7AM). 

Our biggest concern of the day was driving into the teeth of Hurricane Nicole, so we consulted NOAA.gov for hurricane tracking, Windy.com for wind predictions, and Google maps to gauge our distances. Our biggest concern was reaching Florida by following along the coast. We called our destination for the night and they reported only a high surf advisory, so we decided the risks were low enough. It looks like tomorrow will be the day we get closest to Nicole as we pass each other going in opposite directions, but its track looks far enough inland that it won’t be a problem and the coastal warnings range is shrinking.

Tom had charged up his bike overnight, and Scott’s had lots of juice, so we decided to take advantage of the still dry weather and ride again after breakfast but before we left.  Another 9 miles of Scott trying to keep up with “adrenaline junky” Tom – at least we had our bike helmets.  We explored the rest of the trails that did not have steps, then returned to the campsite, stowed the bikes and Starlink, and headed out for Holden Beach.

Since there were cool things to do in Wilmington, and we would pass that before getting to our campsite, we decided to park for a while, eat lunch, and decide whether or not to drive into Wilmington.  We found a self-storage/U-Haul place and parked where we thought we were not in the way.  We ate our leftover hamburgers and such, then debated going into Wilmington and seeing the Battleship North Carolina or the Museum of the Bizarre.  We had both seen the battleship before, and the museum of the Bizarre seemed like it might be more creepy than cool – plus it was beginning to rain – plus the owner of the self-storage place was ready to run us off, so we just drove to the campsite.

Holden Beach RV Campground has a lot going for it – you can come and go as you please.  The sites were fairly nice, and it has real trees.  But the restroom/showers, while nice, were tiny and far apart – they clearly think you should be able to shower and use the facilities in your camper.  After extensive emailing and computer usage (using our phones as hotspots – very fast “5G UC” on T-Mobile,) we got to the biggest decision we face every day – out to a restaurant, or eat our growing supply of leftovers…

When Tom mentioned there was a nearby Mexican place, that settled it.  We drove the jeep the short distance to Mini Jalapenos, where they had on-and-off Karoke but excellent food.  Tom, as always, ordered his burrito without so many items that it was hardly Mexican food.  While he ate all of his, Scott brought home half of his burrito and added to our leftover pile.

Looks like there will be rain and maybe some wind from Nicole tonight, but right now it is pretty quiet.