Sunday, November 1st was our departure day from Ocracoke. The plan was for us to take two days to move the boat and Jeep from Ocracoke to Wrightsville Beach, NC. I would take the Cedar Island ferry with the Jeep, which takes me from Ocracoke to Cedar Island. Then from Cedar Island it is a 60 minute drive to Morehead City. This is where Keith would take the boat the first day we left Ocracoke. We would overnight at Morehead City Yacht Basin Marina. The next day we would leave for Wrightsville Beach. I would be driving the Jeep and he taking the boat again. That would put us in Wrightsville Beach on Monday, November 2nd. The Jeep would stay with Keith and I needed to get a rental car for 3-4 weeks. I was going to PA to help my mother during knee surgery that was scheduled for November 9th. As is often the case, things did not go quite as planned.
The afternoon before leaving Ocracoke (Saturday, October 31st) I got a call from my mom that her surgeon tested positive for COVID and all his surgeries were rescheduled. Her surgery was now scheduled for December 14th. Well what to do? I knew she was upset about the change. It also looked like there was a real possibility that the December date might not happen as hospitals in her area are getting close to stopping elective surgeries due to "the virus". I decided to make the trip to PA, but just for a week to visit. Ok, so we have a plan "B". But wait, not so fast.
I had a spot booked on the Sunday, November 1st, 7:30AM ferry to Cedar Island. The night before our departure on Saturday, October 31st at 5PM I got a text on my phone from the NC Ferry Service that my ferry had been canceled. There were no ferries running to the mainland from the south end of Ocracoke due to mechanical failure. The only way off the island was to drive to the north end of Ocracoke and cross on the Hatteras ferry. Then I would have to drive from Hatteras to Morehead, making what would have been a 60 minute drive from Cedar Island into a 5 hour drive from Hatteras. The weather was also to turn very windy again Sunday afternoon, so I knew I had to get going early as they might shut down the Hatteras ferry as well due to weather. With all this I thought if I was driving so far north to get back around to the mainland; maybe I should leave Sunday with the Jeep and just continue heading to PA after crossing on the Hatteras ferry. Keith would be OK without a vehicle for just a week (since my PA trip was shortened). Ok, so plan "C". But wait there's more.
So at 6:00AM Sunday, November 1st I got in the Jeep and Keith untied the lines, and we both took off. I was not a mile from the marina heading north on Highway 12 to the Hatteras ferry when some kind of warning bell started dinging at me in the Jeep. There was no indicator light on, so I had no idea what was wrong. I turned the Jeep around to go back to the marina, and the dinging stopped. Turning again toward the north end of the island I drove a mile or two and it started again. Ahhhh!!! I continued toward the ferry at the north end of the island. When I turned off the head lights the warning bell did not come back on. I got almost to the ferry when I came upon a section of the dunes that had been washed away in the wind and waves and the Atlantic Ocean was coming across the road.
Below waves washing across the road. (Sorry it is a little blurry. I was trying to drive and take the picture). That is the Atlantic Ocean just to the right of the picture. You can see the break in the dunes.
I knew I had to get to the ferry before it shut down, so I carefully drove through the surf, knowing roughly where the road was. The Jeep did fine and I got to the ferry just as the 6:30 AM ferry was pulling away from the dock. Ahhhhh!!!! Now I had to wait until the 7:30AM ferry. Ok, not a problem. While waiting for the ferry I was able to get Keith on the phone to tell him about the alarm I had when the headlights were on. We couldn't figure out for sure what it was. Our concern was it could be the alternator going bad, but we weren't sure. I was apprehensive about driving all the way to PA and not being able to use the headlights if I needed to. We talked about several options for me to try such as removing one of the fuses so the alarm wouldn't come on with the lights on. I ultimately decided on a plan "D". I would drive the Jeep as originally planned to Morehead City, then Wrightsville Beach the next day. There I could get the rental car to make the trip to PA and Keith could have the Jeep and investigate the alarm. I called my mom to let her know and off I went on the 7:30 AM ferry to Hatteras. Thankfully it was an otherwise non-eventful drive to Morehead. The next day I drove to Wrightsville and Keith took the boat with all going well.
Keith coming under the Wrightsville Beach Bridge with Southern Style
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