National Wildlife Drive - US-264/NC-94/US-64

What a great road to take for a scenic day drive...

Otters, deer, snakes, herons...

Even two bears, one small little teddy bear...

A bigger black bear walking across the road...

But not too many other vehicles.

Our first stop was this little town that was so inviting we had to take some photos and check out the local store that was part hardware, part souvenir and part everything else in life you may need to get through a day in a small town.
We drove through Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge and Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge where most of our sightings took place and even though many of our photos didn‘t turn out as well as we would have liked, it was still a great drive.

Dolphin Den Seafood Restaurant

We had heard several compliments regarding this place, so we opted to try it. There were six of us which immediately gave them the right to add 18% on the bill, we usually tip much more but the service did not match up to even a 10% tip. The food, including the desserts and the portions were nothing special. The atmosphere was not as we expected either, it is a very tiny restaurant with only about 15 tables, which they turn quickly, and even before our desserts were finished we were being rushed out. There are many other restaurants on the OBX that offer so much more for the money so we would not recommend this one.

For more photos, click on the title.

Elizabethan Gardens

1411 National Park Drive
Manteo, North Carolina 27954
252-473-3234

This is a great place to take photos, even though this was not the greatest time for blooms, we were still able to get some good shots. Take as much time as you need since there is no time limit on your visit. We spent a few hours walking through the different areas they have set to view. A point to make is the entire time we were there, none of us were bit by mosquitoes, which was so amazing since we were in the middle of greenery down every path. We would love to go again during different blooms.

Check out our photos at Picasa

North Carolina Aquarium

Not one of the best aquariums we had ever been to but it was nice and well worth the charge. It wasn’t much of a touch, but it was my first touch of a stingray. They also have a great souvenir store with anything you could ask for and the photos were awesome. An extra added bonus was the room that presented the information about the weather, especially the hurricanes in the Outer Banks area. Don’t miss out on the shark tank, big ones, little ones and others in between. If you are in the area, we would recommend taking a few hours to browse this aquarium, but we would not go out of our way to see it again.

More photos, click on the title.

The Simple Life

Things can get twisted and turned and totally out of whack but one thing for sure, the outcome always depends exactly on how we handle what is given to us each day. We are choosing to love ourselves, love our life, love each other and to be very grateful for all we do have and not dwell on the things we do not have. It’s so simple but we always make it so complicated.

We have a roof over our head, clothes to keep us warm, fans and air conditioning to keep us cool. We have the love for one another that only two very connected souls can ever experience. We have friends that we love hanging out with, sharing our times, stories and new adventures with. We have our health and the ability to perform in ways that others are not able to do. We have faith in life that all things are possible and are happening exactly how they are suppose to be.

How is your day going so far? If it is not perfect…stop giving reasons why it may not be and instead make it your best day ever!

Darrell’s Seafood Restaurant

521 S US Highway 64/264
Manteo, North Carolina
252-473-5366

They did not offer any sort of discounts, we paid $60 for 4 adults, including dessert and tip. The aroma was the first thing that got our attention, you could smell the freshness of the food being cooked and the atmosphere was scrumptious! The server was friendly and knowledgeable about their specials. Food was well presented and tasted just as good. We would recommend this place and if we are ever in the area again, we would return.

Another Fiasco with Direct TV

As long as you do not need customer service from them, all is well, but the moment things do not flow, then all hell breaks out.

The bottom line is that we have been negotiating with them since March about whether we put our service on hold or not, they say we didn’t and we say we did. We have asked for supervisors to return our calls and they never did. We sent letters, emails and made several phone calls, each with no solution. A few calls were met with them not even listening and just screaming at me. We asked them to shut us off in the meantime as they continued to threaten to do so and we tested our system the first of April and could not get service, so we continued to negotiate, or so we tried to but they would not return our calls, letters or emails.

Then the most ridiculous thing happened, they attempted to retrieve money from our bank account without any approval or authorization with a debit card that we had previously used to make a payment. Not just once but over the course of 3 days, they attempted to take thousands of dollars in different amounts over 15 times. Thank goodness we had less than $5 in this account so all that happened was it was being declined but if it was a bank, they would have charged us at least $30 for each attempt they made, which would have added up to several hundred dollars. Luckily, this was observed the day before our direct deposit was to hit this account and we shut it down, which then caused a huge inconvenience for us to get our direct deposit.

This has always been a concern for us because over 10 years ago our identities were stolen and our credit rating was severely damaged which we have never totally recouped from, so we are always a bit apprehensive about credit or debit cards. That was one of the reasons we chose to go with a reloadable card from Wal-Mart, which can be used to pay bills, receive direct deposits and can be used just like any other credit card except you do not get any credit. What is on the card is what you get, it processes immediately and does not allow any overages at all and does not charge for any of those overages because it never pays them, it just declines them.

This is a warning to all consumers that if you pay your bills online, as many of full-time RVers do, then be aware that this too may happen to you, they have access to your account and they claim they have all legal rights to do so. We plan to pursue this into the highest courts to see just exactly what our rights are as consumers and just because they have our account information what right they have to just take it from our account without our immediate approval.

If any of our readers have any suggestions on who we should contact, please zip us a comment. This by no means is over; it has only just begun…

Time is Flying

All of the sudden here it is June, where on earth did the month of May go? We had to once again settle into a position to regroup for a spell before we are able to head out once again pursuing the NASCAR dream. Not the plan we had in mind but we are in a very beautiful area and the place we are working is marvelous, thank goodness for that since I am already getting hitch-itch.



Even with the assistance from a Director from NASCAR, we had been unable to secure work at the tracks we needed to pursue our dream once again. This has been really disheartening for us because we worked so hard and really wanted it to come full circle this year but we are not giving up entirely. We still want to visit every track on the NASCAR circuit but we may have to find a different way to do this, we are thinking now to do it as fans and not workers. In our experience the fans get a better advantage anyway then the workers do, so it will be a better opportunity for us and we may have found a way. Right now it is in the beginning stages of planning but we will let you all know as we progress in this new adventure.

In the meantime, we will share with you our adventures in the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina. It took us a few weeks to get our sea legs strong enough to be able to keep us from being freaked out here, wherever we stand and look out, we can see water. Looking east we see the Atlantic Ocean, then turning west we see the Pamlico Sound with very little land in between. Seeing the OBX on a map, all you see is a line and even more freaky is driving onto the OBX while viewing your GPS, freaky indeed!


We have met so many nice folks here, some friends we will be keeping in touch with for years to come and some that have touched our lives in ways that our lives will never be the same again. We already have stories to tell and photos to share, just have to get out of my pity party and begin organizing them once again.