Well it's been some time since the last update - we have had some long days travelling and patchy internet connection. Hopefully normal service can now be resumed.

Tuesday was our one full day in Myrtle Beach - we had hoped to hire bikes and cycle along the new boardwalk. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a bike shop that was open as it was out of season - even though it was 72 degrees!!!! We did find an adventure golf course that was open and after a couple of rounds of golf we set off for a walk along the boardwalk instead. Afternoon saw us trying out the lazy river at the hotel but as the sun was on the wrong side of the hotel, it proved a little too chilly so we hit the beach instead. As I settled down to read my book, I was attacked by a swarm of biting flies so we gave up on the beach too!!! (I now have a lovely red lump growing out of the side of my head!!)There was only one thing for it - time to eat - we found an amazing Thai take away.

Following the previous night's indulgences, we decided it would be a good idea to have a work out so we tried our Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga workout..... and managed 20 minutes of it (sorry Laura but you know what a hard task master Bob Harper is!!!!). We were sorry to leave our penthouse aparment but unfortunately our time here had come to an end and we headed north to our next destination - Atlantic Beach in North Carolina.

On the advice of a very nice lady at the North Carolina visitor centre, we decided to give the main town on our route (Wilmington) a miss and headed for Southport instead. This was a very nice coastal town and well worth the diversion. We arrived in Atlantic Beach with just enough time to visit Fort Macon which was still a working fort right up to the end of the 2nd World War and is the best preserved fort in the Carolinas.

One of the reasons for staying in Atlantic Beach was to catch a ferry to enable us to drive along the Outer Banks - a group of sandbanks out in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of North Carolina. As we waited for the ferry, the beautiful blue skies we had enjoyed so far clouded over. The ferry was delayed as they waited for the wind and tide to be right. As we hit Ocracoke and travelled along the Outer Banks towards Kill Devil Hills (via a second smaller ferry), the wind and the weather got worse. At one point the road (which is only seperated from the ocean by the sandbanks) flooded and we watched as JCBs moved the sand back from the road to the dunes. We later found out that there were 20-30 mph winds with 17' waves!!!

Kill Devil Hills got it's name from the foul tasting rum that washed ashore from ship wrecks, which was said to taste bad enough to "kill the devil". The area is famous for being the site of the first controlled flight by the Wright Brothers in December 1903. We spent quite some time at the Wright Brothers National Park and Memorial as if it wasn't for them, Ant and I wouldn't be able to do what we do today and see all these amazing sights. As we left Atlantic Beach to start our journey inland toward Raleigh, we found an independent coffee shop (not a Starbucks in sight Paul!!) who roasted their own coffee - heaven!!!

Tomorrow we head further inland towards the mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway - they have already had snow in some areas of the Parkway and some ski areas are open so we will be swapping the shorts and t-shirts for thermals!!