Everyone knows about the West Coast of America but you hear very little about its Atlantic cousin. North Carolina has an area of coast known as The Outer Banks. The Outer Banks are a chain of long narrow barrier islands connected to the mainland by ferry in the south and bridges in the north.

Continuing on our road trip with John and Matt we crossed by ferry to Ocracoke and camped at another National Park Service site. The weather was beautiful, hot but with a cooling ocean breeze. The campsite was right on the beach, separated only by sand dunes and the water was perfectly blue. It actually reminded me a little of Shell Island on a good day!

We only stopped the one night before it was time to up camp and move north to Hatteras Island.

We stopped at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse which is the tallest in America and actually had to be relocated in 2000 due to erosion. After spending a few hours sightseeing we pitched our tents again and spend the rest of the day down on the beach playing in the surf and soaking up the sun. This sounds idyllic but sadly some bright spark had decided it was ok to allow cars on this beach. So rather than a sandy beach scattered with windbreaks and towels there was a row of pickup trucks and vans from one end to the other. Not having a 4x4 we nestled amongst the vehicles, marking our spot with flip-flops and towels rather than mettle and rubber!

After a pleasant few hours on the beach we went out for a meal and then retired to a few games of cards back at the tent. In Central America we were prepared for bugs and bites but North Carolina was much worse. By the time you swatted one mozzi off another was landing ready to bleed you dry. Liann suffered a little worse than I did, I think the mosquitoes struggled to get through my leg hair. Hairy man 1, Insects 0!

Further north on the Outer Banks is a small town with a big claim to fame. Kitty Hawk is the spot that Orville and Wilber Wright achieved the first powered flight. The Wright brothers only managed about 12 seconds on their first attempt but what they achieved that day led to us being able to jump on an airplane for 12 hours or more now.

John and Matt, still on their own road trip to New York; kindly agreed to take us as far north as Maryland. So after Kitty Hawk we set off for the long drive to Annapolis, Maryland. As a token of our appreciation for their help we took John and Matt out for a meal before finding another 'cheap' motel for the night. To wrap up our little road trip we headed off out into Annapolis for a few drinks and found a nice bar with live music called the Rams Head. A few jack and cokes later we were ready to hit the sack.

It had been great fun travelling with John and Matt and Liann and I both really appreciated their generosity on helping us with our trip. If we hadn't of met them in Nashville, we would have missed out on another amazing adventure and a few more stories. But it was now time to say goodbye and for Liann and I to continue with the next leg of our journey.