We rolled into the outer banks at sunset. The first beach we saw we yanked the wheel and parked the car. We kicked our shoes and ran down a sandy hill until we hit the water . The sun was bright and orange behind us sinking below the horizon. The water was cold and refreshing. I wore a little hippy headband the entire time and bounced around excited. We stretched our legs and then climbed back in the car and looked for a place to eat dinner. We found a poppin little joint that had a live band banging it out. We sat outside and swayed to the beat with the locals. After dinner we stopped at a drive through convenience store and picked up some beers and then went to find a hotel for the night. It was pitch black. Only about 9 pm and the entire town seemed to shut down. We looked at each other and laughed. Fuck it, we’ll sleep on the beach. We pulled into an empty parking lot, reclined our seats, popped the beers and talked until we fell asleep. We woke up before the sun. Morning mist was running down the windows and deer were grazing on reeds popping up through the sand. We strolled down the beach and watched the sun rise and burn up the clouds. It was just us and a solitary man fishing on the dock in the distance. We found a lighthouse and explored a bit before we walked back to the car and got on the road heading deeper into the south.
