A Surprise Trip

Observation Essay

It was about 10:30 Saturday morning when I woke up, still feeling bad from the night before. My boyfriend decided at the last minute to surprise me and four of our children with a day at the beach the day before. We left with only the clothes on our backs and bathing suits. It was only after we arrived that we decided to stay the night. So we got us a room at the Sea Foam motel in Nags Head, NC.
After I was finally able to get up from the bed, I woke the children up to get ready so we could leave. We all took showers, packed up all our belongings and headed out. It was well past the check-out time before we left, but the housekeeper just laughed and told us to take our time. We all jumped into the van and pulled out from the motel. We took a right out of the parking lot heading north on Highway 12, intent on going home. After driving only a few blocks, we took a left onto Forbes St. and then another left onto Highway 158 south. We stopped at the Food Lion and picked up a few snacks and sandwich makings. When we left the grocery store we drove about a mile south before stopping at a Shell service station to fill up with gas.
We pulled out of the service station onto Highway 12 and continued to head south. During our journey, the view to my left was large sand hills covered in tall grass. Every now and then you could catch a glimpse of the ocean. The scenery to my right consisted mainly of trees and shrubbery. Just miles before reaching the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, I looked over to my right, just over the trees, to see the Bodie Island Lighthouse. We continued, passing over the bridge was awesome. Miles and miles of water surrounded us. I had never been this far south in the Outer Banks, so I was surprised when my boyfriend informed me that we were going to ride the ferry to Ocaracoke Island. At thirty-three years old I had never been on a ferry, so I was very excited.
We stopped by a Quik Stop in Avon to get cigarettes. I sat inside the van with the children while my boyfriend went into the store. The children were so excited that they were all talking at one time. I really could not understand what any of them were talking about. My boyfriend came back out of the store and got back into the van holding the cigarettes and a picture. The picture was of Highway 12, where Hurricane Isabelle washed out the road.
We took a right out of the Quik Stop back onto Highway 12 and continued south towards Hatteras to catch the ferry to Ocaracoke Island. When we reached Hatteras we got in line and waited for the ferry to come back from Ocaracoke. While we waited, we all decided to get out of the van and stretch our legs and use the restroom before the ferry got back. We got all of the food we bought at the grocery store out of the back of the van so we could make sandwiches during our ride. Just as we were sitting there playing with the seagulls, the children noticed the ferry heading back. We all got back into the van and waited for all of the cars to exit the ferry. Once all the cars were clear, we proceeded onto the ferry, parking so close to the other cars that we barely had room to walk between them.
While we were waiting for all the cars to board the ferry, we started to make everyone sandwiches. We sat inside the van eating as the ferry left the dock. Once everyone was finished eating, we decided to get out and walk up the steps to the top deck to get a better view of the ocean. It was kind of crowded so we came back down the steps and walked to the back of the ferry. The trip to the Island took about forty-five minutes, during which time we walked around the ferry. My boyfriend and I watched as the seagulls flew overhead and the children tossed them breadcrumbs, ducking their heads every time one would swoop down over them. Just before we reached the Island, I caught a glimpse of a pod of dolphins swimming along in the distance. Minutes later we were able to spot the Island, so we all headed back to our vehicles as we approached Ocaracoke. Once we reached the dock, we waited in the van until it was our turn to exit.
Once we had departed the ferry, we continued south on Highway 12. We passed several restaurants and gift shops on our way. There were people walking and riding bikes along the sides of the road as we drove past. It was not very long before we had reached the southern tip of the Island, so we turned around on Highway 12 and started heading back north towards the ferry. Along the way we decided to stop by one of the gift shops called “The Pirates Chest.” We all went inside to look around. The shop was filled with little knick knacks, toys, shells, etc. We let each of the children pick them out something, paid the cashier and we were on our way again.
Before we reached the ferry, we made one more stop by “The Dipping Dots” for some ice cream. The shop had all sorts of goodies, including cakes, brownies, fudge and candy. The children walked around the shop while we waited for the cashier to finish helping another customer. I could tell that they were hoping to get a bag of treats along with their ice cream. When it was our turn to order, we all chose the flavor ice cream we wanted and waited as the cashier fixed our cones. We paid for our ice cream and headed back to the van to continue to the ferry.
When we got back to board the ferry, we pulled in line and played with the seagulls again while we waited for the ferry to arrive. Once the ferry pulled into the dock, we waited patiently as the other cars cleared out. When the last car pulled away, we were guided onto the ferry once more and continued our trip back home.