Still Hanging Out In The Outer Banks – It’s All About Baby Steps

I’ve extended my stay here in Rodanthe NC until next week so I can finish a good round at the chiropractor and, hopefully, hit the road with my back in good shape!

My Back Is On The Mend

I probably could have gotten back on the road by now but giving my back more time to recuperate was all the excuse I needed to stay here a bit longer!

My back is healing but I’m stiff-n-sore (especially when I try to get out of bed). But I pay the Chiropractor to beat me up every few days so being stiff-n-sore for a day or two is to be expected.

We’re being aggressive with getting my back fixed up because I’m not going to be here long. So, every few days I get a chiropractic adjustment

I have one more beating next week and will be hitting the road after my appointment.

Walking A Long Long Boardwalk

In between adjustments I’ve been trying to walk more. It’s a balance between resting and being more active. For now, I only walk on solid, flat surfaces.

Earlier in the week…

I drove south of Rodanthe to a Day Use Area that has an extremely long but solid boardwalk.

It looked like a long way to walk. I wasn’t sure how my back would react but I was going to give it a whirl.

The first part of the boardwalk was fairly level with the middle section having a slight incline.

On the incline, I had to stop periodically because my back started to spasm. Once the spasm was under control I kept inching my way forward.

A couple people passed me on the boardwalk because I was walking slower than they were.

Sometimes it’s all about baby steps and baby steps was all I could do that day.

The next leg of the boardwalk was uphill (in order to get over a tall, tall dune).

The dunes are protected here. You can be fined for walking on them. I suppose that’s one of the reasons for a boardwalk.

I finally reached the summit of what seemed like Mt Everest. Then, I gladly headed down the other side.

By the time I reached the bottom end of the boardwalk I was almost too pooped to walk to the ocean shore.

But I’d come this far and I’m not stopping now!

I slowly headed to the shore, making sure my footing was as solid as possible on the potentially shifting sand.

When I reached the ocean waters I stuck my foot in, turned around and headed back.

It was going to be a long walk back. Still ahead of me was the long, long boardwalk and the parking lot (why didn’t I park closer?!) before finally reaching the van.

Slowly Losing The Complicated-ness of Life

Ever since my first appointment with the new chiropractor I’ve been sleeping much better. It was such a relief to not be in so much pain.

Wednesday morning…

I woke up feeling pretty good! I’d just missed the sunrise on the beach and decided to sit at my campsite, enjoying the ocean breeze.

Suddenly I hear something…

It was birds…. and they’re singing their happy morning songs.

I left The Homeland almost a month ago and this is the first time I’ve truly heard the birds. They’ve always been there – I just wasn’t tuned in.

I continued to listen and focus on what I was hearing… I heard happy little birds singing their cheerful morning songs… with the gentle sound of the ocean singing harmony in the background.

This was the first time (since leaving The Homeland) that I’ve actually sat and enjoyed the sounds of nature with a (somewhat) clear and uncluttered mind.

Sometimes we let the simple-ness of life get buried beneath the self-induced complicated-ness of life and we can’t see the forest for the trees.

I’m inching my way forward, taking more baby steps and starting to enjoy nature… again.

My Body Aches and There’s A Storm Brewing

Thursday…

I was doing so well yesterday but, today, my body aches and I don’t know why.

To top that off… around 2pm we get a text message from the campground warning us of heavy rain and winds. They asked us to bring in awnings and bring in or secure anything outside that could blow around.

I’m not a normal camper. I don’t put stuff outside and I don’t have an awning so I was already good to go.

Inside the van, I closed the windows enough so rain wouldn’t get in and got ready to hunker down.

We didn’t get much warning because the wind and rain started shortly after the campground messaged us.

Hunkering Down

I don’t like storms like this no matter what type of house I live in!

At one point it got so windy I thought it might be time to bend over and kiss my booty goodbye.

The wind was so strong that the water in my water jug was jiggling and the towels I have hanging on hooks were swaying back and forth.

Thursday night into the wee hours of Friday morning…

There was a brief reprieve where the wind and rain died down a bit. I kept wondering “is this the eye of the storm?”

I must have been right because it got worse during the night.

I’d woken up to the van swaying back and forth. It felt like I was on a boat so I looked out the window to see if I was floating out to sea!

The power had gone out earlier (on the entire island and the next island).

It was pretty dark. I couldn’t see anything so I went back to sleep hoping I didn’t wake up marooned on a deserted island somewhere in the Atlantic.

The Morning After The Storm

I woke up dry and still in my campsite!!

But there were pools of water on the road and in low areas.

Today was a chiro appointment day so I packed up the van (I have to do this any time I want to go anywhere) and I said goodbye to my neighbor’s (who were heading back home).

After packing everything up, I headed to the chiro in Nags Head, NC (40 minutes north of my campground). I hoped the one and only road out of there wasn’t flooded and impassable.

There were pools of water along the roadside but the road was passable.

At The Chiro

In the waiting room I chatted with another lady who was waiting for an appointment. I asked if this was typical weather and she said it wasn’t.

She calmly said it was just the effects of hurricane Eta.

That explained a lot!

While in with the chiropractor…

The Dr asked how I felt yesterday. I thought it was odd that he was only asking about yesterday but I went along with it.

When I told him of yesterday’s bodily aches and pains he smiled and said “It’s the low pressure”. He said he’s the same way and it affects some people more than other’s.

He told me the best place for people like “us” is Denver or places with low humidity (mostly out west).

But I love the east coast!! I’ll just have to figure something out!

Of course, I don’t have much in terms of climate control in the van and I’m sure that doesn’t help matters.

Screwing Up My Walmart Order

There’s a Walmart in Kitty Hawk NC (about 15 minutes north of the chiropractor). I had placed an order so I could pick it up after my appointment.

When I looked at the status of my order I realized I had placed the order in the wrong town. That town was another hour and a half away.

Oh crap!

The app said they were currently filling my order but I wasn’t driving that far just to pick up my order.

I learned that I can’t use the app to cancel an order that’s “in progress”. The only way to cancel an “in progress” order is to call 1-800-Walmart. It took longer for me to listen to the “push 1 for this, 2 for that” options than it did to cancel the order itself.

Once I got a real live person on the other end of the phone my cancellation was handled it quickly and with no fuss.

After I was done with 1-800-Walmart, I headed to the Kitty Hawk Walmart and went inside to get my much needed food and supplies.

Next Week’s Agenda

I’ll be leaving the Outer Banks and heading inland next week. My stay here was mostly resting and healing but that’s perfectly fine with me.

There’s just something about island life that I enjoy and I look forward to returning someday (possibly next year?!).

My current plan is to make my way south as the weather begins to cool down and become less humid.

Until next time, keep moving forward – even if it’s simply Baby Steps!