#93 Day 3 - NC Coast Bicycle Tour Part 1
Surf City Campground to Carolina Beach Campground
Morning clouds stretch across the sky, reflecting the early rays of the sun, causing them, the water, the sand, and even the air to shimmer with a silver flair. The NC coast line is known as the silver coast and it is elegantly living up to it’s alias this morning.
There are but a few people on the beach yet—small roving dots scattering on the coast line in the distance. Nearby, a man sits by the water watching over his collection of fishing poles. A lady sits at the base of a dune wrapped in a blanket, sipping coffee, gazing at the ocean.
The camp begins to stir as I heat water for oatmeal and coffee. I am at a point of indecision: should I hang around Surf City all day then camp here again tonight or should I head to the next campground, whichever it may be. Either way is a win. I’ll think on it over breakfast.
My indecision needs more coffee. I enter the rustic camp office and pour their complementary coffee into my tin cup. After talking with the owner and a few other guys who are also holding cups of this black-colored life-giving goodness, I chose one of the four wicker chairs that line the front porch, then settle into to one while I read from my 1909 copy of Jack London’s South Sea Tails. Don’t panic, This treasure is kept in a heavy duty Ziploc bag when riding. I figured this book would complement the vibe of my ride. I had figured correctly.
Drawn back to the beach, I walk along the ocean’s edge, periodically lured into the water by it’s persuasive authority .
Oceans have a dominance no other water possesses. Enormous lakes are created and controlled by man’s inventions. Mighty rivers can be dammed and rerouted by the same powers. But oceans are unbridled wonders of nature, wild and free, creators of their own fates, only affected slightly by a few natural influences. Oceans answer to no man.