Welcoming Party

For the past three years we have set aside time to venture down to Portsmouth Island. Just south of Ocracoke, NC, PI was once occupied by a small fishing village.  The village still stands, however the people have since moved off the island.   We found PI in a small Outside magazine article a few years ago- the rest is history! Each trip has been marked by 'events' out of our control. The first trip- the mildest- was in June of '09. It was a great intro, and lured us into planning another.

I could do this every summer...

April of 2010 brought WIND. Sandblasting wind that shot down the beach- making fishing terrible, and ushering us into the safety of the dunes to retreat from it's fury. 


Our desires of the PI experience were not met, so we again traveled back in 2010, this time bridging the last week of June, into the first week of July.  The wind was much calmer, but still present.  Thunderstorms rained down destroying  our metal awning frame (basically palmed it flat onto the beach.)  We retreated to the dunes...again.  After a few enjoyable days of sunshine, we were set to head home. We packed up a majority of our campsite- leaving only the tent and some clothes to take care of in the morning.  Thunderstorms again came through this time raging against our tent (a glorious North Face Tent, purchased as a Christmas Gift for hubby, on our 1st Christmas!)  Poles broke, rain fly ripped, tent failed. We slept in the truck. 

The Thunderstorm that ate our campsite

With high spirits we set out for our 4th adventure on PI, this time with 2 pups! We caught the ferry, drove up the beach to find our spot and set up camp, this time close to the dunes, so we wouldn't have to move it!


Wednesday and Thursday were warm, breezy, beautiful beach days.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were hot, dead calm days. Have you ever seen the Atlantic Ocean look like a lake?! It was scary calm. There were NO waves, NO wind and NO relief from these guys. 

Source

Black flies, unassuming as they appear, are the ninjas of the bug kingdom. Swarming in from the dunes (because there was no wind to keep them at bay), they attacked both hubs and myself- as well as the dogs.  We quickly made the decision to move our campsite closer to the water- to no avail, they just followed us. They laughed at our bug spray- 100% deet- and kept on mounting attacks at our ankles.  The wind picked up, the bugs went back to the dunes, and we were finally safe from their onslaught.  Lesson #1- you will ALWAYS move your campsite on PI, so keep it clean.

The beginning of a love affair

We recently returned from a trip to Portsmouth Island, our third adventure there. Portsmouth Island was our home away from home for 6 days, and it offered us a chance to relax and unplug for minute! It's a place that touches your soul, and has you planning your next trip before you even leave.

Let's rewind to June 2008- my hubs was reading his monthly issue of Outside Magazine and found a small blip on a magical place that offered beach camping, ON THE BEACH!!!! WHAT?!?! No houses, no shopping, no pavement, hardly any people- does this really exist!!? Well yes my friends, it most certainly does!! We both knew that a trip that summer wouldn't be possible, as I was already gearing up for my next school year- in a new location!

We did make a pact that NEXT SUMMER- 2009, we would go and experience all of the beauty that an uninhabited island would have to offer!

Fast forward to June 2009 we spent a week camping on the beach, catching fish, and loving life! We were hooked- literally!

April 2010 brought us back to the island, but this time it was SPRING!! What a difference- the wind was blowing hard - ALL WEEK! Sand was pummeling us, and all of our gear! It was amazing in it's own right, but definitely different.

April's trip did not satiate our desire to unplug and relax on the beach, so we had to squeeze 1 more trip in this year!

We wrapped up June and brought in July down around milepost 8! This trip was pushed back- due to a sick dog, but I wouldn't change a THING about it. The planning and execution were a total success in our adventure book (I even managed to squeeze in a run and a few pilates moves during all that laying around soaking up the good vibes action)!

Who knows what type of trips lie ahead for us- there were rumors of a backpacking getaway, and canoe camping trip in the upcoming weeks! For now I'm happy keeping the laid back vibe, this trip to Portsmouth Island bestowed upon me. Morning dips in an ocean will do that to you.

Interested in PI?! Here is how we got there.