Day 60 - The New Us

Author - Kate
From – Nags Head (NC)
To – Wilmington (NC)
Via – Croatan National Forest (NC)
Miles Driven – 263

Today’s Photos –
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157612130576672/

I don’t know if you’ve seen the exorcist? I haven’t because it’s a scary movie and Im a wimp but from what I can gather in the exorcist there’s a scene where the main character projectile vomits green goo while her head spins round. That used to be me all day long on Sundays after having had 10 beers on a Saturday night. Then as I started getting older without really planning to I started drinking less and noticed that even if I only had 3 beers on a night out I got really sick, sometimes this would be to the point where Grant would suggest a hospital visit, and so we started thinking that perhaps it wasn’t the volume that was the problem, maybe it was some kinda alcohol allergy.

The Brit in me didn’t want to accept that this could be true and my booze hound husband definitely didn’t so I persevered for a few years trying different concoctions to avoid hangovers and following urban legends to cure them but nothing worked and after a pretty tame night out in Blackpool last Christmas gave me the hangover from hell I decided that maybe it wasn’t worth all the pain anymore and I vowed to have the whole of January 2008 off booze. I only had 2 beers that whole month and without hangovers I had loads more free time at the weekends. I started to get so much more done o the weekends and I didn’t even miss drinking too much so I decided to just drink less all of the time from then on.

Grant has never fully gotten over this and still tries to ply me with drink once in a while but most of the time he gets it, he even points out if maybe Ive gone past my usual limit of 2 or 3 beers when I forget myself. I didn’t get it right all of the time last year and in 2008 spent 3 full days with my head down the loo but that was a significant improvement on previous years and even though I do sometimes miss it and feel a bit sensible on nights out I like the new me.

That being said this January we are on holiday and as I’m Grants main drinking buddy I didn’t think I could get away with a repeat last years month of abstinence so I tested the water by suggesting a week off. Grant asked what you’ll think is a reasonable enough question if you’re one of my former drinking mates but what may seem an odd query if you’re mot much of a drinker yourself. ‘What do we do with our time if we can’t drink?’ I can totally understand this point of view so Id prepped an answer. Rather than start our days at 10 we can get up early, do a long bike ride or a longer hike, get on the road earlier and see more while its still light out. As a result we’ll be having earlier nights and not spending as much in the evening which is easily our biggest expense after accommodation. To my pleasant surprise Grant really embraced the idea and has spent much of the last 24 hours talking excitedly about the new us and our new lifestyle.

That explains why Grant Molly and I were jogging along a beach on the beautiful outer banks this morning at 7.30am. Maybe Grant did demonstrate at one point that he could walk backwards at the same pace that I jog and possibly him and Molly ended up doing twice the distance I did but still it’s a start.

After our jog we went to the Wright brothers monument which celebrates the fact that the Wright brothers achieved the first four flights ever made in Kill Devil Hillls (not Kitty Hawk as commonly stated). We really did get a sense of how exciting it must’ve been to be there that day and in particular to be the pilot. Orville and Wilbur took it in turns in the pilot seat and Wilbur ended up making the longest flight. I could picture the brothers fighting over the control screaming “no fair, its my turn” but probably it was more civilized since they were such bright fellas. Anyhow after about an hour running around with our arms out making airplane noises it was time to leave. Next stop was Jockeys Ridge State Park, home of the largest sand dunes on the east coast. We went for a 1 mile stroll which was pretty cool and Grant jumped around like a child until he hurt his arm. So day 1 of the new us and by 11am we had done our early morning exercise, sightseeing and checked out of the hotel. So far so good. Fast forward to tonight and Grant is currently working his way through a bottle of red wine but hey it’s a Saturday night and since Ive already worked my own way through most of a tub of Nutella I shouldnt be judging.

After all of that we had a really enjoyable drive today, the six hours flew by thanks to our eclectic entertainment selections (the Fiddler on the roof soundtrack, Christian radio and Part 1 of the Great Gatsby audio book – not sure when we turned 80). The views were awesome – apologies for having taken so many road pictures but really it was gorgeous. We stopped at the Croatan National Forest on the way for a wander and so by the time we reached Wilmington it was already getting dark. Our home for the night is a condo with tropical themed furniture and a kitchen so Grant cooked up chili for dinner and we are saving the sights of town for tomorrow morning in the hope that the new us can last 2 whole days in a row. Tomorrow arvo – South Carolina :)