Day 2 of the NC Ferry trip

We knew that we needed to at least catch the 4:30 ferry to Ocracoke, the last one of the day.  They only have 3 ferries from Cedar Island and only one of these is in the early afternoon.  We still had to take the Cherry Branch to Minnesot and back before heading the ferry.  It was a short ride to Cherry Branch even including my poor GPS skills and an added 60 miles going in the wrong direction.  It seems that my GPS was programed to go to the ferry yesterday and there was a waypoint that was an outlier on that route.  So the GPS had us going to that point before heading to the ferry.  Once I figured out this problem the road to the ferry was only 25 miles from the motel.

Not many people heading to the town of Minnesot.  So it was a pretty nice ride over the Neuse River.  When we got to the landing we had to exit and loop around back into the line to go back to Cherry Branch.  The ferry crew got a kick out of us doing a round trip and visited with us to hear about our journey.  It was a beautiful day and the water was smooth.  Even though these ferries seem small they do all have an air-conditioned waiting room up top with a nice view.  Given that we were crossing in 40 minutes we tended to hang around the bikes.  As we approach the ferry landing the crew wanted us to be with the bike just is case the captain bumped the landing a bit hard which could topple the bikes.  No problems here so off to Cedar Island.

There was a short cut to Cedar Island from Cherry Branch that was a beautiful countryside ride for 1 hour.  It looked like we were going to be there almost 3 hours early and Paul figured we could look around  and find a place to eat.   Well, it's been 5 years since my last trip to Cedar Island and there was nothing there except the dead end of the road.  About 3 miles from the Ferry landing was a gas station with non-ethanol gas and a little snack bar with prepared sandwiches.

Well, they did have ice cream!  So we relaxed for 2 hours in the cool place before heading to the ferry to look around.  The last three miles were as I remembered...nothing, just a dead end road.  The old motel at the ferry looked like they were trying to refurbish it for the season,  I have never seen it open.  Paul seemed to especially shocked that a few people live at the end of the road with nothing there.  Not even a Dollar General.

There was a nice waiting area and plenty of benches to relax.  This ferry to Ocracoke was about a 2 hr and 15 min ride across the sound.  It is a beautiful little island with plenty of B&B's and very good restaurants.     $10 for a motorcycle seems like a bargain.  I can also take a little nap.

It had been a long day with a lot of sitting.  We took a ride around the town and of course had to stop a the lighthouse.  Now the important stuff!  We ate dinner at the 1718 Brewing and Paul did manage to find an ice cream shop before heading to the motel, the next morning breakfast was at Pony Island Restaurant.  Very good options.  Now a word about off season travel in tourist areas.  Not all restaurants are open.  The schools are not out yet and therefore staffing is a problem.  So many wait until Memorial Day to open.  The ferries also add more boats to the schedule but remember always, ALWAYS! have a reservation on the ferries.  The motel we stayed at didn't deserve mention since it was one of the last rooms available.

Time to turn in!