I hopped in my car and drove 10 hours South for three reasons.  To run the OBX Half Marathon, to visit a dear friend, and to experiment with solo travel.  Of the three, I accomplished two with much delight, and only failed at one.

In my 6+ years of always showing up at least 1 hour early to all of my races, and finishing every single one of them, I finally missed my first race.  And it was really for the best.  Still rocking that injury from the Westchester Half Marathon, running was not in the cards.  So, when we couldn’t figure out the shuttle system, and never made it to the start on time, I was disappointed, but not as upset as I would be.  For the best…if I plan on running till I’m 80, I better start playing this smart.

Bygones.  I was able to spend the weekend with my friend and her family, who I missed dearly and that made this whole trip worth it.

They left on Sunday to go back home.  I stayed in the Outer Banks for a few more days, bopping up and down from Corolla all the way down to Ocracoke Island, all by myself.

I was apprehensive of how adventurous I’d be on my own.  Besides traveling for business, I never really traveled alone before.  I wasn’t sure if I would be brave enough to go explore and sight see on my own, or if I would resort to holing up in the cottage for most of the time catching up on reading.  I ended up exploring, and it was surprisingly a lot of fun.

My travel companions.

I was on the Outer Banks during the off season.  So, I was able to get around quite easily, and I had many of the sites to myself.

I came and went as I pleased.  I took a long walk on beach during sunrise and watched the surf fishermen do their thing.

On a whim, I took the drive all the way down Cape Hatteras to hop on a ferry to Ocracoke Island.

The next day I drove North to Corolla to climb a light house right as the gale warnings were starting.  It’s windy on top of a lighthouse.

I paid hommage to the Wright Brothers. Their bravery and sheer intelligence allows me to make my dreams of traveling the world a reality.

I explored some large sand dunes, which I had all to myself. It was eerie, just me, sand, sun and wind.

On my last day, I drove over the sound and explored Manteo as the arctic cold front blanketed the Outer Banks and brought snow flurries.  I had dropped in for a class at Crossfit Outer Banks that morning.  They blamed me for bringing the cold with me.

This was the trip I really needed.  I caught up with a friend I missed terribly, and I discovered I am capable of traveling alone, and how wonderful it really is.  Four years ago, I bought my DSLR hoping that it would give me a good reason to break out of my shell and explore more.  After four years, I can now say it has.

These were just some of my favorites from the trip, but remember to check out all of my photos on my Flickr Album.  I whittled it down to 147 photos, and that was an undertaking.