Beautiful Rodanthe
The city of Rodanthe is a small stop along the beautiful highway 12 that runs through the Outer Banks. Walking through the town, eating some incredible pizza, and visiting a few Outer Banks must sees like Jockey’s Ridge and The Wright Brothers Memorial were great parts of this adventure. But, I will remember Rodanthe as the place I found my van life self. I know that sounds cheesy but it doesn’t make it any less true.
After exploring the Bodie Island Lighthouse, I headed to my next campsite. I am going to be honest, when I reserved this site I wasn’t really sure about the campground, The name itself was a little worrisome, Rodanthe Watersports. I kept thinking is this actually a campground or am I getting scammed?
In the reservation email I was instructed to go directly to my site, there was no check-in required. So I knew I would have to figure out the parking situation on my own, and that made me a little nervous, My parking has drastically improved, but I am by no means an expert.
When I arrived, my parking worries were well founded. Let’s just say that I have never been so grateful for the 2 different camera angles I have in my van for backing up. I needed them both to squeeze Lucy safely into her spot. But I did it scared, and I have to say I did it well.
Once parked all my worries faded away. This campground was AMAZING! You can read my full review of Rodanthe Watersports here. This small quiet campground is located on the waterfront of the Pamlico Sound. The sites are small, as most sites on the beach are, but the view of water and sunsets alone made it worth every penny.
When I say I found my van life self in Rodanthe, this is what I mean. Before I set out on this journey, I had a vision of what van life would be. It was usually some image of sitting in my van with the doors open enjoying nature and surrounded by like minded people. I knew this wouldn’t be everyday, but I dreamed of the days when it would be my experience. Up until this point, I have enjoyed all of the other campgrounds that I have visited, but most of the friendly campers were older retired couples on a vacation. And in these campgrounds weather and security have prevented me from opening my van to nature especially at night.
But in Rodanthe, all of that changed. I found my people and experienced that dreamy moment of being surrounded by nature. In the campground, there were single people of all ages traveling full time. Being able to chat with them and learn from them was incredible. Then, the weather cooled off, and I was able let nature into my van. I watched the sunset every night and slept with the back doors open to the lullaby of the water. It was so beautiful.
It was an amazing week, but Mother Nature decided to give me even more. I had read online that a solar storm was going to allow the northern part of the country to see the Aurora Borealis, but North Carolina was not in the forecast. Little did I know that despite the forecast I was in for a once in a lifetime moment. As I was walking to the bathroom to brush my teeth, I looked up and there were the lights. It was so unexpected and incredible that it literally brought me to tears. I just kept thinking how is this my life?
As I have said in other posts, the learning curve for van life has been steep. I have had to do a lot of things that make me scared and uncomfortable, but moments like this week in Rodanthe remind me that it is absolutely worth it.
