Human Belonging

Day 1: "Don't look now!" Early Thursday morning we piled into 2 vans, sitting on top of our gear, food, and bags ready to drive 4 hours to the Outer Banks. We were 12 college students glad that it was finally fall break. It was mid-October and we were headed to Oregon Inlet Campsite for 4 days of exploring OBX, trying new sports activities, and making memories.

Something to note, I quite enjoy a long car ride because 1. you are trapped with the people in your car and therefore must talk about anything and everything which leads to great friendships, 2. especially if you take rural roads you get to watch the world go by as you drive, little towns and houses wizzing by with people living their everyday lives, and 3. your music taste is widely broadened because as you take suggestions from the passengers for your queue and as the ride stretches on some very cool and strange stuff comes on.

When we arrived at our little campsite we were nestled in between sand dunes and a 1 minute walk from the beach. We unloaded the vans and set up our homes for the next few days.

Oregon Inlet Campsite lots 22 & 23

Once everyone was unpacked we couldn't help but race to the beach. I had been looking forward to this trip mostly because we would be near the ocean the entire time. When asked the question mountains or ocean I always choose ocean without hesitation because I crave the sound of the waves, the sand under my feet, the sun on my face, and the calming effect I get when at the beach. The ocean is where I feel calm and renewed and peaceful.

One of my favorite things is watching my friends be joyful. As we raced across the sand to the water they began running through the waves and laughing with their whole bodies and tracing patterns in the sand with their feet. I watched them each have their moment, whether that was a conversation with a local fisherman, solitarily looking for shells, or slowly having the waves bury their feet in sand; they each found a space to reflect and be their whole selves.

We took advantage of golden hour and captured the pure happiness of being together at the beach

After we got our fill of the beach we piled back in the vans and drove 5 minutes to Bodie Lighthouse to watch the sunset and begin to explore our surroundings. As the goofballs we are, we recorded the first tik tok of the trip and admired the stunning sunset we saw night one.

Our first day ended with delicious stir fry, tent bonding, and the first campfire of the trip, with s'mores of course!

Day 2: We all woke up with excitement because we were all going to try something we'd never done before, sand dune surfing. We prepared our surfing playlists, packed our lunches, and set our eyes on the prize. These things did happen but in reality, we ate our breakfast slowly and had to be prodded out of the warmth of our tent, were skeptical but optimistic about the surfing, and hoped it would warm up during the day because it was a tad chilly.

We pulled into the parking lot of Kitty Hawk Kites which services hang gliding lessons, kite rentals, and surf rentals and were greeted by two surfer dude bros names Wolf and Andy. They got us our gear, gave us some instruction and sent us on our way.

There have been few other times where I've felt I stepped onto another planet but this was one of them. The dunes were the only thing you could see and being completely surrounded by sand was a new experience for me. I felt like I suddenly was transported to Tatooine.

Let me tell you I felt alive, because you aren't wet and neither is the sand so it doesn't stick to you, and I ran around finding steep dunes to surf down. Everyone tried it multiple times and there were only two wipeouts which for a group of 14 is a success! It was very important to wax the bottom of the board before you surfed to increase your speed as well as lift up the front to prevent a nose dive followed by a tumble.

When our muscles began to hurt from running up sand mountains we decided to call it a day and have another classic picnic lunch. Conversation cards were brought out and we participated in answering the questions and taking time to just be with each other. Describe your perfect day? Mountains or ocean? If nothing was impossible, who would you be? Post deep conversations, which I love, we filled up on ice cream and fro-yo at a local shop called Peace Frogs. They have a pool in the front of their shop where you can play bumper cars but in water and I wanted to do it so badly but it would be extra money and people were fading fast from a day in the sun and we still wanted to get to Jannette's Pier.

After we thoroughly people watched everyone around us we decided it was dinner time and headed back home. If I may say so myself, the pasta and sauce with sautéed broccoli was delicious on a windy night, and our fearless trip leaders got to take an extra long nap while I wo-manned the stove.

Important Question: burnt or golden brown?

Per our tradition we had our bonfire for night 2, again with s'mores of course! Have you ever heard of the ancient art of smoke painting?? Well, you're in for a treat. I can't tell you what it is, you must study it around a campfire after your belly is full of s'mores, only then may you begin your apprenticeship. Around our beach campfire we had the privilege of practicing and I am proud to say I am a master.

Day 3: Our final day was an early one. Early because we had to get yakkin'! Kayaking is one of my favorite morning activities. So much so that I've decided I need to live near water and own a kayak among my 24 other outdoor passions. While we were kayaking we did one of my favorite things, trespassing on seemingly abandoned properties!! We paddled around the sound side of the Banks and found 2 houses on stilts on marshy patches of land, so naturally we paddled up to their docks and explored.

Once we had all found our way back through the marshes it was time for lunch, but not a picnic lunch, we drove to Manteo to eat at a restaurant and explore the town. It was a beautiful sunny day and we just roamed around wandering into local shops. I highly recommend the soft pretzel covered in crab dip at the Lost Colony Brewery & Cafe, I was salivating and ate the entire thing in less than 2 minutes. Afterwards you can stop by a rustic store called Bluegrass Island Trading Co. to get ice cream, bluegrass records, and outdoor items like sustainable camping mugs and t-shirts.

On the ride back to our campsite home we were all nervously watching the weather. A huge storm was blowing in from the ocean and we were going to get dumped on in the middle of the night with winds up to 40mph. Us sophomores were ready to buckle down for a wild night but the freshmen were a little more hesitant and wanted to sleep in the car. Mind you it is a 4 hour drive and it was nearing 5 o'clock. Our fearless trip leaders told us they would continue watching the weather and would give us a decision after dinner. Back at the campsite I'm kind of excited to ride out the storm, I'm planning to load up the car with all of our stuff so only sleeping bags, tents, and yourself get wet instead of all of your belongings. I also thought of it as a new adventure where we would gain some experience taking down a tent in the middle of a storm the next morning. But, after we had our "cookout" our leaders decided it was best to load up the car and see how close to Elon we could make it and once the drivers got tired we would pull over and sleep in the car.

We finally pull out of the campsite around 9. On the way home I'm sitting shotgun in one of the vans jamming out to a stay awake playlist and making conversation with the driver. Soon the rain begins making the pavement shine under our headlights and we're all pretty thankful we're not in a tent right now. The music keeps playing and the hours keep ticking away until we're so close we decide we can make it to Elon. In the pouring rain we all get dropped off to spend the night in our own beds and I for one slept like a baby.

Our happy camping family at our last dinner

So, go find a dune and go sledding, or kayak in the morning, or wander around an old seaside town. But the most important thing you need to do is create an authentic environment. Throughout the whole long weekend we were all committed to getting to know each other and leaving school behind. Sleeping in a tent and brushing your teeth shoulder to shoulder and roasting mallows on a beach every night strips away the material things in our lives. For us, we got to be ourselves without anything extra around us for three whole wonderful days. And that's what I love most about camping and being outside in general. You take away material belonging and focus on human belonging.

Don't think about your "things" just grab a friend and go explore that authentic environment. Open your atlas and get away for just a little bit to remember yourself.