Trip to OBX and Beaufort 10k

Jon and I were not able to take a full weeks vacation in the Outer Banks this year...  so since we already had our yearly Fri/Sat night trip scheduled in Beaufort, NC for the Beaufort Road Race, we decided to add a 3- night stay in the Outer Banks first. 

Tuesday afternoon (Jul 17) we arrive at the Cypress House Inn, a Bed and Breakfast Jon found in Kill Devil Hills on beach road...  perfect location!  Walk out the door and across the street, and you're on sand.  We were immediately taken with the place, and the Innkeepers (Bill and Veda) were fantastic hosts!

Greeting us at the Cypress House Inn

In what would be a short visit, we hit our usual favorite spots and tried some new places, too.  Along with a lovely visit to the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo.  The Outer Banks is by far my favorite beach and our stay was not nearly long enough...  (looking forward to a return visit in a few weeks!)

Ariel view of the Sunken Gardens I found online

After our Tue/Wed/Thur night stay, we embarked on a travel day that Friday (Jul 20), which started with a drive to Cape Hatteras.  We took a ferry ride over to Ocracoke, drove the island and then took a much longer ferry ride from there to Cedar Island.  Once arriving there, we drove about 35 miles into Beaufort.  There's really no "good" way to drive from OBX to Beaufort...  so we thought the ferry rides would be fun.

Once in Beaufort, we settled into our next B&B, the Pecan Tree Inn.  This is our 4th year staying here.  I've always liked it, but compared to the hopsitality we received at the Cypress House Inn, along with the hot breakfast, conversations with the Innkeepers, etc..., this one is now lacking.  We'll probably try another place next year.

So Friday night, we receive the usual rainfall in Beaufort, making for a steamy race morning.  The race doesn't start until 8:00 am and the temps are always horrendous!  With tendonitis issues keeping my mileage WAY down thru the summer, I wondered how well this would go.  I managed to run the first mile...  then miles 2 & 3 I was doing a run/walk.  The sun was peeking in and out and it was terribly humid...  as always, the race doesn't disappoint.  On top of my struggles, I keep hearing the trailing motorcycle behind me...  so I'm wondering if I'm last!  I've passed a couple of folks, so I don't think so... unless they've dropped out.  Do people drop out of 10k's, I wondered?  Anyway, the last three miles, I resorted to literally running a few feet, walking a few feet, etc...  until I finally made the final turn back onto Front St. and was in my last half mile.  It's my slowest 10k to date...  1:14:43.  I seem to be setting PW (personal worst) records this year in every distance I run!  Nice.

So after the race, we enjoyed some time at Atlantic Beach, then an evening in Beaufort...  then headed home on Sunday.  Overall, a nice six-day trip, but with basically three travel days out of the six, didn't seem like we had that much time for fun stuff.  So I look forward to our fully FUN trip back to the Cypress House Inn over Labor Day weekend!

Atlantic Beach

Beaufort Sound