My first two outings this year (April and May) were more accurately described as “Get Out and Do Nothing” kind of trips.  I really just wanted a quiet and relaxing weekend – I just didn’t want to do it home. A couple of weekends camping at Oregon Inlet and Hatteras Island seemed to work that out of my system and now it was time for a bit more activity.

This time I loaded up the kayak, bike, and camper and headed down to Ocracoke Island for a little paddling.  The weather was a bit unsettled and windy on Saturday so I just did a little biking and enjoyed the “Ocrafolk Festival” going on in the village.  Sunday was clear and calm so I decided to try the launch site located directly across from the NPS Campground about a half mile beyond the R/V dump station. I’d found this site last year while biking and remembered that the mosquitoes were ferocious.  I made sure that my gear was ready and I had plenty of repellent so I could quickly unload the kayak and get out in the water.  As expected, the mosquitoes swarmed the moment I got out of the vehicle.  Next time I’ll get all the gear loaded in the kayak back at the parking area.  I spent couple of hours of quiet paddling exploring the shoreline and a few of the coves and then headed back to the launch site – nothing special but at least I was finally out in the kayak!