It was a cool crisp 65° morning, when we pedaled past the golf course and through the outskirts of town.  It was not long before we were hiking a high bridge over the New River (fisherman already on the water) and dropping to the gates of Camp Lejeune, where my sister was born.

Though the gate looked foreboding, the young Marine checked our I.D.’s and waved us through.  This is a huge base (246 square miles) and it took us 15 miles to bike through.  Tall pines shaded the road, keeping our morning cool on the mostly deserted road.  With the exception of a few vintage tanks and a Vietnam War Gun Boat, there was little to see.

When our ride through the base ended, we were in the middle of the country; no shoulder, but little traffic.

Around 30 miles, our course on the country road turned to a country commercial highway.  Still no shoulder, but the speed limit was low, so the ride was not bad.  The road between Swansboro and Cedar Point is a slightly elevated and narrow land bridge over the White Oak River.  A couple miles later, we took a right turn on the very busy road and bridge that led to Emerald Isle.  We could have continued straight and avoided this tall bridge over the Bogue Sound, but we would have missed this beautiful area.

But, first stop was a bicycle store to repair a broken spoke. After almost 30,000 miles on the bike, Jerry’s wheel/rim was feeling the strain.  Considering the miles left before reaching home, Pops recommended a totally new rim.  It was going to take some time for him to get us going again, so we took a break next door and enjoyed a cold drink and delicious coffee cake.  Even with a store full of customers, this family owned business could not have been more helpful and attentive.

This island stretch is made up of Emerald Isle, Indian Beach, Pine Knoll Shores and Atlantic Beach.  The first part of our ride was along a nice bike path that skirted the traffic coming in for the long weekend.  Once the cars dispersed, we were back on the road enjoying the very colorful homes and rentals with views of the Atlantic, Bogue Sound or both; built high for protection and sight-lines.

Long boardwalks led to the beach, protecting the sand dune, but shielding our view of the ocean; naturally, we had to take a look.  Once again the sea glowed with color.

But on this 20 mile stretch, there is very little in the way of restaurants.  After 51 miles, we finally found a place to eat;before even looking at the menu, they plopped down an over-sized basket of hushpuppies.We added the Flounder and Paper Skin Crabs; lunch was fabulous, albeit fried and too much.  There was still more to see and miles to pedal before our hotel, but our two long stops earlier had kept us in the heat of the day longer than normal.  There had been a nice breeze coming off the water all day, but a shaded break was necessarybefore heading over the Intercoastal one last time (today) and into Morehead City.  This is another stop and tomorrow another day off, due to the lack of rooms over the holiday.  And though our hotel does not have much around it, we did manage to find a delicious dinner and a beautiful sunset to end our 63 mile day.