Fourth Annual North Carolina Beach Run

Halloween Weekend

October 29-31, 2004

Hatteras National Seashore, NC USA

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Did someone say Beach? Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I did. For years, someof the founding members of the S10Extremist.org group has gone to Carolina Beach in late October for vacation. Last year, a couple of members of the Capital Off Road Enthusiasts (CORE) joined in as there is some overlap in the two groups and a beach run had been on the CORE agenda for a while. Everyone had a great time, so when the topic came up again this year, the CORE group jumped at the chance. In fact, this year, the group was 8 vehicles, with4 vehicles from CORE, 4 S-10s and 6 vehicles from the S10Extremists and friends. Before you whip out your calculators and impugn my mathematical abilities, take a look at this year's attendees list:

• Keith and Betty Holman (01 BlaZeR2 - CORE and S10Extremists)
• Paul and Julia Woscek (01 S-10 Crew Cab - CORE and S10Extremists) along with Mandibles, the Wireless Dog
• Mike Vincenty and Donna Edwards (90 YJ  - CORE)
• Bob Weaver (03 Rubicon - CORE)
• John Blackmore  (94 S10 - S10Extremist)
• John Maher (01 Blazer -  S10Extremist)
• Jeremy and Curtis Slone (04 Taco Crewcab - Founding Member and Friend of S10Extremist)
• Bruce Hatton (Shortruck Tacoma - Life Member of the NCBBA and Friend of All)

See, it still adds up to 8!

Carolina Beach has added a $10 per day usage fee for drivers on the beach. This year, we decided to try something different that allowed for more drivable beach and avoided the fee which some viewed as a bit on the steep side for the limited amount of beach there. Thus we ended up Buxton NC next to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. To ride in this area has no additional fees although permits are required further north in the towns of Nags Head and Kitty Hawk. 

Everyone drove in from their different locales on Friday. To arrive in Buxton, most came south from the Kitty Hawk and Nags Head area with Jeremy and Curtis riding the ferry north from Ocracoke and beyond. These pictures show some of that ride. Notice the water along the edge of the pavement. Since this past season's hurricanes, the groundwater table is so close to the roadbed that high tide results in some very wet pavement. Heavy equipment is currently in use to control this but long-term plans for a solution are still in the works.

John and John had arrived at our chosen destination of the Falcon Motel  in Buxton first. They discovered that John (Blackage) Blackmore's electric fans had developed a wiring problem which needed to be repaired pronto. The group coming down from CORE discovered them in the parking lot with the hood up. Luckily John (Tech) Maher never goes far without his trusty soldering and other tools so the situation was being addressed.

Seafood was on the mind after the long ride, so when Shortruck called, we asked for recommendations and headed on out to dinner before he and the Slones arrived. Shortruck met us in time for dessert and after walking back to the Falcon, we all loaded up for a night ride to the area just below the light. The clouds obscured the moon and stars so most of the light was from headlights and the many fisherfolk lining the beach. Whilst we were there, Jeremy and Curtis arrived with Jeremy's promised surprise, a fresh off the lot 04 Taco Crew.

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