Today was our last day here in the Outer Banks. We spent the morning on the beach, and the afternoon with “Rick’s Jeep Adventures” driving the north beaches looking for wild horses. Our guide Chris and the trip were great. Not everyday do you get to drive on the beach. In a Jeep Wrangler, sporting a 5″ suspension lift and 35″ off-road tires, with the top down. I have to tell you, 40 miles per hour through five inch deep beach sand feels an awful lot like 100 on a freeway.  

The northern beaches of the Outer Banks are home to wild Spanish Mustangs. They would swim to shore when the Spanish vessels crashed in the graveyard of the Atlantic just off the coast. The result is a 500 year old blood line of the heartiest horses who have adapted to live on beach scrub and brackish water. I’m not a horse person, and I was impressed.

The horses tend to hang out around the houses that have been built and enjoy snacking on the landscaping. It was pretty amazing to see them laying in front yards and hanging out in carports. The houses were big enough, they had plenty of room.

The tour took us about two or three miles from the Virginia line, which confirms my suspicion that it is possible to drive from Virginia Beach to Corolla along the coast. However, according to our guide Chris, there are a number of hardcore locals in the middle who wouldn’t approve and have been known to shoot at people. Gotta love a challenge… The girls don’t know it yet, but that’s how we’re going home tomorrow.

I know it would seem a little nuts to take a tour like this with a kid prone to car sickness, but she did great. Loved it. I think she really likes the wind in her hair. The Caddy in Longboat, and the Jeep in OBX. She’s just a convertible kind of girl.

We’ve enjoyed the time here. Rylie shed a couple tears tonight telling me she was going to miss boogie boarding with me, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t agree. We all had a great trip, and its going to be hard to leave.