Here's the camping on Ocracoke Island link. It's very cool that I could make reservations online but it was definitely Federal Government type reservations and not Amazon type reservations.

I'm taking my dog, Pip, so that's an issue. He has to be on a leash and can't go to the swimming beaches but that's okay. There's a lot of beach on this island that isn't designated for swimming. I'm going to check out the off-road-vehicle only section. I'm sure it won't matter if a dog does his thing on that part of the island.

I'm also going to be accompanied by my daughter, Kathleen, who has just kicked ass at William and Mary by defending her Senior Thesis and getting an "A." She's also a lot of fun. We'll do some walking, probably following this suggestion.

I've been to Ocracoke before. If you look at a map, street names are listed. However, in actual reality there are no real functioning street signs. Instead, everywhere you go there are little ads on wood at the street corners that say things like "This way to Howard's Pub" or "English Graveyard this way." Seems to me it would be cheaper to put in street signs but apparently the natives got tired of answering questions that start with "Can you tell me where ..." or "Which way is ..."

Ocracokians like their dogs. Everywhere you go there's a pickup truck with a dog in it, sometimes two.

Of course the main reason I'm going is to lie on the beach in the sun, my favorite pasttime and one not often induldged. I need to move to the beach, for sure.