On our most recent trip to the Outer Banks, Motor Man and I had a bit more “excitement” than we would have liked.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Carova area of the Outer Banks (where the wild horses are), it’s accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles. After driving several miles on the beach, there are many back roads/streets, but none are paved. It is NOT a convenient place for your vehicle to “break down”….
We were approximately eight miles “up the beach” when all the alarms on our dashboard began that “dinging” sound. Motor Man looked to see that our voltage indicator was at its lowest point. It was just a few minutes later that we came to a stop.
Thankfully, within minutes, we were surrounded by a group of local ‘good guys’ stopping to offer their help. (In this picture, you aren’t able to see a huge pick-up truck with jumper cables connected to our Tahoe, charging our battery.)
I should explain that we carry a small portable battery jump box/charger. But, apparently our battery was so “low”, the jump box wasn’t enough to start our vehicle.
Since the alternator was the problem, the guys knew that the battery wouldn’t hold a charge for long. So we needed to hurry as much as safely possible to make it back to the hard surface road before we needed a tow.
And we did….with a few miles to spare. But eventually, the inevitable happened, and the Tahoe could go no further. Thank goodness for our AAA membership, although in that area, our wait was 90 minutes for the tow truck to arrive. They towed us to a friend’s business, and we called other friends, who came to our rescue and brought us home.
BUT. As we were heading off the beach, again, as quickly as we safely could, we spotted up ahead…..five horses down by the water.
That’s my favorite place to see the horses, but since we weren’t able to stop, this was taken as we bounced along the beach, resulting in the blurry picture.
The alternator was replaced the next day. Motor Man has already purchased a large jump box, which will be in our vehicle on our next trip to the beach.
Although having your vehicle “let you down” is always concerning, especially in such a remote location, the kindness of strangers and friends made this more of an adventure than a hardship. We are grateful.
~These Days Of Mine~
these days of mine 
Wonderful story of kindness, and affirming mankind’s goodness! That was a long trip to recovery, but you were in good company! Bonus picture of 5 horses too!
You had angels watching over you for sure……and the kindness of strangers definitely comes in handy when you’re in need as you were. Glad all is well now – next beach trip you can make up for lack of horse photos (as if you needed more!!!!!) on this latest trip.
Pam
Oh my goodness. So glad you were not totally stranded and that the problem was fixable. We both had interesting weekends from the sounds of it. Mine is highlighted tomorrow. 🙂 Hey–it’s all blog material, right? Love the horse shot, btw.
Yikes! What an exciting day you had and how wonderful people were to help. We just joined AAA and now even happier we did.
Restores your confidence in the goodness of the majority of people in these rather unsettling times. and the horses are beautiful, as usual.
Gosh, a little too much excitement! Glad you were rescued though, even if it was a long wait. Being stranded in a remote location is no fun, but like Beth Ann said, it does give you blog material! 😉
I’m glad it all turned out well in the end. It’s a great idea to belong to a motoring organisation you just never know when you might need them but passing strangers are a blessing too. Just having someone take the trouble to stop and ask if you need help makes a big difference.
Excitement for you, but I’ll bet Motor Man enjoyed it! I got stuck on the beach in CA with my Ford Van and didn’t get pulled out till the water was coming in the wheel wells! That was more excitement than I wanted. My girlfriend and I sat on the beach and watched the waves going through my van. I thought it was gone. Did I mention we were only visiting CA? We needed to get back to OR. Finally help came and it took two four wheel drive trucks to pull us out. I have never driven on the beach again. Well except with you and Motor Man!
So happy to hear your and JR were rescued. My friend Linda has a place at Carova and I agree the people are very nice there and you can’t beat the scenery. The great pictures of the horses are certainly a great part of that ordeal.
What a wonderful rescue – AAA and Friends. Even taking advantage to get another beautiful picture of ‘your’ horses! Gotta LOVE it!
Well if you have to be stranded somewhere… a beach with horses! Glad you found those gorgeous five!
Whew! As you’ve said before:
Sometimes you never know where you’ll end up,
but it’s always an adventure !
& you managed to spot a few horses, too ….
Having met your Motor Man I know for sure he’s stopped and helped others along the way – kindness comes back in spades. My Dad always stopped to help, too, and I think he enjoyed the conversation and putting people at ease along with it. So glad everything ended just right – and with YOUR horses to boot!! xxo MJ
I am sure noticing the difference between the people in the big, impersonal city, compared to the people in the smaller ones! I miss the friendliness and helpfulness and the compassion.
If your car died here, you could have a whole bunch of not so nice things happen.
Ciao
Barb (Nellie’s Mommy)