A Journey to the Dentist


Hwy 12 Hatteras (768x1024)On Thursday I had a dentist appointment. Previous appointments had been cancelled due to scheduling difficulties and I was determined to make it this time. As Thursday drew near, I realized that forecast wind speeds for Thursday could very well cause interruptions in the ferry schedule leading to yet another missed appointment. Should I risk missing my appointment across the inlet, or should I leave the night before? I decided to leave the night before, drive to Kitty Hawk and stay with friends. I got on the 3:30 Hatteras ferry on Wednesday and got to Nags Head in time to have dinner and visit with friends. The next morning I headed south for Frisco (67 miles away), stopped and did a couple of errands, and got to my 11 am dentist appointment right on time. The winds were still high and nasty squalls were sweeping across the Outer Banks as forecast. The ferries did keep running on Thursday, but since I had been unsure and didn’t feel like dealing with the uncertainty, I had committed to staying another night in Kitty Hawk. So, after my successful and uneventful hour long appointment, I headed back north. On Friday the winds let up and I knew there would be no problems with the ferry schedule. I packed up the car and headed south. I got the 9 am ferry and was only a little late getting to work after a 300 mile round trip for a routine dentist appointment.  Am I complaining? Absolutely not! Scheduling difficulties can be issues when you live on Ocracoke, but the perks of living here out-weigh these occasional inconveniences. My trip to the dentist was more involved than I anticipated it would be when I scheduled it, but I got to run errands, visit friends, drive a beautiful National Scenic Byway and enjoy two relaxing ferry rides. Where else can you go to the dentist and experience all that?

Ocracoke Hatteras Ferry (1024x576) Oregon Inlet bridge Driftwood Ocracoke (1024x347)
Hatteras/Ocracoke Ferry

Photo by Karen Rhodes

Oregon Inlet Bridge

Photo by Lachlan Howard

Ocracoke: it takes all types of people to make it the special place it is!

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4 thoughts on “A Journey to the Dentist

  • Betsy Winborne

    My family and I visited the Outer Banks Easter and had a wonderful time. The area has so much to see and do, and is truly different from other areas of our state. The ferrys are so nice and relaxing. We learned a lot from the men on the ferry from Ocracoke to Cedar Is. about the way things used to be.