FIELD guide
TRAVELS WITH CC
Taking the fam to Portsmouth Island by CC PARKER
MONDAY, JAN. 2, 2017, 9:59 A.M.: I SIT AT MY DESK, EYES FIXED ON THE Recreation.gov website, waiting for the moment the National Park Service will open its portal for 2017 registrations. My goal: To book cabins at Portsmouth Island on the Outer Banks for Memorial Day weekend, five months away. I’m ready this year. I’ve got an account on Recreation.gov and a friend’s recommendations for the “best” cabins. I won’t make the same mistake I did in 2016, when I’d moved too slowly. The cabins had sold out within minutes. The clock strikes 10 a.m., and I’m ready: A quick login, and I nab No. 20, my first choice. I reboot to book the neighboring cabin. No. 19 is already booked? Try for Cabin 18: Score. The National Park Service cabins on Portsmouth Island have been a favorite destination of families, fishing groups, and campers for years. Reachable only by boat from a spot about an hour’s drive from Morehead City, I know this place will offer a perfect retreat for my family. I can just see it: swimming by day, board games by night, great feasts of fish caught that day in the surf. With a family about to scatter for the summer including teenagers nearing college age, I need Memorial Day to provide us with a fun time together. So, cabins secured, I’ve got another urgent task to complete: reserving car spots on the
108 | WALTER
ferry. I immediately dial the Morris Marina ferry service (number provided on the Recreation.gov site). After quite a few rings, a woman answers. I’d like to book two SUV spots for Saturday, May 26, I tell her, cheerily. Big pause. Why are people calling so early this year, she wants to know? She has to go the grocery store. Why don’t I call back later? “We have plenty of space,” she says, and hangs up. So I do. I call back the next day, waiting until noon this time. Kari, the owner, and the same lady from the day before, takes my reservation and gives me deposit instructions (no credit cards, please). She has clearly forgiven me for the early call the previous day. In fact, she’s quite chatty this time, suggesting I bring my own cleaning supplies. “The
