Back Country Roads

First, I would like to say that I feel the need to shout from a mountain top that I'm so happy I am now living in the "era" of GPS devices, iPhones, and "smart" technology. 


Secondly, I had a few rather entertaining stories of traveling between Lumberton to Wilmington and thought that my family and I shouldn't be the only ones to find how humorous they are. 


First trip home from Lumberton:
On my first trip home from Lumberton, while driving along NC Hwy 87, there are all the gorgeous farms loaded with crops. Cotton fields are everywhere, and even some giant fields that are used as pastures. One such field caught my eye while driving by, there was some sort of machine spraying what I thought was water onto the field. Upon slowing down (because, of course, there's never that much traffic) I saw that this machine looked like a tri-pod for an old video camera and was shooting what I now could see was some sort of brown mystery water out of it. I thought to myself, "This is so cool. I would never be able to see things like this if I were still living in Wilmington, or Los Angeles." After I got home, mom hopped in the car and we rode to Rocky Point to see my grandparents (Wayway and Papa). Papa grew up on a farm, and still lives on one, so I knew he would be able to tell me what the odd tri-pod machine was that I had seen on the way home. So I explained to him in detail everything I had seen. Papa then looked at me and said, "You do know what that was being sprayed outta there don't you?"
My reply: "It was brown, maybe some type of fertilizer?"
Papa: "It was hog shit." 
Me: "Oh. Fertilizer it was."


I couldn't believe that I had been basking in how amazing it was so see something like that. I had been excited to see hog shit flying out of a machine. 


Trip home number 3
Yesterday I realized that I needed some things from home and decided to go down just for the night and come back this afternoon. Last time I got stuck in horrible traffic on a Friday afternoon on I-74 10 miles from my house so I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and put Wayway and Papa's address in the GPS as my destination. One, I'd get to see them and two, I'd avoid the crazy traffic by detouring through Rocky Point. So off I went. 
Everything was great, driving along singing to my 90's music remix and following the way of the GPS. The route I was going was basically the same as if I was going to my mom's but I turned off onto Elwell Ferry Road before I came to Riegalwood. So I turned left onto Elwell Ferry and kept going. 
All of a sudden, I was slowing down and realizing that there was no more road. 
Yes, that's right, I said there was NO more ROAD. (Come on, you can't be as shocked as I was).
I looked up at Judy (GPS) and saw her depiction of the road ending, a creek starting, then the road beginning on the other side of the creek. Judy neglected, however, to tell me how to get across the creek. Me being me, I had no idea what to do. And of course I haven't had my car outfitted to turn into a speed boat (although I'm really considering it now). So I then think maybe, it's a very tiny one lane bridge like in Sunset Beach.... That thought leaves my mind when I look around and see a sign that says "FERRY: 6 PASSENGERS PER CAR PER TRIP" 


Oh. 


A Ferry. 


Okay, I can handle that. Straining my neck to look for the ferry, I can't see one. I figured I should at least be able to see it, because ferries are normally a large type of vessel. All of a sudden, a stop sign that is attached to what looks like a Rail Road Crossing sign goes up, and a truck drives out. Now I was intrigued. How in the world did that truck cross the creek?!?!
Luckily for me, there was a car in front of me. So I followed their lead. I edged up to the sign and saw what looked like something straight out of the "we just figured out what steam could to for engines industrial revolution". This "FERRY" was not as long as some Trailors are wide. There was no way my car was going to fit on there along with the car in front of me. 
Then, the man operating the "ferry" said something in a country accent so broken and barely recognizable that I couldn't understand what he had said. But, he did wave his arm motioning me to come down... So I did. Now I'm hoping that the ferry is free, because of course I don't have cash on me... (maybe my looks would work?) So now I'm on the ferry. He starts it up and we head straight across. I get off, drive half a mile, and turn onto Hwy 53 on my way to Rocky Point. 


Never, ever in my life did I think I would have been in these two situations. 
Papa (ever full of wisdom and knowledge) later told me that the ferry was the Carver Creek Ferry and was free since the state operated it. He also said that he and Wayway had driven up there one day to go on the ferry but they wouldn't let them because the water was too high. The Ferry is pulled on a cable system setup under the water (there was no steering wheel). 


Small town North Carolina has a whole new meaning to me now. 
And, I also have new directions courtesy of Papa of how to get from Lumberton to Rocky Point without taking the ferry. 


You know, in case the water is too high. :)