Well, the repairs just held up to a 400-mile straight run on highway and beach sand. Let's see, what all did I do to day? The way out was uneventful, up until the part where the highway turned into straight sand. Never seen a highway before with green signs with white letters reading "4WD Vehicles Only Beyond This Point" and "Air Down Tires", and warning signs that say "Do Not Stop For Any Reason". Sadly, being behind the wheel on twisty roads and loose sand is not an ideal condition to photograph such things, and my passenger was not interested in those. However, she did photograph some scenery at my request.
The way back, it poured rain in two separate sessions, so I got the bonus of not having to wash sand off the underbody when I got home. Drove through some fat puddles. I love how these trucks handle water.
I would definitely advise anybody on the east coast to make a point of visiting the Barrier Islands at least once. Went to Corolla Beach to see the wild horses, and wasn't disappointed!
Credit to my ma for this photograph of God's magnificent creations, the predecessors to our metal beasts. These are untamed, wild horses in their natural environment. I'll grant you, they're plenty familiar with cars, since there are guided tours on these beaches, but they are still wild horses in their natural environment.
We saw several unfortunate victims of their own ineptitude with stuck trucks out there, but the one Ma and I laughed our heads off at was an inept driver in a built Wrangler Unlimited who ignorantly turned onto our side of the beach (two way traffic, forward moving keep right), stopped like a clown, and then dug some nice, deep holes with the rear tires, trying to get moving again. Seriously, now... If you're going to make a fool of yourself, at least obey the obvious warning signs while you're doing it. Transfer case disengaged, aired up, and stopped. I'm absolutely sure she heard us laughing, too, which is all the funnier since I'm in a stock-height long body with the running boards attached. Rest in peace in those two little graves you dug, lady! I hope she learned some thing to day!