The one thing that I learned while vacationing in the Outer Banks of North Carolina is Never drive in OBX on Saturday. Most people rent beach houses and most beach houses rent from Saturday to Saturday. There is only one way in and out of Outer Banks, so you can imagine the mess trying to get anywhere. We had headed down to Nags Head, NC for sightseeing, which is normally about 35 drive from where we were staying in Duck, NC. It was a little busy when we left that morning but when we started back at lunch time, it was bumper to bumper with no movement.
Driving in Outer Banks with navigation system video
After sitting in traffic for 40 minutes or so, we got clever. We zoomed out on our Ford Explorer Navigation System and found a short cut. See video below.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wTmlSFV44s[/youtube]Ford Explorer Navigation System saved us time
This short cut saved us at least another 40 minutes. We searched again and found another set of roads that we could use, however there was a “No short-cutting” sign there. It’s not worth the chance of getting a ticket. At any rate, it was really nice to have such a functional navigation system in the Ford Explorer. The system also alerts you of traffic jams and accidents while driving.
Changing Ford Explorer seat configurations on the go
Being in 99 degree weather didn’t help the traffic jam situation at all. Plus, it was lunch time with nowhere to stop for a snack. The juice boxes and trail mix was already consumed while we were out and about. Ugh! The anguish! My kids started out ok, sitting together in the third row of seating. They like it back there with plenty of space to hang out “on their own”. If you notice below, Elijah has a bag of cough drops in his booster seat. He got strep throat while on vacation, poor guy. We carried those and Popsicles everywhere we went (in our 10 hour lunch bag, although not intended for frozen foods, it did wonderfully).
It was lunch time, 100 degrees outside, and we were stuck in traffic. Our kids were doing well for the first hour but after that, we were all getting anxious and annoyed. With kids, this resulted in picking on eachother. Thankfully, the Ford Explorer is so simple to change the seat configurations that I did it on-the-go. Well, not really while the car was moving because it had stopped moving long before we needed to switch seating. I just climbed in the back, opened up one of the second row seats moved the booster seat and we were ready to go. It was faster to switch seats around than for the line of OBX traffic to move an inch.
I really like the conveniences the Ford Explorer continues to exhibit to my family during our road trip. That being said, when traveling to OBX on a Saturday, be prepared for traffic. That means lots of cold drinks in the summer with a side of patience. OR just hang out at the beach all day, which is what we did the rest of the day!
This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to Ford Media Fleet who provided the car for review.
