Cat house, beach days and southern hospitality
- Leanne Haughian
- Dec 3, 2017
- 6 min read
North Carolina Heading out of New York state. Fast traffic, unknown destination, Italian and Jewish suburbs of New Jersey. Moving further south trying to ward off the ever present cold of winter. The temps are much better than Eastern Canada, but when you rely on being outside as a means of keeping your sanity warmer is definitely more desirable. However I enjoyed the glimpse of cultural diversity seen in Jersey, and could have explored the communities longer but south we go. We have been invited to meet up with a friend we met while hiking the popular Na Pali coast in Kauai Hawaii 2 years prior. We met up just outside Washington DC in Rockville. Even though the meet up was quick it was still great to catch up. We decided to continue south that day and make it Virginia. So we really didn’t waste time getting south and bypassing a lot of the North East coast. It really is city after city all along the interstate. A shower was top priority and seemed difficult to find. We crossed the Delaware border and instantly felt a shift. Cheaper liquor, gun shops and giant confederate flags lined either side of the interstate. We stopped at a large truck stop and travel plaza. These can be great places to shower, do some laundry and even sleep if you need. $12 dollars later we are squeaky clean! We crossed the highway and stayed the night at a Cracker Barrel(restaurant and gift shop that allows RVers to overnight) as it was quieter than the truck stop.
Before we left on our trip we had discussed volunteering. There are websites that link travellers with host people, exchanging anything from a room to stay, sometimes a meal for your work. Depending on the host you could be doing anything from working on an eco farm, helping people around their home with different projects, working in hostels. We found a lady in St Pauls North Carolina with a blind cat rescue. Without going into too much detail….she adopts cats that either are blind or have feline leukemia(FelV) or feline immunodeficiency virus(FIV). These cats live here for the remainder of their life. So we messaged back and forth a few times and set up a time to start. Not really knowing anything about this “rescue” I was hesitant to see the facility. What if she was just a lady with a lot of cats!! Walking into the first of two houses, it smelled clean and looked clean, always a good sign. She set us up with a key to the guest house with an understanding that we work every day from 8-12:30am and the n have the afternoon and evening to do whatever we like.
In an attempt to not go on and on and on about all the kitties, I’ll share a few stories.
Gabriel is a cat that came to them 2 months prior from Florida. He survived hurricane Irma under a car. When he came to them he had already had surgery to remove or enucleate both of his eyes and had several fractured teeth removed. He was so scared and very difficult to handle, he was most comfortable in his cage inside his box. The staff started taking him in his box into the outside enclosure where he could sniff around at the cats through the confines of the fence. He instantly became more manageable. On our last work day Gabriel was introduced into a group cat room. He had become this affectionate cat who never had any problems with the other cats.
Isabelle came from a home in which the owner had too many cats to care for. Living in very dirty, unhealthy environment. She was severely malnourished and had a horrible eye infection causing her eye to prolapse. Alana and the staff are currently working at getting her healthy enough to introduce into a group room after her eye removal. She is currently spending her days in the lobby laying in the sun and eating everything she can. I need to explain why these cats are blind in the first place. Most but not all have lost their eyes due to contracting a respiratory virus, which is preventable with a vaccine. They develop a secondary eye infection that is never treated, and is cheap to treat. The eye becomes so infected that they lose site and the eye becomes painful and swollen. The only treatment at this time is removal. The other cats who have site have contracted a virus preventable by vaccine, but in North Carolina once they test positive for feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency virus they are euthanized, however can live for several years with theses viruses. Yes they have a weaker immune system, they are a carrier of the virus and probably a shorter life but enjoy life just like a healthy cat. They chase birds and run and play just like regular cats. People often asked how Benny felt about our stay. I'd say he looks pretty content
We spent our time cleaning the room, trimming nails, cleaning ears and petting cats!! The quality of care at this facility is impressive, it definitely is not a crazy cat lady with a bunch of cats in an apartment! We had a great experience and look forward to the next volunteer opportunity.
We had a quick day of driving before arriving at the coast. Carolina Beach Kure Beach and Fort Fisher. We stopped in Wilmington just beside the coast. We had planned on staying overnight in Wilmington, but it seemed like a big center just like every other. We really appreciate the ease of smaller places. We found a Park to have lunch. It was American Thanksgiving so the park was pretty busy. As stated before our rig draws some attention, especially now because we are so far from home. Benny was able to get out and stretch his legs and we ate lunch. We locked up and walked to a grocery store to get food for the week. When we got back to the van, someone left us a little gift…well at first I had thought that some one left their garbage on the driver side mirror. But with closer investigation it was a thanksgiving gift of pie and cat food! We were both kinda taken back. No note, no explanation just a completely selfless gift! We were thrilled, and the pie was much appreciated and delicious. We were also delighted to be greeted by old Canadian friends!
We arrived later that day to Carolina Beach, which is a summer vacation hot spot. Because it is the shoulder season but nonetheless a holiday it was moderately busy. We found great overnight park spot and decided to stay for a few days. Our first exposure to the ocean was memorable. Walking up the boardwalk and over the protected sand dunes to see a long white soft sandy beach and a very active ocean. It was the first time we have seen a tropical beach since leaving. Yep we are staying for a few days!
We explored the coast line, chatted with a bunch of fisherman. Everyday many people sit out sometimes all day fishing for whatever they can catch, mostly whiting and black drum. We spent our mornings watching the sunrise and walking along the beach, picking up sea treasures along the way. We even saw a school of dolphins pass by us in the distance. We explored the town, one night coming upon a Christmas jazz band that we sat in on. Carolina Breach is known for its night lights and being Christmas time there is a little walk around a man made lake with Christmas decorations and lights and a tree. It doesn’t really feel like Christmas for us with the absence of snow. We were able to watch some brave surfers on the days when the ocean was a little more wild. The ocean is cold these guys were suited up! Below is our version of a van Christmas tree(the snow is cotton)!! Some Christmas decorations and our map thus far.
The weather is finally warming up. It seems every time we move even a little the weather is warmer and more humid. So on we go we are planning to stay at Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina for a couple of days. We have about a month to get to Florida so we are taking our time. Miss you all, love from the road P&L
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