Feature: Vacation gone South

by Margaret O’Connell
edited by Kobie Adams

After cramming as much food, clothing, and other supplies into her neon green jeep, Christina Vera and her three children start their drive to North Carolina. From the back seat, her youngest, Stephen, asked how long they would be at their Outer Banks beach house. Unsure, Christina responded, “It should only be about two weeks sweetie.”

outerbanks.org

Since that 11-hour car ride exiting the Northeast, this single mom and her children are now approaching a month since they have been staying in their rental property.  They narrowly made it over the Wright Memorial bridge because you have to be a property owner with documents to cross at the checkpoint. Dare County has decided to close off the Wright Memorial Bridge which is the only way to access the Outer Banks.

The trip was prompted by Christina’s children’s school system’s closures on March 12^th. Christina felt it would be best to head down because that would be their Spring Break destination. Salvo, North Carolina is always a place for respite and rejuvenation; sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound. Christina and her children have not been received kindly by her neighbors and the Outer Banks Community.

But when she got there, her neighbors were hostile towards her and her children. They thought that property owners from the North East should not escape to their homes in the Outer Banks to prevent spreading the virus. She has been pointed at and even had a dog grooming appointment cancelled because their records showed the dogs last treatment was in Connecticut. A passing neighbor even said, “I am going to call the Corona police on you.”

“I don’t feel welcome in a place I usually have as my escape and my favorite place to vacation,” said Christina. “This whole situation is really bringing the worst out of people and I hate to see it.”

Margaret O’Connell, a feature writer, is staying safe and working from home to hear from locals as well as FPU students through her journalism articles.