For those that don't know the area, Hatteras sticks out very far east into the Atlantic, and as a result often gets hit much worse than the rest of the area. Because of this fact, officials had placed a mandatory evacuation on the island. We eventually found out why. Cruising around Rodanthe, a small town North of Cape Hatteras, we decided to check out the pier. Waves crashing don't come off as impressive on tape unless they are put in context.
Pier crashing waves always look good.
At least that's what I used to think. While Dale pulled the truck up into the parking lot, I shot waves though the front windshield. The winds had picked up to around 60-70mph, and sand was being blown around like a sand blaster. I got a nice shot of a large wave coming up under the pier, over a dune and into the parking lot. I didn't realize at the time, that this wave had washed sand around the wheels of our truck locking us into the parking lot.