Sitting Still

When we landed in Florida last year, I had a family member that kept asking me if we were going to put up for awhile.  Although I'm not familiar with the phrase "put up", I took it that it meant to stay put somewhere rather than moving around every two to three weeks.  I could only say I have no idea at the time.  Because we didn't know what was going to happen.

We did end up sitting in one place for what seemed to us a very long time.  Seven months to be exact.  To say I got restless is a huge understatement.  The only other time I've felt that restless is when we lived in VA years ago.  Nathan was concerned that I might get restless here because it is kind of remote, like where we lived in VA was.  I had the teensiest concern that I might start to feel restless if we stayed in one place when we long to travel so much.  I'm happy to say, neither has been an issue.  At all.

I think neither is an issue because we love it here.  We love it like we have no other place we've been to in fact.  And I'm not sure why, when it is pretty remote.  There isn't tons in the way of entertainment or places to shop.

I miss having grocery stores to select from.  I miss having a bit faster internet than we get sometimes here.

Other than that, I have no complaints so far.  We are very content to just be here.  I'm going to try to remember to take my camera with me when we go out and about, since we are here longer than we are normally at a place.  It will be fun to share more in depth things about this place than I usually can.

Living the island life in NC!

OBX From My Window

It's been a bit since I took pictures while we are driving somewhere, so I decided to do it yesterday while we drove up to Nags Head.  I am so in love with the scenery here.  When Austin was here with us, he wasn't impressed in the least with it.  BORING is what he said.  I can see why it would seem kind of monotonous to some.  I never tire of it though.

I normally hate driving with the windows down.  I didn't even like riding with the top down when Nathan had a convertible.  Here, I want to not only roll the windows down, I want to hang my head out the window like a carefree dog.

It's just soothing to me for some reason.

There was quite a bit of smoke up that way, and it really triggered my allergies.  Still, it was worth it.  Once we arrived in Nags Head, we did a bit of shopping and scored some greatly needed beach shoes and new shirts for a great price.  As we were leaving the store, we ran into Jack and Ruth, a couple that I work with.  We ended up eating dinner with them at the Mexican restaurant Azteca and it was very good.  It was a nice bonus to have good company too.

Ok, back to the scenery.  It's postcard perfect, isn't it?

Learning and Loving My Smartphone Camera

With a little prompting, I decided to move into this century and get a smartphone.  Keep in mind that I just upgraded from a Razr flipphone this past year.  A phone that I had to purchase used off of Craigslist and Ebay in order to replace mine when it broke or somehow got lost at Busch Gardens.

I liked my old phone.  It was simple and easy and I could use it without thinking too hard.

And although I still can't figure out how to answer the actual phone part, or even hear it when it rings-there are other things I am loving about having a smartphone.  Like the fact that the pictures it takes are surprisingly decent.

With some apps, you can grab some really fun shots.  Still not sure I'm glad I upgraded the phone but I love not having to lug my huge camera onto the beach each time we visit there.

New Beach Finds

I didn't see any jellyfish when we first arrived here.  This week, they are everywhere!  You have to really watch where you step when walking on the beach.  They are so cool to look at but I don't care to make contact!

Crabfest at Camp Hatteras

Tonight we gathered with our co-workers and had a crabfest with them.  I think this might be somewhat of a yearly tradition here, but I'm not sure of that since this is our first year here.  Camp Hatteras provided the crabs and other people brought side dishes.  I didn't eat any of the side dishes because I stuffed myself with crab instead.

I've never eaten crab like this, meaning crab I had to work for.  It was a really neat thing to learn how to do it.  It was well worth it because the crab was fabulous!

Jack was the chef and the seasoning he used was just perfect.  We have really enjoyed our time here so far.  Not only is the location wonderful, the people are really great.   The time is flying by and I think it's because we are having so much fun.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

This past weekend we went to see another lighthouse.  This one was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  It is the tallest lighthouse in America and the tallest brick lighthouse in the world. 

The automated beacon of light from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is visible every seven seconds. Over 1 million bricks, baked in kilns along the James River in Virginia, were used during construction between 1868 and 1870.

It is believed that the engineer who was originally assigned to paint North Carolina's lighthouses got his plans mixed up. Apparently, the diamond-shaped figures, which were supposed to warn traffic away from Diamond Shoals, went to Cape Lookout. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse received spiral striping, thus obtaining the nickname ''The Big Barber Pole.''

We enjoyed the visit very much.  We did not grab that many pictures though because of the smoke that was in the air today.  There is a fire on the mainland and the smoke was courtesy of that.

Shipwrecks: The George A Kohler

There is such interesting marine history here, including the large number of shipwrecks that have happened in the waters here.  We hope to explore much of this history while we are here.  Ruth, a new friend that I work with, told me about one very close by.  So last night we hiked to the location at low tide so we could see it up close and personal.

I sent my model out to stand in front of it to show how close to the shore it is.  And right when I got to snap the picture this woman goes and stand directly in front of him/the ship blocking my shot.  So I wait.  And she just stands there.  I wait.  She stands and stares at me like maybe I'm a long lost friend or something.

I lift my camera and she turns around and then it hits her.  Oh...sorry.  No problem.  She scoots over about half an inch, still blocking my shot.  Alrighty then, we'll just move.  People crack me up sometimes.

This ship is the George A. Kohler, which was a schooner that was grounded in a 1933 hurricane. This ship sat on the beach for ten years before it was burned for her iron fittings during World War II. The remains of this shipwreck has report to be seen both in the surf and on the sand.

 And one shot of the gorgeous, bathed in setting sun beach.  Notice how empty it is right now!

Living the life in beach paradise!

Talks on the Beach

We try to get out and do a beach walk just about every day.  They could just as easily be called beach talks though because something about the walking and the environment seems to lend to much talking too.  This little cutie must have experienced the same thing because she talked non-stop the entire time we were there together.   

Living the life in OBX!

Surfer Dudes

One of my favorite things to do while sitting at the beach, is to watch the surfers.

I could sit for hours and hours and hours  and still not grow tired of it.

Pamlico Sound

The resort we are staying at is split into two parts.  The one half sits on the ocean, the other side sits on Pamlico Sound.  Pamlico sounds is the largest lagoon along the east coast.  It is the second largest estuary (Chesapeake Bay being the largest).