Boy and Panther

Another creative sculpture from Brookgreen Gardens.

And the nature shot:

I Pledge Allegiance

Another beautiful sculpture from Brookgreen Gardnes.  And the nature shot:

Pegasus

Another sculpture at the Brookgreen Gardens and this one has the honor of being the sculpture that took the longest to create.  Nine years in fact.  It is worth it.  And I say that knowing I wouldn't have the dedication to last nine hours on the project.

And a nature shot from the same beautiful place:

Hurrican Irene's Destruction

When we left the OBX area, we had plans to come back quickly.  Today we realized that is not likely to happen given the devastation there.  Out of all the places we have visited so far, this was by far the one that felt the most like "home" to me so I'm sad we won't be going back just yet.  We hope to return in the spring and in the meantime we will send supplies and do other things to help this area as they rebuild.

 

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge

 I've been counting down the days for something exciting-my dear friend Barb and her husband John coming to camp with us.  We met them at the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge and wandered around for a short time.  A very short time compared to how long we probably both would have stayed because the mosquitoes were out in killer force even with bug spray on.  It is a beautiful refuge from what we did see and we saw a few birds while there.

Refuge Facts

• Established: May 17, 1937.
  
• Size: 5,834 acres (land), 25,700 acres (Proclamation Boundary Waters).
  
• Located on the north end of Hatteras Island, a coastal barrier island and part of a chain of islands known as the Outer Banks.
  
• Approximately 13 miles long (north to south) and ranges from a quarter mile to 1 mile wide (from east to west).
  
• Location: 10 miles south of Nags Head, North Carolina on NC 12.
  
• Administered by Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge as a part of complex; Alligator River Manager supervises the Mackay Island, Currituck, and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Managers.
  
• The Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan for Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is complete.

Natural History

• Area was historically used for market waterfowl hunting, commercial fishing, farming, and
  livestock operations.
  
• Refuge is comprised of ocean beach, dunes, upland, fresh and brackish water ponds, salt flats, and salt marsh.
• Bird list boasts more than 365 species; wildlife list has 25 species of mammals, 24 species of reptiles, and 5 species (low number due to salt environment) of amphibians.
  
• Concentrations of ducks, geese, swans, wading birds, shore birds, raptors, neotropical migrants are seasonally abundant on refuge.
  
• Refuge has 1,000 acres of manageable waterfowl impoundments.
  
• Several shorebird nesting areas and wading bird rookeries are located on the refuge.
  
• Endangered and threatened species include: peregrine falcons, loggerhead sea turtles, and piping plovers.

Refuge Objectives

• Provide nesting, resting, and wintering habitat for migratory birds, including the greater snow geese and other migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, and neotropical migrants.
  
• Provide habitat and protection for endangered and threatened species.
  
• Provide opportunities for public enjoyment of wildlife and wildlands resources. Public use programs focus on interpretation, environmental education, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and fishing.

The Nights in Rodanthe House~Serendipity

 

After leaving Pea Island, we headed over to Chicamacomico Life Saving Station, but they were closed.  So we asked Barb and John if they would want to see the Nights of Rodanthe house.  We have seen this house from the road many times, but still hadn't driven up to get a closer look.  We didn't get too close of a look this time either because there wasn't a place to park that wasn't so sandy that we feared we would get stuck.  So we did a drive by "shooting" instead.

 

If you are wondering what makes this particular house so special, it was the house used in the movie "Nights in Rodanthe" based on the book written by Nicholas Sparks.  It was called The Inn at Rodanthe in the movie.  At that time the house sat in a different location.  

At some point storms and hurricanes shifted the 45 foot tall houses location to the point where it was deemed unsafe.  The owners were told to move the house or it would be condemned.  The house found itself new owners, Ben and Debbie Huss of Newton, North Carolina.  They vowed to move the house and restore it to its former glory. 

From Everything Outer Banks: 

"The Huss family hired Expert House Movers (who was the company that moved the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse), and the infamous Matyiko brothers that own Expert House Movers moved on the job quickly. The house, which weighed in at a whopping 83,000 pounds, was jacked up, shored up with cribbing underneath, loaded up on beams and four pairs of huge wheels, and readied for its move in a matter of just two days. Permits were pulled, electric crews stood by to move power lines, as did the police to stop traffic while the behemoth was to take the approximate 30 minute journey down highway 12 to its new location.

The original move was scheduled for Friday, January 15th, and as the pilings were cut away and the massive truck pulled into position to move the big girl everyone gathered in anticipation. The house jostled to the left as she started moving and everyone cheered as she was pulled away from the Atlantic. Unfortunately the excitement was short lived as the house evidently wanted to stay in its long time location for one more weekend. The massive truck got its wheels stuck in the sand as it was trying to pull the house out of its birthplace, and with nightfall coming fast the move had to be rescheduled for the following Monday.

On Monday, January 18th with the truck unstuck, its wheels secure, all police, electrical, cable television and telephone company crews ready to take down their lines again, water department folks standing by, department of transportation officials there to supervise and a village of onlookers in position the house was moved at 10:30 AM. The move was uneventful if you don’t count the news helicopters, and hundreds of onlookers gawking at a once in a lifetime sight."

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Take Two

Although Nathan and I have been to this lighthouse already, we were thrilled to visit again with Barb and John because it was so smoky during our last visit.  I'm so glad we did because the view was fabulous from the top.

 

I have already shared much information about this historic lighthouse in my last post, but just one reminder that there are 248 steps to get to the top.  

 

It takes some time to get there!

The climb is worth it though because the view is amazing!

 

This time we were able to visit the museum and we even caught the movie about when the lighthouse was moved from its former location to the current one.  The movie was much more interesting than I thought it would be.  If you visit, I highly recommend it.  It is incredible to hear and see all that was involved in moving this beautiful piece of the OBX's history.

 

We had a great time here, and saw that each time we come back, we will learn more things about this interesting place.

Waterspouts on Pamlico Sound

One nice thing about staying put in areas for a longer period of time, is that we learn things from the people there that we wouldn't know otherwise.  For example, when I got to work today someone asked me if I saw the waterspouts out there.  I had no idea what a waterspout was.  They said go and look out the window and look up at the sky.  Once I saw it, I had no idea how I missed it on my way to work.  I called Nathan and sent him out to take some pictures of them.

Waterspouts are tornadoes that are over the water instead of land.  And they are something else to watch.

 

You learn something new every day!

Relay For Life

This weekend was the second annual Relay For Life here.  Ruth spent countless hours pouring herself into this cause and it paid off.  She had a lot of help from the other workers, and together they made it a huge success.

It was touching to have a part in this.  There are very few people that haven't been touched by cancer so it's a wonderful thing to do something to help.

Shrimpfest at Camp Hatteras

Last month we had a Crabfest here, this month was a Shrimpfest.  Jack was the cook again and it was fabulous food again!

Oregon Inlet

While driving home from our trip, we enjoyed the scenery.  I started to get emotional as we got closer to OBX.  As soon as we hit the first bridge, I yelled out, "We're home". 

I got really excited when we hit the Oregon Inlet, because I knew we were really close to home.  I think the inlet is so beautiful.  Something about the contrast of the blue water with the green and tan grass is just peaceful to me.

It has an interesting history too.  From Wikipedia:

Oregon Inlet is an inlet along North Carolina's Outer Banks. It joins the Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean and separates Bodie Island from Pea Island, which are connected by a 2.5 mile bridge that spans the inlet. As one of the few access points to the ocean along this stretch of coast, Oregon Inlet is a major departure point for charter fishing trips, with a nearby harbor serving as the base for many large boats that travel miles out towards the Gulf Stream almost every day. The area is also home to a U.S. Coast Guard station.

Oregon Inlet was formed when a hurricane lashed the Outer Banks in 1846, separating Bodie Island from Pea Island. One ship that rode out that storm in Pamlico Sound was named the Oregon. After the storm the crew members of this ship were the first to tell those on the mainland about the inlet's formation. Hence, it has been known as Oregon Inlet ever since.
Akin to many other inlets along the Outer Banks, Oregon Inlet moves southward due to drifting sands during tides and storms. It has moved south over two miles since 1846, averaging around 66 feet per year.

 It's just beautiful, isn't it?

Living the life in North Carolina!

Random Things in Raleigh

After our wonderful trip to see our granddaughter, we flew back in to Raleigh.  Nathan had a meeting, so we had to spend the night there and stay in a hotel until he was done with his meeting.  We stopped at a few stores before heading home, so Nathan could buy some things he needed.  I was driving and noticed something odd at a stop light.  Really odd.

An abandoned lawnmower, just sitting in the middle of the intersection.

We laughed so hard.  You know there is a good story behind that!

Happy Fourth of July

 One thing I love about being here is that there are so many fun things going on all the time.  It is almost like it's a holiday every single weekend.  Of course, this weekend there was a huge crowd as in every single campsite was taken.  And people were in the patriotic mood and here for family fun.  So it did seem even more special than normal. 

 I managed to get zero pictures this weekend.  Luckily my friend Judy Lilly took a bunch and graciously let me use them.   Thank you, Judy!

Beach Houses

When I was a girl, the one and only vacation I remember our family going on was to Galveston Island.  One of the things we kids loved there were the houses on stilts.  I still love them.  It is one of the things that makes island living seem so quaint to me.

Beach houses tend to have three things in common as far as I can tell.  They are on "stilts".  They have great porches.  They are built to have views of the ocean. I think they are beautiful.

  I have had some kind of creedy crud, or my allergies are really in high gear and it's been that way for over a week now.  I feel pretty miserable.  It was kind of nice today though because it gave me an excuse to sit and catch up on editing pictures and blogging some!