Dream Island with a Dose of Reality!

Hey Everybody!

I have just settled into my tent for the night, along with a few of the mosquitos that have been hunting me ALL day. Clearly, they do not understand that "Off!" means OFF! If only that we're my only tale of temporary trauma....

First, some pleasant words....weather is nearly perfect, beyond the Village there is nothing but sand dunes, marshes, and forest for miles and miles...it's beautiful here! My tent is very comfortable and the local coffee shop is excellent! More about that in a few... As soon as I got up this morning I hopped on my bike and rode to the Ocracoke Lighthouse. I continued on up the street to Springer's Preserve. It's cool for at least two reasons: (1) although it's never been found, Blackbeard's treasure might still be buried here! I think he picked that spot because of the mosquitos! (2) there are secluded little beaches here and there with shallow water for those of you who like to wander the shoreline. Local kids use the area for hacky sack.

Anyway, it's hard to know what to expect when you've imagined a place for 20 years or so, but I am absolutely sure that I never imagined this day! After riding and wandering around for a couple hours I stopped at the Ocracoke Coffee Co. The mocha-mint smoothie with homemade whip cream was excellent! I'll be stopping there in the morning before catching the ferry!

So far so good....but wait! I mapped out options for the rest of my day and turned on the car. The back window went down on its own. I couldn't stop it, nor could I shut it! Surely, that's a fluke....I tried again, and again, and again....now my only option is to babysit the car because, frankly, leaving stuff in a tent isn't really a more secure option than a partially unlocked car.

I am not a happy camper at this point, but adjust to a driving tour of the remaining 14 miles of the island, occasionally checking the button to coax the window closed. At some point I pulled off the road to let traffic pass so I could find a spot to take a picture. That's when the front tires got stuck in the sand. I tried to dig out...didn't help.

Luckily, the Sheriff's Dept. patrols the highway for accidents like me :-) and within about 20 min (and $70 later!) I was back on the road. The Deputy told me somebody got stuck in the same spot last week...a man! Not sure that really helps today! But I am on the road again! Stop at the general store for heavy duty bags and duct tape. Tape up my window because I don't know when I'll get a mechanic...I'm 23 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean!

After all that trauma and finding ways to enjoy the island while babysitting my vulnerable car....I tried to close the window again and it worked. So, I had to cross my fingers, release the button, tear off the tape and plastic before the car changed its mind...and it's closed! In other words, I got to wander the beach and hike the maritime forest trail after all, but aren't you glad to know the whole story!?

The least I can do is post some pics....you know, after making you read this LONG story! So:

1. Skull of a Right Whale. They are all but extinct...barely 300 left and at some point they'll be gone. But small groups still migrate past the Outer Banks.

2. The Lighthouse.

3. Artificial Oyster Reef constructed with bags of old oyster shells. I've been seeing more and more of these since the Georgia islands. They help to stabilize dunes and vegetation and new oyster beds.

4. Blackbeard's beaches (well, Springer Preserve). No metal detectors allowed!

5. The once wild horses of the island are now managed.

6-9 Views of the island from the road and the beach...

10. The Ocracoke Coffee Company...

Well, that's my story....that's for reading! More soon.....