I HATE SHARING.....

Two more weeks until the OBX will be crawling with people.

Colorful beach umbrellas,
 surfboards, laughing children
 and shell seekers
 will line the
Cape Hatteras
shoreline.

Once again it will become difficult to find a place to park, find a place for dinner without a reservation ,
and poor Gizmo will have to sport his "leash" (uh  - such a dirty, dirty  word)

Oh how I will miss the tranquility, serenity and freedom.

I flashback to last summer.   I remember that with the colorful and noisy  crowds come
music festivals, seafood festivals, art festivals, fishing tournaments, surfing tournaments, fireworks, early evening boat cruises,
tan lines,  natural blonde highlights, warm ocean water, and balmy summer breezes.  
All things I love.

So I think this week Gizmo and I will start working on the "transition."
From freedom to leashes.  From hot chocolate on the fishing pier to Ice cream on the beach.
From bundled up walks along the shore - to early morning romps in the surf.  We can do this.

Ahh, it won't be so bad.  After all - it's only a couple of months.

Taking a Deep Breath....

THIS has become my new favorite place to sit in the morning. Our second floor porch off our bedroom looks to the West so it's sheltered from the blazing sun in the morning. The marsh is super active with hundreds of coastal birds, rabbits and other creatures all scampering about before the heat of the day. It's quite nice to sit and watch them.

The day started out hazy and  breezy.  I was anxious to go for the  drive from Nags Head down to Cape Hatteras.  I urged Blaise and/or Brina to come with me - but were busy doing other things and neither was thrilled at the notion of exploring with me.  Sal wasn't here this past weekend - otherwise I know he would have come with me.

Wasn't sure if it was going to rain or not as I walked along the quiet, deserted beach of the Cape Hatteras Seashore.  I love having the beach all to myself.  Most of the time - the beach looks just like this - deserted and peaceful.

As the morning progressed however, the haze cleared and the sun came out,

The sky turned bright blue and the waves really picked up. The ocean became very active - as did the wind. 

  Eventually, I decided to drive a little further down the shore and came upon the Town of Rodanthe. 

You may recognize this house as the setting for the movie, "Nights in Rodanthe"  (based upon the book by Nicholas Sparks.)  I was surprised to stumble upon it afew blocks from the ocean.  Because if you remember the book or the movie - the house sat directly on the ocean.  I found out after speaking to a local that this beautiful structure could no longer take the abuse of the Atlantic Ocean and a decision was made that it either had to be torn down - or moved away from the shoreline.  It was moved a few blocks from the coast.   Bittersweet.  

I travel over this amazing bridge to cross the Oregon Inlet which is our inlet leading from the Banks to the Ocean.  The view from the top of the bridge is one in a million and it is super windy up there - which I love.

It was a pleasant journey of solitude.  I had the top on the car down, my favorite satellite radio 80's station on and the natural beauty of  Outer Banks all to myself. Quite possibly - a perfect day.