09-28-08 Duck North Carolina

Sunday 9-28-08

What a wonderful wedding we attended yesterday. Ryan and Adam pledged the vows of husband and wife. It was at the Cross Keys Inn, in Andover N.J. It took us about 2 hours to get there, but ended up driving through some beautiful country. The wedding was outside in a beautiful garden with a stone playhouse in the background. Soft violin being played as the happy couple and wedding party walked from out of a tree line to the alter. The reception was started in a large tent draped inside with lights and chandeliers. Appetizers were served and delicious they were. Some pretty exotic tasty little morsels of joy. Mmmmmm Mmmmm. The wedding reception continued inside and even larger tent. Music, dancing and the clanging of glasses continued into the night. God bless you both. I hope your life is as wonderful as your wedding ceremony.

We woke up early and tried to get everything together for our 8 hour trip to the outer banks. Way back in March we had this wonderful idea of making this trip. Sharon always wanted to go to Duck so we decided to turn dreams into reality. We went online and found an incredible deal on a condo right on the beach. So anyway, we found out that we had more to do the get ready than we anticipated, but made it out the house by 8:45 AM. We headed down the Turnpike and got off at exit 4 to meet Liz and Mark to drop off Marks laptop to him. We met at a Luke Oil gas station. We arrived first so Sharon decided to go inside and use the bathroom. She came back out only seconds later. I asked her what happened. She told me that there was a bus load of Orientals all in line for the bathroom and she got freaked out. We went back inside and the line moved pretty quickly. I often heard it said that Oriental pee pretty quickly… or was it they do something else pretty quickly…. I forget. But anyway, Liz and Mark met us inside we passed of the laptop and got back on the road.

It was a pleasant drive down, we laughed and joked about Chicken Georges Chicken Chokin’ Church. We drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and arrived in North Carolina around 5:00. We stopped at a Hardee’s for Chili Hot Dogs and a Discount Cigarette store for taxless cigarettes. Something unheard of in New Jersey. We crossed the bridge and arrived in the Outerbanks, got lost a little but found the rental agency and was soon in the condo. We were both pleased with the condo. We could see the ocean like it was right in our backyard. We opened up the back door and went out on the deck and there it was, and the roar of those waves crashing on the shore. Yes! 

Monday 9-29-08

Sharon woke up right before the sunrise and got me up. We sat on the back deck and watched the sun come up. It was glorious. We had breakfast, showered and headed out to Food Lion to get some food shopping done. Sharon got a bit flustered in the food store and I didn’t help by stepping on her foot in the check out isle. We both despise shopping pretty much the same. And it particularly sucks when your on vacation. But we made it through and got back to the condo and we put the groceries away and had lunch. We headed out to the beach to scavenge shells. Later on we came back to the beach to lay in the sun and do some reading. Sharon fell asleep for a bit. We came back and made Salmon for dinner and a nice salad. We headed off to see the sun set and this great little place called the Sunset Grill. The sunset was spectacular. I took some pictures and we had drinks and headed back to catch the Big Bang.

Tuesday 9-30-08

Again we arose to see the sunrise. This time we headed down to the beach to experience it. It took pictures and managed to capture the Angels on the beach in the form of orbs. I didn’t realize this until I saw a few of the pictures I took right before sunrise. They say that at sunrise angels gather on the beaches around the world and all sing as the sun rises. I don’t know if this is true, but if the orbs I captured on my camera are angels it send chills up my spine. I suppose that it would be perfectly acceptable to me that these energy fields are in a round form. Makes me wonder if our own souls are in the same form. Ah, just a thought.

We ate breakfast and headed out to check out the local shops on bike. We spotted a couple good sales. We will come back later with the truck. We found a park and drove through. We stopped for a bowl of clam chowder at Fishbones, stopped at a bakery for bread and canolies and headed back for a nap. Sharon cooked a chicken and we headed down to the park to see the sunset. Back to the condo, watched the movie Grumpy Old Men then to sleep.

Wednesday 10-1-08

Captured another glorious sunrise. Went shopping. Ate lunch at the Sunset Grille. The Sunset Grille is a pretty nice place. It is on a pier on the Bay, or rather a Sound. Went down to the beach just in time for a storm to come in. Hung on the deck, did some reading, took a nap. Got up, drank wine, ate dinner – Portobello Mushrooms.

Thursday 10-2-08

Woke up to yet another beautiful sunrise on the beach. We took a nice 12 mile bike ride, had soup at the Sunset Grille and picked up food for the next couple of days. We spent the afternoon on the beach, went back to the condo, showered and drank wine. We headed back to the Sunset Grille to watch the sun set and have a drink. I got a Pirate Mug with mine. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr. We were in bed by 8:30 attempting to watch Pirates of the Caribean but ended up falling asleep.

Friday 10-3-08

Today was our lazy day. We got up for the sunrise. Did a lot of reading. Layed by the pool. Did a little food shopping.

Saturday 10-4-08

Wow. Last day in Duck North Carolina and yet another amazing sunrise. We rode our bikes this morning and stopped at a few places along the way. A quaint little book store where Sharon pick up a book about legendary ghosts on the Outer Banks. We stopped for lunch at the Roadside Café where we split a burger and portobello mushroom sandwich that was out of this world. We spent some more time on the beach in the afternoon and took naps and got up to see the sunset at our favorite park. Wow. Last one until we come back again some day. Sharon cooked grilled shrimp on skewers with zukini and squash and tomatoes. Mmmmmm.

Sunday 10-5-08

The very last day of this sweet vacation. Got up early to see the last sunrise here in Duck North Carolina. Again it was glorious. We were both ready to blaze a trail back to New Jersey. I went out to get bagels for breakfast, but came back with nothing. One of the hardest things to find in Duck is fresh bread, rolls and bagels. They simply don't exist or are very limited to the public. We packed up, cleaned up and got on the road at 8:00. We couldn't find our way back to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and ended up heading towards Route 95. The drive back was tough. Too much traffic and too many crazy people on the road. We made it home a little after 6:00. 10 hours. Wow. 

Even with the long drive we are both are very thankful for incredible peace we both experienced together on this vacation and the opportunity to become even closer to each other and with nature.