Visit a friend, go to the beach, put the kayak in the Atlantic
This was one of the first beach houses built in Ocean Hills, a subdivision of half acre lots between highway 12 and the ocean 5 miles south of the Virginia border, before they called the Outer Banks of North Carolina OBX.
The view in every direction looked like this.
There's a house on every lot these days and the view in every direction looks like this.
I won't give the details of my trip from Indiana except to say it was long and pleasant. If you are lucky enough to have kept a friendship for 50 or 60 years, it should be nourished with a visit. Maybe just to hang out.
We tested the waters on the Currituck Sound and inspected the wildlife. I wanted to be able to say that I had kayaked in both the Pacific and the Atlantic and I figured the sound would count. But when we got home we were only a block from the beach...
Then we snapped on the wheels from my kayak and rolled the little one down to the beach. We would take turns and help one another through the surf. Depending on the waves and wind, it can be easy or not. This mild day it was easy at low tide.
I am neck deep taking this picture.
This is the view from beyond the breakers and beyond the sandbar in the deep Atlantic. That's 8 million bucks worth of seaside cottages in the background and our little red rented kayak in the fore.
A friend stands by to help as I come in from the deep water. I need no help and can fall in the water all by myself.
We are super concious of the damage hurricanes cand do since Katrina. Ophelia is drenching the Outer Banks today. These lucky people have other homes where they can go when one is forecast.
No one thinks this playground can survive a direct hit by a Category 5 and most people who have given it the proper amount of thought think the dunes of the Outer Banks will return to a state similar to what is pictured here. Wild horses will graze again on sea oats and walk the beaches free. But it will be one of my favorite vacation spots as long as it is there and I am able.
