Duck, NC - August 1-9, 2010

Sunday it was just four of us. We did our laptop things in the morning. Some people drove up to the house and I went out to see who they were. It was Buzz Cupelli and his family. The Cupellis had just bought this house a week or so ago. They didn’t know our rental was for two weeks and had come to measure rugs, look at furnishings, etc. to see what they needed to buy. Very nice family and I learned quite a bit about the dunes, subdivisions, ownerships, etc. He is coming back on Monday with Charter Communications to change over the modem to him as the new owner.

Marian and I went out to Harris-Teeter to stock up for the next couple of days and to replenish basic supplies. Around 2:00, we all went on a five-mile walk on the beach – southward to the Corps of Engineers’ pier and back. Took two hours and it spit rain from time to time. Mark picked up lots of dead jelly fish for me to photograph. As we walked, we could see houses where the dunes were almost under them. And there were dunes with pretty bad erosion. The dunes in front of our subdivision are steady, have good vegetation, and look unharmed. Had late dinner at the house – nice grilled butterflied leg of lamb.

On Monday, we were all up around 9:00. It was the usual gathering around the laptops and eating breakfast time. Sandy and Sharon are arriving this afternoon, so we will finish making all the beds and putting fresh towels in two of the bedrooms. Lazy day around the beach and the house. We fixed dinner here and sat around our computers afterward.

Tuesday, Mark took a really long walk on the beach starting at dawn. Later, Marian, Sharon, and I went shopping in the AM at Tomee’s Gourmet Market in Duck to get dinner and other stuff. Sandy and Sharon went out to lunch. I had another lamb sandwich – just like I did Monday. Pru and Richard arrived about 3:00. Richard went right into the ocean to swim and boogie board. The other activity of the afternoon was bubbles on the deck. Marian, Mark, Pru, and Richard all joined in. It’s so windy that all you have to do is to hold your wand up and bubbles flow from it. Robin and Mark made guacamole for our afternoon snack.

Nice dinner including wine Pru and Richard brought. Lots of laughter and good company. Too bad Robin and Mark have to leave on Wednesday AM.

Well, Robin and Mark left around 8:00 Wednesday with lots of hugs all around. Now we’re down to six of us. Sandy and Sharon went south to see the Wright Brothers monument and onward to the Hatteras National Seashore and Bodie Island Lighthouse (which is swaddled in scaffolds). Late in the afternoon, Pru and Richard went to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, where there was no wait to climb it. Sandy and Sharon stopped at Harris-Teeter to pick up supplies, including a main ingredient for our evening meal: shrimp.

I made shrimp, andouille sausage, and cheese grits. Sandy did green beans. Yummy. After dinner, it was time for three rousing games of Apples to Apples.

Thursday AM, I took a walk on the beach. It had rained last night, so the sand was easy walking. Around 10:00, I made omelets for everyone. Sandy did a fruit salad. Marian and Sharon did a little beach time, then, at noon, Jill Keller, the massage therapist, came and worked on me, Sharon, Pru, and Marian, in that order. We all sat around reading. The sea calmed to almost “smooth as glass.” A couple of porpoises were spotted and we got good pix.

Before dinner, we took some “family portrait” pix with the setup like Jeff had used. Then off to The Left Bank at the Sanderling Inn. Elegant dinner, terrific food and wine, and the company wasn’t too bad either.

Friday is the last full day we’re all going to be together since the others are all leaving Saturday. Pru and Richard were off very early to go to the Wright Brothers monument. The coffee maker crapped out this AM, so I called Élan and they delivered another one, although half the capacity of what we had. Can’t do without coffee, can we? Richard was in the water, waves, surf almost everyday at least once. Friday night, Pru and Richard made a wonderful meal for us and we played Apples to Apples afterward.

Saturday was about the same pace and activities as all the other days. For lunch, we went into Duck to the Red Sky Café. Sandy and Sharon left from there to go to the airport in Norfolk. Pru and Richard came back to the house, packed up, and left for home. Marian and I started getting things put together, packed, and staged for car loading this evening. We ate dinner at Blue Point, our favorite restaurant in Duck. It has been expanded quite a bit since we were last here eight years ago, but the food was a great as ever. Went outside on their new patio to watch the fading sun over the sound.

Sunday we were up bright and early and left the house before 8:00. We returned the keys to Élan and headed north then west on I-64. Originally, I had planned to take an alternate route to avoid Norfolk and Newport News, but we got turned around and ended up taking the usual route over I-64. Traffic was tolerable except for the places where there were accidents or road work. Lunch was at a Waffle House in Lexington, VA. We slept at a Hampton Inn in Frankfort, KY, about 700 miles from Duck.

Monday we were home in time for lunch at Kaldi’s in the valley. It’s really hot here. You go outside and are dripping wet within 10 minutes. Let’s all go back to the ocean.