Capt. Duvall and the Windfall II

On Monday evening we all went out for a short cruise on a beautiful little schooner called Windfall II with a man who called himself Capt. Rob Temple.  I believe he was actually Robert Duvall in disguise.  Anyway, the cruise was quite pleasant and filled with conversation.  Capt. Temple is something of an authority on Blackbeard and shared some stories.  His first mate was his son, Emmet, who is a playwright and director who shared stories about his adventures as well.  We were accompanied by one other couple who had ridden their bikes from the mainland and around Ocracoke with their surfboards on bike racks like you might see in a Patagonia ad.  They were very pleasant.

First mate Emmet and Capt. Duvall! (Photo by Sarah)

Unfortunately, none of us thought to shoot a picture of the Windfall II.  Stay tuned, maybe we'll wander back by the dock at some point.  Anyway, we motored out of the harbor and quickly went under sail.  The silence that fell over the ship when the engine cut was incredible and wonderful.

The dude was appropriately attired in his blue and white strips, anchor logoed carrier, and anchor patterned hat.  He was so pleasant for the ride, even when he was awake ;-)

There were LOTS of pelicans.  They never get old.

There was lots to watch.  Emmett in the rigging, the fleets of pelicans, other sail boats, the moonrise, the sunset, and the ever evolving conversation.

Sorry this one is sideways.  I can't fix it, but I like it, so you'll just have to turn your device. Emmett watched the sails and the waves a lot.  He's very smart.

We returned to the harbour as the sun set on a quite moonlit night.

The kid looks much more alert than his papa.  That bodes ill.

Ocracoke Lighthouse.  On the list of sites to see today.

Return to Ocracoke!

As y'all know, we headed back to Ocracoke this weekend after a couple or few year hiatus.  Sarah vowed that, "There will be beach!"  She made it so.  And it is good.  -Bassman 20:16

The Dude was a real trooper in the car.  We stopped every couple or few hours for feeding, gassing, and bathroom.  I'd like to blame all the stops of the Chopper, but honestly, half of them were me and my small travel bladder.  The toys that Andy and Gayle got for his car seat really came in handy this trip... he spent a lot of time just quietly staring at them.  We're certain that;s an indication of his extreme intelligence.

Eva and Jonas are along again; it feels a little like having the band back together to all be headed south on 12.

Honestly, how are we gonna make America great again when we can't even get our bumper stickers on straight?

Ocracoke Coffee Company!  Still here.  Still great.

Ok guys, enough goofing around.  When do we go to the beach?

 Prepping the beach wagon!

Setting up camp.

Emmett seemed to love the warm breeze and sound of the waves.... (I'm mostly basing that off of the limited amount of screaming and crying rather than anything he said explicitly.)

The usual crowd.

The bird watching has already been good.  I have been running each morning and come upon many birds that way.  I even ran a couple miles down the south point, where, to my knowledge, I have never been.  Saw green herons, ibis, egrets, and pelicans down that way.  There was a beautiful pine warbler (my first ever sighting!) at the nature center near Manteo.

Yup.  This'll work.

Welcome to the family, Emmett.

Swim.

We're really happy with our camera choice.  This shot was taken from 20 feet away!  I didn't even have to get out of my beach chair :-)

More to come.  We went on a schooner trip last night!  Headed to the Historic Center today and the beach, and maybe a nature walk if time permits... then back to the beach.

As requested

Here are some recent photos of the El Duderino. 

That skeptical look. 

Happy and excited!

On a stroller walk with cousin Zhora! We had so much fun. Thanks for coming over and for having the idea, Z. 

One cool dude. Ready for the beach!  Posting from the back seat of a the car, and blogger won't let me put words below the last three pics, so here we go. 

The Dogs are copilots on this trip. Hilarious, as always, to see how excited the get about every rest stop and gas station. They are super grateful to have been brought on this tour of all the most interesting smells of 81 South. 

The family. On the road. Don't worry, this is the only selfie I'll take on the drive. 

Em.C Harrington is really into his jingley bird and other car seat toys! We make up stories about what they're doing. Thanks Grammy and Uncle Andy and Aunt Gayle for the inspiration. 

BCTC

This weekend marked my fourth annual philanthropic trip to Cooperstown NY. As part of our volunteer work, Erik and I built a fence to nowhere, between nothing, on a seemingly arbitrary line, for no apparent reason. We quoted MASH a lot and made references to Catch-22 and public education.

As usual, the planning seemed to be both secondary and engineered by committee.  After standing around for awhile, I volunteered us to put up fences since it would A. get us working, B. get us away from the front gate, and C. get us in a golf cart.

I got a twix that you stole a golf cart.
No I didn't; it's right here.

This isn't a beer tasting.  This is an insane asylum.

After putting up a couple fences, we headed out to the parking lot to help people move their stuff into the campground.  This is awesome because we get to overload golf carts and drive recklessly and also chat with brewers who are grateful for our help at first, and later, grateful to arrive at their campsites alive.

On the lookout, like the good Samaritans we are.

We camped with another group of brewers/friends this year.  It worked out really well despite the fact that they are really into dressing up for these things.  I finally committed and made a reel to reel tape recorder from recycling and put together a Raleigh St.Claire costume that I was pretty happy with.

The campsite was great this year. A couple pop up canopies and some big tents gave us plenty of room to relax. We had two Coleman stoves to cook on, tables to sit at, and Erik's nice, light cream ale and helles on tap. 

The boys, pre gaming and building some pretzel necklaces. 

Erik put together a great Peter Venkman costume. Brandon went as Bill Murray's Lost in Translation character. 

Erik really stole the show. We couldn't get more than a few feet without someone stopping him for a picture. His pack was built out of garbage from his garage. Scraps of wood, flower pots, a Home Depot bucket lid, and some extra hose. He glued it together and painted it black. It was so good that a couple people remarked about how expensive it must've been or asked where he bought it. We all got a kick out of it. 

 I had never bothered to check on who the band was going to be. Incredibly, Murder by Death were on for the 9pm show on Saturday! It was a phenomenal show. I danced and sang so loud I was horse the next day!

Stay Puff!

We got back home early Sunday morning and joined Zhora, Sarah, Emmett, Margaret, and Sebastian for a great playtime. 

Sebastian driving Zhora to the river. 

Looks deep there, Erik. Is the water a bit chilly?

Next project

Emmett and I started a new project this week. Some people get the baby's room ready before the baby arrives, but now I feel like we really know the Dude's personality and tastes.

Of course he'll be consulting all the way through.