Beach Daze

As Dad is fond of saying, "Salt water cures everything." Or was that chlorine? Or swimming? Anyway, we're finding the salve to life's stresses and foibles here, in Ocracoke.  The time is passing too quickly of course, and I was trying not to write that, because it absolutely goes without saying, but there it is, so there you go.  We're already starting to quote Mom and Dad H, "We really should come in the off season and stay two weeks."

This picture didn't make it into the group from the boat.  Our shipmates took it for us.  We're a pretty content crew.

Sarah's been talking about getting a dragonfly tattoo on her ankle, but she thought she'd try it out first before committing.  I think it needs a unicorn and a rainbow to make it complete.

Woo!  Beach!  Woo!

Woo!  Eduardo's!  Woo!  Emmett has been a real good sport.  He goes everywhere, does everything, and as long as he's fueled up and clean, he does it without complaint... like the Element.

This year's house has two nice porches and is tucked back behind another property so it's super quiet.  The rocking chairs leave a lot to be desired, but we make due, and the porch swings are great.

It's been really hot this trip and the dogs have a rough time of it anyway, so we've taken them out for sunset and sunrise.  I've walked them around the neighborhood a few times, too.  They don't seem to be missing the mid day beaching and are grateful and happy to be along.  For what it's worth, I love this picture.

Eva, Jonas, Sarah with Emmett, Keith.

Somehow, it took me a minute to realize that if they make UPF outfits for kids, they probably make them for adults, too.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a matching onesie, but I love not having to smear sunscreen all over all the time.  Plus, mine has a hood that makes me look like Storm Shadow.  The 8 year old me would be stoked.

Last night, or a couple nights ago, we went out to watch the sun set and the moon rise.  This is a picture of the latter, obviously.

Venus and Mercury (above) were in the sky, along with Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.  I totally wish we'd brought the astronomical binoculars!  What were we thinking?  Oh well, it was still a pretty great adventure just to sit and look up.

Don't worry, everyone has been wearing sunscreen on their exposed parts.  With the exception of the top of Veneta's feet, we've had no sunburns!  Maybe a first.  We're all sporting SPF 60, wearing hats, some of us are in UPF clothes, and under the canopy... How times change.  

We've been getting some reading and relaxing in, also.

Yesterday we went to the Ocracoke Preservation Society and the Ocracoke Working Watermen's Association exhibit wear we learned about how the community came together to save the fish house.  That made our visit to the Ocracoke Seafood Company even cooler.  I wanted to grill some fish while we are here, and have been watching a lot of grilling shows to get ready.  It was cool to chat with the fish monger and she even gave us a couple tips about what and how to grill.  I have a pretty strict "No tertiary consumers" rule, but I broke it this time on the advice of the fish monger.  So in the end, we left with some shrimp, a pampano, and a mako shark steak!

The grilling went well enough that I think Alton Brown would have said, "Pretty good".  The steak was grilled very simple because I wanted to taste the fish rather than a marinade.  For those who haven't had it, it's pretty close to sword fish.

Sarah's still a bit timid when it comes to sea food, so I threw a couple pig dogs on the grill for her.  She sauteed some onion and summer squash that we brought with us and made a lovely coleslaw.  Veneta made shrimp that was just perfect.

If you look carefully, you can see a little piece of the shark on the left hand side, next to the slaw.

Wish you were here!

Dinner devoured.

Yesterday or today, I got up early (thanks Jonas) and decided that instead of trying to go back to sleep, which is usually fruitless, I'd take the dogs to watch the sun rise and the moon set.

Moon setting over the dunes.

Sun rising over the guard station.  Unfortunately, I can't look at this without thinking of Apocalypse Now.

Tonight we finally ate at the Flying Melon.  It was good and the atmosphere was fun.  We've really enjoyed cooking at home rather than going out, for the most part, and it made tonight feel like a treat.  Tomorrow I will have another snowball.  I've only had one so far this trip!  We're going to hit the coffee shop, then the little food truck, Graceful Bakery, and head to Hammock Hills Nature Trail before finally hitting the beach.  I will get a snowball when we come back for the heat of the day.