A Little Tequila, A Little Princess, and a Big Ocean (OBX 7/21 - 7/25/2010) - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Love the update, I miss the beach it is one of my favorite places to go. Your pics just make me want to go even more. What a lovely day. Great update Kenny!
Cassie, I miss the ocean, too. Every day one of us will say: "Let's go back to the beach!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Great pictures! It looks so pretty there!
Thanks, Pam! We do like it there!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Pixies for you Kenny!
Thanks, Marnie! I think the pixies worked as everything seems to be good!
Quote:
Originally Posted by islandgirl
Great TR!!! Love the pictures!! We went to OBX in '08 for the first time & would love to go back again!!
We can't wait to go back, I'm glad they missed the hurricane this time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
on the cath results, Kenny! It's crazy, isn't it, how the number of meds just keeps growing. Beats anything invasive, though.
Thanks, Laurie! Yes on the meds! I'm just about to catch up with my wife, now!
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A Little Tequila, A Little Princess, and a Big Ocean (OBX 7/21 - 7/25/2010) Updated 9/16/10
Lighthouses, Beaches, and Pirates-part 3 (...or are you trying to KILL yourself?)
The wait for the ferry was only about 10 minutes this time. I don't know how many boats they have on this route each day, but I would guess, at least 3. They just go back and forth from Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island all day, offering free rides. On the South side of Ocracoke Island there are two ferry terminals that offer toll ferry rides to the mainland.
It wasn't long before we were loaded up and heading back to Hatteras... not quite as tightly packed as the trip over. All loaded up for the cruise back to Hatteras... Our DD OBX decal!
It was a beautiful day for a boat ride on the ocean, and I got out and walked around taking pictures again. A gull on the mast and the upper deck and name of our ferry
One of the other ferries going to Ocracoke Island... Plowing through the ocean!
Cruisin'
Is that a party goin' on over there?
It certainly IS a party... Cap'n Clam didn't invite us to their Par-Tay either!
The girls all stayed in the car again, enjoying the relaxing boat ride. The Girls
Tia was soon in her favorite position on my seat...
All too soon we were aproaching the terminal on Hatteras Island again.
As you leave the ferry terminal, if you turn right, you can go to a museum called “The Graveyard Of The Atlantic”. The museum holds a variety of exhibits including, Lighthouse lamps, Pirate paraphernalia, and many items recovered from shipwrecks. It sounded like fun, so we went over. Granny stayed with the dogs while the rest of us went in to check it out. We were in there about a half an hour, they are still adding exhibits. We enjoyed it a lot, I can't remember if there was a charge.
One of the early lamps from one of the lighthouses... an exhibit
More exhibits......
The "rock looking" thing is a corroded metal artifact
They also had a section at the end for quilts, with themes relevant to the area. On the back of the first quilt is a distress signal flag (no pic)
When we came out of the museum, Granny was walking the dogs, so we got out some dog food and water and let them take a good break before we went on.
Janet had not seen the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse up close and personal, so we decided to stop by there before we went back to the motel.
Things aren't co-operating, so I will continue soon
A Little Tequila, A Little Princess, and a Big Ocean (OBX 7/21 - 7/25/2010) Updated 9/16/10
Lighthouses, Beaches, and Pirates-part 3 (...or are you trying to KILL yourself?) -cont-
I had been having this strange desire running through my mind since we came down here the last time. I was kicking myself for not trying to climb the Currituck Lighthouse! I just kept imagining the views from the top of a lighthouse and really wanted to see the views. Soooooooooooooo... since we would be at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in the middle of the afternoon, before it closed, I decided I would climb to the top and see if the view was worth the climb! When we arrived at the lighthouse, Brenda and Granny decided to stay at the car with the dogs, while Janet and I went to the Visitors' Center.
Janet and I walk to the Pavilion
The lighthouse and Keeper's buildings
What the sign says: Climbing the Lighthouse Climbing the248 spiral-step staircase is the equivalent of climbing the stairs of a 12 story building. There is no air conditioning. It may be noisy,humid, hot and dim inside the lighthouse. The two-way traffic on the narrow staircase can be crowded.
Visitors with heart, respiratory or other medical conditions and visitors who have trouble climbing stairs should use their own discretion as to whether to climb the tower.
You would THINK, I would have taken this to heart!
Ahhhhhhh... Yes, it was noisy, Yes, it was humid, Yes, it was hot, Yes, it was dim and crowded! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh... and Yes, I have a heart condition!
What the sign says: WARNING A heat warning has been issued for today. A heat index of 90 degrees results in a heat warning. If the heat index reaches 103 degrees, the lighthouse will be closed.
Please carefully consider your health and ability to climb 257 steps.
Please climb slowly and carefully. Drinking water is encouraged.
I believe they said the heat index was 97 degrees.
You would THINK, I would have taken this to heart!
You would THINK, I would have, at least, taken the brand new Dasani water (that I had just purchased 5 minutes before we arrived at the lighthouse) on the climb with me! BUT!... I forgot to bring the water with me... and I was “The Man!”
It was $7 for the privilege of climbing the lighthouse and trying to kill yourself! I, Happily, paid the fare and proceeded through the door.
The entrance and staircase
What the sign says: You are HALF-WAY up the lighthouse.
Between you and the balcony are: 4 flights of stairs About 75 feet in elevation
Please pace yourself.
Didn't phase me!... NO FEAR!!
The top floor and the lamps
I MADE IT TO THE TOP!!! And this is what I found:
The View from above
We also took the obligatory pictures of each other...
After I had walked completely around the balcony and taken pictures from every direction, I decided I'd better go back down with the girls. The wind had cooled me off, and I had taken it easy for the few minutes I was up there, so I felt OK with going back down. I'm pretty sure it didn't take as long to go down as it did to go up, and soon I saw Janet waiting for me near the Pavilion. I was really tired, and soaked through with sweat, but it was SO worth the climb! The view was spectacular!
Soaked in sweat and tired... but back on the ground!
After trying to kill myself, we loaded up and went back to the motel where we decided to make use of the gas grill and make cheeseburgers for dinner. I don't know why there are no pictures of dinner, but it was great and we filled our bellies and decided to spend a little time in the pool. As we were getting ready to go swimming, we heard a commotion outside! Upon further investigation, we found one of the owners' dogs was riding her skateboard out in the parking lot.
We finished getting ready for the pool and spent some time cooling off there.
The Girls... and I
We spent some time in the pool, then decided we had enough daylight left to go up to the next town and look for another house we were thinking about renting next year. We did find the house, but we were only able to look at the outside. It was OK, don't know if we will try for it or not. It is owned by the same couple who own the motel where we stayed. We drove around a bit and Janet got some pics of the sun setting.
A beautiful end to the day...
We found this cute ice cream parlor for dessert. Ice cream.... Trying to decide...
Decision made....
Finally, it was time to go back to the rooms and call it a night. We had an early wake up tomorrow!
More great updats Kenny! Glad you made it to the top of that lighthouse! The view was definitely worth it! Great pictures from the ferry and the museum as well!
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I'm glad the view from the top was worth it! I can't imagine how you made it up that high--in the heat and humidity, too. Love the skateboarding bulldog!
More great updats Kenny! Glad you made it to the top of that lighthouse! The view was definitely worth it! Great pictures from the ferry and the museum as well!
Now I want to climb the Currituck Light and see what's there!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
I'm glad the view from the top was worth it! I can't imagine how you made it up that high--in the heat and humidity, too. Love the skateboarding bulldog!
Laurie... I just took it real slow and stopped at every landing to get my wind back!
When we did the Western Caribbean cruise, we found a skateboarding dog in Key West! I guess we just have a knack for finding them! hahaha
Quote:
Originally Posted by linda a. rob
So glad you like OBX thats where we live. Currituck Countyixi e:
Welcome, Linda! We do just LOVE OBX! I can't imagine living there... wait a minute... (imagining: uncrowded ocean beaches... whenever I want!)...Yes I can!
Wow what a wonderful experience, climbing the lighthouse, you are very brave! I love the pics it is all so beautiful and the ice cream place looks simply charming.
Wow what a wonderful experience, climbing the lighthouse, you are very brave! I love the pics it is all so beautiful and the ice cream place looks simply charming.
Well, I think it might have been more stupid than brave, but the view was spectacular!
The Ice Cream place was pretty cool... ahhhh... good... ahhhh... nice!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Wonderful updates Kenny!
Thanks, Cheryl!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Great updates! The museums looked interesting and kudos for making it up that lighthouse!
The museums were OK... they had some interesting exhibits. I don't know how I got to the top, but I'm glad I went!
A Little Tequila, A Little Princess, and a Big Ocean (OBX 7/21 - 7/25/2010) Updated 10/3/10
A Long Day!
Brenda's dialysis treatment was scheduled for 9:00am in Plymouth, NC. She gets her treatment from Fresenius Medical Care. They have clinics scattered all across our country, including in our small Ohio town. According to their website, there are 3 clinics within 100 miles of our motel in Buxton, NC. The closest is 50 miles away, in Manteo, NC, Morehead City, NC, 77 miles and Plymouth, NC, at 78 miles. Manteo was full and had no room, Morehead City, we would have to co-ordinate 2 ferry rides to get there, but they were able to get us into the Plymouth clinic after much frustration. The thing is, when I entered Plymouth, NC into our Garmin GPS, it was 116 miles! The 78 miles was via Ocracoke Island and 2 ferry rides. Sooooooo, we had to leave the motel about 7am. I'm sure we had cereal and coffee for breakfast in the room, took the dogs for a walk, and were on the road about 6:45am.
Sunrise over the dune
The route to Plymouth would take us North to Nags Head, then West across Roanoke Island to the Mainland, and continuing West about 50 more miles to Plymouth. When we got to Nags Head, we decided we had enough time to go by Dunkin' Donuts for coffee and a donut. A quick pause at the drive-thru and we were back on the road towards Roanoke Island.
Crossing the Sound to Roanoke Island
Manteo, NC on Roanoke Island
Crossing Croatan Sound onto the Dare Co. peninsula
Crossing the Albemarle Sound
This was a draw bridge
There was a shop on the West side of this bridge with a replicaof the Hatteras Lighthouse
We continued on along US Highway 64 into Plymouth.
The clinic was on the East side of town, right off the main highway.
The dialysis clinic
I went in with Brenda and got her registered with them and checked in, then went back to the car. We decided to drive around town for a bit and find something to drink.
One of the churches in town... and a cotton field, which was actually within the city limits, I believe
We ended up getting coffee at McDonald's and going back to wait at the clinic. (Plymouth is a small town). We went by the library, but it was closed. We got to thinking that if Brenda's session was shortened for some reason, we should be there anyway. So the girls got out their books and I got out my netbook and we rolled down the windows and opened the doors and waited.
Brenda came out about 1pm, tired and hungry, of course. She didn't want McDonald's or any other fast food, for that matter, so, since we hadn't found anything interesting on our tour of the town, we started back, intending to stop at the first place we could find. That was probably a mistake, since the first town of any size was over an hour away, but that is where we ended up. We found a neat little deli where we could sit outside with the dogs and have lunch, in Manteo.
The Garden Deli and Pizzeria
Brenda... and Janet waiting for lunch to be served. They actually brought it outside for us!
Then it was back across the Sound to Nag's Head.
Once we were back at Nag's Head, we were ready for dessert! Ice cream was calling all of us, so we found a nice little ice cream shop. Everyone got cones...
...except the messy one... ME!!
We enjoyed our ice cream in the car, and then started back to Buxton and the motel.
A couple of photos on the way back to the room
Back at the motel, we took a break. Janet went to the pool and the rest of us took a nap. After a couple of hours we started to think about dinner. We decided to go back to the Diamond Shoals restaurant so no one would have to cook. We didn't take a lot of photos this time, at least, none of the food. We took some of the aquariums, but they didn't turn out too good.
Having another great meal at the Diamond Shoals
All I remember is that Brenda couldn't wait to get another double order of scallops. They were some of the best she's ever had... and that's saying something. We took our time and looked at the fish and decided to go to the beach for a little bit. It was dark now and we wanted to see all the crabs that were supposed to be on the beach at night. We went back to the motel to change into our swim suits and then drove up the road to a beach access parking lot.
It was so dark that not many of our pictures came out good. I actually dropped our camera in the sand and thought I had ruined it, but, the next day it started working again. Some young people had a bonfire and party going on. They had a dog with them, too, and they were friendly as we passed their spot and went on to where the waves were coming in.
A par-tay on the beach... and it was a bit windy out there at night!
The crabs were everywhere! They were running around all over the sand! Most of them were only about the size of your thumb, but we found one as big as the palm of your hand. The dogs weren't the least bit interested in the crabs. We tried to get Tia and Princess to chase them, but they hardly paid any attention at all. It was windy, but still very warm and I got my feet wet in the surf before we started back to the car.
We had had quite a day, and had a long drive home tomorrow, so, we headed back to the motel and called it a night.
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on the cath results, Kenny! It's crazy, isn't it, how the number of meds just keeps growing. Beats anything invasive, though.
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Cassie
Great pictures from the ferry and the museum as well! 
ixi e:
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