Road Trip to Ocracoke Island!

Pam - Mike and I decided to take a little trip to Ocracoke Island.  We left Rodanthe on Sunday afternoon - Mike rode his bike to the ferry and I drove the jeep down.  The ocean was rather "frisky" so it was a bouncy ferry ride over to Ocracoke Island!  We enjoyed our supper at a little bar/cafe on the dock of Silver Lake and then travelled to another bar/cafe on the water to enjoy good music and an awesome sunset.  Monday we took the jeep out onto the beach and enjoyed some time in the sun.  Oh!  Did I mention that we stayed in a tent?!!  The ground was hard and there was no wind moving in the campground - needless to say, it was HOT in the tent!  But as you can see from the photos, we had alot of fun and we had peaceful evenings of the docks.  We returned last night and boy was it nice to sleep in our bed! Ahhhhh! 
PS - Mike says to mention that he rode his bike back too!  Geez!

The Turtles are Here!!!

Pam - Ah, the stress of retirement!  We have 3 turtle nests on the beach, with two of them hatching.  For the last week, I have been checking the first nest that is due - well as best as I can since the NPS has roped off the site.  Finally, nest #1 hatched last night.  The park ranger informed me that the roped off area will remain until Sunday morning when they excavate the site for any remaining turtles that are stuck!  I am allowed to watch them excavate and I may take pictures - such excitement in my retired life!  Just think, I would have missed this all if I were still teaching!  AND I have 2 more nests to go!  Hopefully I will have pictures to post after Sunday (I've gotta keep up with Mike and his pictures!)

training scenery on the outer banks

The above pictures are of the scenery that I ride thru every day.  The wind or sun is sometimes brutal, and it is difficult riding the same roads every day, but whenever my quads are on fire or the ride seems long, I just stop pedaling, coast for a few seconds, and suck in the uniqueness and the beauty.  I have about 1600 miles of riding on  Highway 12 now, which is more than the distance from here to key west, which is our Christmas destination. My legs are strong and I feel the transcontinental ride is a surmountable  challenge.  Cross training on the island has included paddleboarding, ocean kayaking, parasailing, and alot of recovery time on the beach with a margarita, doing active retirement things, like watching for pelicans and dolphins! 
The longest I have ridden is about 85 miles, as I am trying to exercise restraint, and just train, not hurt these old, fragile knees. My most unique ride has probably been the one to nags head to get a root canal, then the return trip.  The bike is starting to show signs of wear, and I have already replaced a tire after two flats. The front gear shifter isnt working, and that is being ordered in kitty hawk tomorrow, but overall, the bike is doing really well. 

Waterspout in Rodanthe!

On Sunday, August 19, my NOAA radio went off announcing that a tornado was approaching Rodanthe, NC; seek shelter immediately!  Yeah right, I live in a tin can!!  Anyway, I went up to the North Beach general store to seek shelter and prayed that Mike, who was (of course) on his bicycle somewhere between Hatteras and Rodanthe, was safe.  Up at the store, we all stood on the porch and watched as the funnel cloud approached - fortunately it was a waterspout!  Anyway, I took this picture before it hit land and dissipated.  Talk about excitement!?  Where was Mike?  He was to the south riding in sunshine while we had storm after storm and a waterspout!  Go figure.

With This Ring......

On Wednesday, August 15, 2012, Mike and I participated in a convalidation of our wedding vows at Our Lady of the Seas in Buxton, NC.  In layman's terms, we had a priest bless our vows since we did not have a priest present at our wedding in 1985.  Now we are "officially" married!  Tirzah Sarro and Buddy Rose were our witnesses along with some of our close North Beach friends: Bird and Giselle Baldwin, Susan and Charlie Watson and "Mayor" Tom!!  After our ceremony, we all went to the Sandbar and Grille for our "wedding reception".  Thank you to all of our friends for joining us at this important event.  Even after 27 years, these powerful vows are still very moving (yes I had tears in my eyes!)

Truly retired!

All summer people kept asking me how it felt to be retired and I always replied that I didn't know since I always spent my summers at the beach!  Well now it's becoming real. This past weekend, my dear friends Tirzah and Susan began preparing to go back to school and yesterday our son, Buddy, drove back home since he has faculty meetings tomorrow .  Yesterday, my former employer, Peters Township SD, had their first faculty in-service of the year AND I was sitting on the beach with a cup of tea, watching the waves and seagulls!  Wow!  I think I can get used to this!