Blue Heron Vacations Blog

wade in the water

2012-01-28T16:17:00.000-05:00

Thursday was sunny and still. Oystering! I called Jennifer at Blue Heron Realty's office, and she met me at her house so I could borrow her waders. The oystering was an amateur operation, but we gathered enough to feed ourselves. there was cold beer, a gorgeous sky, and plenty of laughter. We slurped down a few while culling and headed back into the village to steam the rest on Kimberly's big deck.

Yesterday I forgot to return the waders. That was a good thing, because it allowed me to accept an invitation to ride along with some hunters for the last day of the season. Another beautiful day on the expanse of Pamlico Sound. I am now going to Cabelas to order my own set. Thanks for the loaner, Jennifer!

Island online

2012-01-23T11:34:00.000-05:00

Ocracoke is a magical place to be. The Ocrafolk Festival T-shirts have this quote from island resident Ruth Fordon: "On Ocracoke it is a small step from the routine to the extraordinary."

Well put, Ruth! Walking to pick up a dozen eggs I can have my breath stopped by a sunset over Pamlico Sound. What started as small talk at a party I went to Saturday (thanks, JB & John!) left me energized and inspired to be more open to new friendships and ways of seeing the world.

Ocracoke has unique challenges, and my friend Sundae Horn and I think it deserves an active media to help us understand the issues facing our community. So we founded Ocracoke Current. The good on Ocracoke far exceeds the bad, so you'll find lots of fun stuff and features there as well as news.

Don't worry, Blue Heron Vacations blog and I will continue to reflect and share here as well. Thanks to Jennifer for inviting me to blog and starting me on this path of writing online about Ocracoke!

Game Night

2012-01-18T00:31:00.002-05:00

Ocracoke School's basketball teams are making their presence known. This is their first year playing in their new, regulation size gym, and third (or fourth?) year being part of a conference, for the first time in Ocracoke School history. The high school has fewer than 50 students. It's a wonder they can compete at all.

They are not just competing, they're winning! The girls' team is undefeated, and looking fairly undefeat-able. Echo Bennink, who scored her 1000th career point in December, is the marquee player, and more importantly, a fine student and extraordinary young woman who is groovy to know. She was featured tonight on local news out of Greenville, NC, as the 'Player of the Week.' How cool is that?

friendship and fitness

2012-01-09T22:42:00.001-05:00

Wintertime means walking. Islanders make exercise dates, head out to the beach or make long circuits through Ocracoke village during these quiet, off-season months. You walk with your best friends, and make new friends while meandering and talking. I love taking routes that cut through seldom used paths, skirting yards, and tramping along the marsh. I enjoy seeing who else walks together, and wonder what I could learn from the conversations they're having!

Men in Green

2012-01-04T19:52:00.003-05:00

Hunting season is here again. The few out of town cars on the island invariably are trucks full of men wearing camoflauge. I assume the ducks are loving this cold snap, although it may be too sunny for them. I've been appreciating the amazing winter sunsets, with their deep hues and richly reflected clouds. My guess is the hunters are similarly enjoying the sunrises from their blinds and sinkboxes, but I can't personally report on those. Sunrise happens kinda early in the morning.

Ocracoke Island had spectacular weather during the recent holiday season. Balmy, even. People were wearing T-shirts and shorts, comfortably. The many people who come to ring in the New Year must have been as delighted as the rest of us. Shopkeepers were happy to open and have some business; Jason's, Gaffer's and the Pony Island Restaurants were bustling, and rental homes welcomed guests. I know everyone is grateful for the economic support after an abbreviated fall season due to Hurricane Irene.

I found out too late about Ocracoke's New Year's Day Polar Bear Club. Bummer. I'll participate in 2013. But no matter: I went swimming a few days after returning home on December 19. The water was warmer, by a degree or two, than the Mediterranean Sea when I swam in early December. Or maybe I'm just glad to be home!

Carnivals and costumes

2011-10-26T03:41:00.000-04:00

I'm outta here. Sofia is a lovely and hospitable city, but I'm hitting the beach before all the sunshine is gone. My flip flops are feeling neglected. My bus leaves this evening and drives through the night.

I'll have the next 20 hours to dream of the ocean, and brainstorm Halloween costumes, even though I'll miss the island wide celebrations this year. Ocracoke is serious about Halloween. Some people dress up all week long. Some adults. The annual fall carnival brings everyone together at Ocracoke school, and the spook walk somehow manages to get craftier and scarier every year.

Good eats

2011-10-20T13:45:00.001-04:00

Stealing this from a friend, who recently visited beautiful Ocracoke Island!

Here's what J had to say:

"This is fall on Ocracoke: spicy beer steamed Pamlico littleneck clams and shrimp, seared scallops, panko-encrusted red drum, asparagus and coarse ground grits with bacon."

Is anybody else hungry?

Live and learn

2011-10-17T09:17:00.001-04:00

The annual Ocrafolk school is getting ready to kick off next week. There are heritage craft workshops, boat rides, meanderings through the marsh, beach walks, contemplation, celebration with song and dance, a great community of learners, and of course, cuisine!

Check out www.ocracokealive.org, get a last minute deal on Ocracoke accommodation through Blue Heron Realty, and join in the fun.

sand sun and sea, still!

2011-10-10T04:09:00.000-04:00

Friends are enjoying the fall, gorgeous as always, on Ocracoke. Catching fish, catching some rays. Sunbathing in the dunes, out of the chilling breeze, is so nice at this time of year. It feels so secluded and luxurious, even a little naughty, to be comfortably underdressed when it's sweater and jeans weather.

It can feel even better to pull on those jeans after the muggy summer season, head to the beach in the evening, and stretch out (or snuggle up!) next to a little fire. Below the tide line, of course.

consumer report

2011-10-05T04:09:00.000-04:00

Beach chairs: an important aspect of your Ocracoke Island vacation. Beware frugality when making this purchase. the cheap steel ones with plasticky fabric end up rusted, collapsed and useless after one summer's use. Invest the extra $20 or $30 for an adjustable aluminum chair that you can comfortably lounge in year after year. I recommend the Rio brand. That's all.

Welcome!

2011-10-03T06:01:00.000-04:00

I've discovered the next Ocracoke! Inadvertently, in the way many good things happen when traveling. We walked across the border between Turkey and Bulgaria, a major border between the EU and land routes to Asia. There were dozens of tractor trailers lined up, but we were waved right through with barely a glance. The only possible contraband in my backpack was a kilo of salty sheeps milk cheese.
All along the highway into the border town where we planned to catch a bus, blackberries were ripening. In the 1980s, Mary Fulcher and I spent happy days harvesting blackberries from the brambles on vacant lots around Ocracoke. Then we'd sell our harvest to the restaurant John and Debbie Wells ran, where Dajio is now.
We were stopped at the edge of town by a bored border guard, who sees little foot traffic. He spoke good English, and asked where we were planning to visit. Well, we said, quiet villages and places to do some hiking. Petr recommended Mezek, which fits the bill perfectly. Bus service is infrequent, so he called a friend, who picked us up (for free!). Our rented house is snug and sunny, fantastically clean, and has great views over the valley.
All I can hear is birdsong and the occasional tractor passing. All I see are the red tiled roofs and gardens of village houses. Yesterday afternoon the restaurant next to the cottages filled up with Greek families taking a drive across the border through the Rhodope mountains, a jolly band of motorcyclists, and dressed up Bulgarian couples enjoying a leisurely Sunday afternoon. It was quite lively, and convivial.
Everyone in the village of 300 people seems to know there are Americans in town. It makes me think of what Ocracoke must have been like years ago. In the evenings we go to the only grocery store, one small room with basic provisions, and join the locals sitting at cafe tables outside. We've been given fruit and vegetables from local gardens, and a jar of honey harvested from a backyard hive.
This afternoon I may walk down to the Thracian tombs on the outskirts, or I may continue to sit here in the sunshine, a relaxed, warmly wleomed, and happy vacationer.

The high seas

2011-09-24T12:12:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow will be my third ferry ride in as many days, heading to an island in the Aegean for a few days of beach camping, and hopefully, sunshine. Turkish ferries are privatized, and I spent a chunk of my daily budget to cross the sea of Marmara on a fast boat rather than riding around it on a slow bus ($25 to walk on, $100 per vehicle). Let's all take a moment to silently thank the NCDOT for affordable access to Ocracoke Island.

I found myself wondering it's always this windy in Turkey, before I remembered that, yes, it's windy by the sea, and no, it's not always this windy. I love being a tourist!

Kebabs and kittens

2011-09-21T04:00:00.000-04:00

Ocracoke has feral cats; Istanbul has more. They're kind of like the monkeys in SE Asia, clamoring over rooftops and scampering along the streets. Cats, of course, are elegant rather than impish. I haven't yet learned what Turkish cats say, but they don't respond to "kitty kitty kitty.".

We found a lovely guesthouse in the heart of the tourist district, between the Blue Mosque and the Bosphorus. I appreciate the balmy nights and great hospitality and eating olives for breakfast.

If anyone has news from Ocracoke, please share!

late summer evenings

2011-09-09T18:53:00.000-04:00

Music is drifting in from Dajio's, and the weather is wonderful here on Ocracoke. Come take advantage of having this quiet time. Rental cottages are ready to be booked!

Locals are working together to donate goods to people who suffered flooding in Hurricane Irene. Leslie offered a discount at Books to be Red when a donation was made for relief. Daphne is using the loading deck at the Back Porch Restaurant to amass sheets, cleaning supplies, toiletries and clothes in good shape to assist those in need.

There have been some early lay offs at island restaurants, and tonight I will attend my second going away party.

Labor Day

2011-09-05T13:08:00.000-04:00

Rumor has it tomorrow the ferries from Swan Quarter and Cedar Island will be unrestricted once more. Welcome back, tourists!

It was such a relief to come through Irene with such minimal damage. Ocracokers are well aware of how lucky we were and thinking of how to help our neighbors, especially those on Hatteras Island and the Hyde County mainland, who lost homes and suffered flooding.

We have also enjoyed the time together, a rare event during the summer months. Yesterday Ruth and Bob hosted a brunch for the Cafe Atlantic family, which includes current and former employees and a few random adopted folk. All of us ate an obscene amount of bacon, in addition to Ruth's other culinary offerings.

Then it was an epic beach day. Dozens of us got together at the airport beach to play volleyball, swim, surf, and socialize. The falling tide created a shallow channel of water, several hundred yards long, and a tribe of kids drifted along it on boogie boards, then raced one another screaming to do it all over again, and again, and again. Matt Tolson put on a skim boarding show, doing aerial flips. Claire and I spent a long time swimming, body surfing in the line up a safe distance from the board surfers.

I came home slighty sunburnt and terribly happy. Too tired, sadly, to make it to the square dance at the community square, with Molasses Creek playing. Ocracoke is a great community. Even if it takes a little extra time and effort to get here, please come visit this fall.

Hellooo Locals!

2011-09-02T02:35:00.001-04:00

Ruth and Bob Toth, who have owned and run the Cafe Atlantic on Ocracoke Island for over 20 years, opened tonight, offering everything on the menu at 1/2 price. Ruth is deeply committed to serving fresh, local seafood. She also hates waste, so all of last weeks fresh catch was neatly wrapped and frozen before Irene, and stored in a walk in freezer powered by a big ole generator that can run the whole restaurant if need be.

I work for Ruth and Bob (in case you were wondering, they are the best of employers). Also, I can do math. This was not a money making decision. This has to do with community, and sharing, and giving their employees an opportunity to work.

Work we did. Locals showed up en masse, and only 20 minutes after opening we were telling people to come back Friday or Saturday, or Sunday if the food hasn't all been eaten by then. The waiting list was that long, that quickly. (Did I mention how tasty all the meals at the Cafe Atlantic are, and how everyone knows it?).

Another thing that's great about Ocracoke? Everyone who is from here or who works here gets it. Understanding the reasons for an exceptionally long wait for a table and being contentedly patient; calmly accepting the disappointment of having to come back another night because there was no way our small restaurant could have accomodated everyone who wanted to eat there tonight. But happy, and grateful for the blessings on offer.

My favorite part about hosting tonight? I didn't have to ask anyone for a name before I put them on the waiting list. I love my job. See you tomorrow.

post Irene

2011-08-30T23:47:00.001-04:00

We were incredibly lucky on Ocracoke during Irene. The tides were low when the storm was passing to our west, and we came out of the storm in much better shape than our neighbors on Hatteras Island and on the Hyde County mainland.

Late Saturday night the winds finally stopped and the crickets and frogs started up again, so we hauled the chairs back out to the porch and sat together in the deep darkness.

On Sunday everyone started restoring order, taking boards off windows, putting boats back in the water, clearing limbs and the trees that went down, gathering piles of shingles that broke loose. It was hot and still. All over the island you could hear the thrum of generators and chainsaws. Lots of helicopters made low passes over the island to assess our situation.

Ferries were shuttling Emergency Service workers on Sunday and Monday, and the rest of us took long walks on the beach, or gathered some friends and went out in boats to visit Portsmouth. Our cell service was up quickly, so there were lots of conversations reassuring evacuees and others that homes and vacation houses had weathered the storm.

It seems unlikely that we'll be ready for visitors by Labor Day weekend, but everyone is encouraged to visit later this fall, once we are restored to a power supply. Locals will be delighted to have the business, I promise.

storm clouds

2011-08-26T15:51:00.000-04:00

Ignore my previous post: I'm stayin'! Micah offered a place to park my car on his nicely elevated properly. Thanks, Micah!

The rain bands have started but we're secure inside this well built house. Going to inventory the fridge and make some food that's easy to eat when the power goes out.

crunch time

2011-08-25T10:58:00.000-04:00

Ok, I've decided to evacuate. If my uninsured car floods I can't afford to replace it and vacation all winter long in the manner to which I've grown accustomed. Spent the morning securing my propane tank and double checking the yard. Boats are out of the water and secured in various creeks around the island.

My lovely island home is as secure as possible; just waiting for Jason to help me board up a few windows. Heather is staying and she'll be taking photos. wovv.org is broadcasting on line, and people have been in the studio giving updates. It's worth a listen.

Ocracoke is lovely and quiet right now, but there is a sense of anxiety as everyone checks that their property is in order.

preparation

2011-08-23T19:56:00.000-04:00

The dump was a hive of activity today, as everyone has cleaned up the yard of their Ocracoke Island homes in preparation for Hurricane Irene. It's not window boarding time yet, but I'm sure that will happen if she keeps heading our way.

I plan to check the forecast tomorrow and possibly head inland on Thursday. I'm also gathering board games and a list of friends who are staying, in case I decide to ride it out. WOVV 90.l fm is broadcasting updates. You can listen even if you're not on the island, at wovv.org.

the not so endless summer

2011-08-18T22:27:00.000-04:00

It feels like summer season on Ocracoke Island is winding down. Vacation homes are still full, and people are bobbing in the ocean, escaping the heat, but the tell tales exist. Locals are talking about how we only have a few weeks until Labor Day. People are making plans to get together when things are a little quieter. College students have departed, so we're all pulling a few more doubles to make up for the reduced workforce. Discussions about the annual fall housing shuffle have begun.

I spent a lovely morning at the Campground beach, drifting and reading. Get out there! Summer doesn't last forever.

surfer boy

2011-08-08T09:59:00.000-04:00

8 a.m. phone call, waking my friend who is blissful in her air conditioned nest: "Dude! The waves are sick! You have to cover my shift."

And she does, on incredibly short notice. This is one of the ways locals on Ocracoke support each other during the dog days of summer.

I'm off to see if those waves need some medicine.

sexy and single

2011-08-01T20:25:00.000-04:00

I spent part of my day walking around the village with Susie, talking to attractive single men about fun and romantic things to do on Ocracoke Island. Not a bad way to pass the time. Now we have some hot dudes and cool dates lined up for the WOVV Bachelor Auction, which will be held a week from tonight on the lawn at Books to Be Red. 7 pm. Be there. Support Ocracoke Community Radio. Show some love for the bachelors. Or just come because it's a screaming good time.

'tis true

2011-07-30T13:52:00.000-04:00

Today's message on the lifeguards' chalkboard: "Enjoy this PERFECT BEACH DAY and Calm Water!"

Welcome to Ocracoke.

like a heat wave

2011-07-29T15:23:00.000-04:00

A gentleman came into Over the Moon today with the most impressive amount of sweat I have ever seen on a human. He'd walked from the airport, and was shopping for pottery. He was gregarious and cheerful. I gave him the # for Javier's open air taxi, but he said he was happy walking. I left the shop and walked the 30 yards to my house, unhappily. The heat feels like being swallowed alive. Good thing Ocracoke has such a glorious beach. Watch out, Atlantic Ocean, here I come.