Blue Heron Vacations Blog

brand new day

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:09:00 +0000

Ocracoke is open for Labor Day weekend, and the island is sparkling. Earl forced me to clean up my yard, filled my cisterns, and washed everything down. Yesterday lots of turtles were on the move and after dark the frogs made their presence known.

how swell

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:42:00 +0000

Last day of August! I never understand how June and July zip by so quickly, and August feels like an eternity. Everyone is talking about Hurricane Earl, which appears as though it will swing by us later this week. If it does pass without damaging the island, expect beautiful weather for Labor Day weekend.

I'm going to go ahead and clean up the yard this morning, based on the theory that preparedness repels storms, just like packing a raincoat prevents rain.

deliciously in love

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:26:00 +0000

Tina and I got all choked up at the Cafe' last night because a gentleman proposed to his girlfriend, properly, on one knee. There were handshakes and applause and a woman at a nearby table admired the ring. I love love, and these two were glowing with it.

Ahhh . . . fall and romance on the Outer Banks. The weather is certainly doing it's part, extravagantly sunny days and cool nights. Today, everyone is scampering off to the beach, to admire the high tides and swell.

Goodbye, August. Helloooooo fall.

First Day of School

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:14:00 +0000

All right! Kids, at least the ones on Ocracoke, are back in school. Presumably someone is in charge. (I hear from multiple sources, including a high school senior, that the new principal is really nice)

Also Ocracoke has a new Doctor and a new Methodist Pastor. May our new community leaders be wise and compassionate.

AND the weather has cooled down just enough to allow the windows to be open at night. The peepers and cicadas are better than a lullaby. If you've been waiting, as a reasonable person might, for a less crowded, less humid island, consider visiting now. Blue Heron is friendly and we'll help you book a fall rental house on Ocracoke.

squishy feet

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:13:00 +0000

Hooray for Pamlico Sound! Last weekend I went clamming one day and for a sail the next. Jumping off boats into the sound is excellent summer recreation. Watching my nephews giggle and leap is even better. The water's just this amazing green and perfectly comfortable--you can languidly drift and swim all afternoon without getting chilled. (Plan for a nice long nap after)

My mother adores clamming, but I've always been squeamish about digging my feet into the fine sand and grassy seabed. Until I caught a few clams. Now I, too, have got the fever. Bryan steamed the smallest ones, made casino clams with the slightly larger ones, and there are chowder clams in the freezer. Jenny Scarborough, clam killer.

Blue Heron has Ocracoke Island rental homes with docking, and anyone can rent a kayak or boat to explore Ocracoke's waters. Labor Day is only a few weeks away. Get it while it's hot!

Books and Booze

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:41:00 +0000

The heat is like the tropics, but luckily, so is the water: clear turquoise under bright skies. Going to the beach the other day was like stepping into a Corona commercial.

I stopped by Books to be Red, bought David Mitchell's new book and spent a contented late afternoon in my beach chair. Mitchell is ridiculously talented--I was transported to a whole new world within the first few pages. Heather is anxiously waiting for me to finish already and pass Jacob de Zoet along.

Last night I checked out Ocracoke's newest hot spot, Gaffer's Sports Pub. At 9 pm I was the only customer, but by the time I left two hours later it was jumping. There are many many televisions as well as libations. Bands are booked for the next couple of weekends. Get ready to shimmy.

Tasty fish

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:53:00 +0000

I went flounder gigging for the first time ever the other night! It's lovely, wading through the illuminated water with the stars above. At first everything looked like a potential flounder to me, and Bryan had to point out the fish (they really do just lay there, confident in their camoflauge). I trust I will get better at spotting them with practice. When it was time to spear them I had to look away.

rain dates

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:45:00 +0000

I keep hearing how awesome last night's 1980s reunion hosted by Britt and Jessie was. Apparently there is photographic evidence of my sister in a spectacularly prim dress, which of course I'm dying to see. Jenfu at the Women's Opry looked so amazing in those big pink prom dress sleeves that I'm thinking about allowing a little of that Laura Ashley cuteness back into my wardrobe.

Ah, the 1980s, the halcyon days of Sunday afternoon beach volleyball and an endless string of bonfires at night. Is it enough to make you willing to re-visit teendom?

Evening

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:53:00 +0000

Every year I am encouraged to see a greater variety of colors in the people that visit Ocracoke. Now it is six o'clock and the church bells are chiming.

Ahhhh . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:07:00 +0000

So what if it's been windy and hot? The ocean has been clear, cool and pocketed with little pools refreshed by waves rolling over the shallow bar. There are lots of happy families playing in the water.

old friends, good food

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:23:00 +0000

Some people you see too seldom, like friends who live on the west coast and are busy raising children. Happily, Mandi and Jim found a fantastic rental home for their week on Ocracoke (through Blue Heron Realty, of course). Their vacation cottage is small but uses space remarkably well, with room for their family of five, and a huge screened porch and shaded yard.

Perfect for entertaining, and on Tuesday they hosted a cookout. Jim had spent the morning gathering clams, and there were skewers of meat, veggies and scallops on the grill. Cool cubes of pineapple were inside, near the white wine on ice. Yummy! Excellent party. There is nothing like a cookout to make it feel like summer.

Figs are ripening like mad, and Sarah told me she's been eating two tomatos a day. I wonder what she's trying to keep away? A lot of people schedule little breaks for themselves in the middle of the summer. Maybe I should pop up to the mountains and hop in a cool stream.

Bryan just got home from fishing, reporting "spanish mackerel and bluefish, a lot of 'em." He's frying shrimp they've got at good prices at the fish house. I'm going to try to enjoy summer while it's here.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:01:00 +0000

The town is rockin'! Junction 2010, a two night jam band fest benefitting the Ocracoke Youth Center is spilling out of the Community Center, Mac 'n' Juice are laying down some acoustic music at Jimmy's Seafood Buffet, and the Aaron Caswell Band is lighting up Dajio's. I can hear the excited yelps of party people from my porch.

All outdoor music on Ocracoke ends by 10 p.m. for those who would rather listen to the tree frogs and crickets, which make sweet music of their own.

thunder rides again

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:16:00 +0000

A booming, rolling clap of thunder just set off someone's car alarm. It gave a surprised little chirp and settled back down.

It always seems that God, or nature, fills the cisterns just in time. There's a thrilling bit of cool weather with this storm, and the amphibians seem to be making their presence felt (Pat Garber's article in the Ocracoke Observer was a treat).

An huge cicada came screamin' in the house the other night, quite startling, but we devised an ingenious system to save everyone a vexing night: we turned the outside lights on and the inside ones off. The cicada flew to the window. I gently caught it in a towel and, feeling it aquiver in my hands, tossed it outside and slammed the door. Their coppery husks are easy to spot on cedar trees.

You know what this is? A good day for a bath. Or a walk through the puddles. Or a walk through the puddles and then a nice hot bath.

McClellanville

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:03:00 +0000

Those South Carolina shrimpers sure keep their boats looking sharp. I like to watch them work on the water, too, with their spreaders out, trawling in the moonlight. Soon there will be an abundance of fresh shrimp, to eat now and freeze for later.

As far as the eye can see

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:01:00 +0000

There is no way to describe the weather we had on July 3 and 4 without invoking the word "perfect." Clear water for swimming, perfect for clamming, fishing, and being out in boats, perfectly clear night skies loaded with stars. Daytime temperatures were in the low 90's, making it only a little on the hot side for the parade, and perfect for dancing the evening away at the Community Store square. The island was full, but with so many people enjoying the beach, it felt convivial rather than crowded.

Jennifer, Fess and kids made a delightful float--I didn't know golf carts could pull trailers--with cardboard, paint, tape and a few artfully placed beach chairs and fishing poles. They deserved to win something, and I think they did.

I can't promise perfect weather next year, but I do know Ocracoke is my favorite place to spend July 4th. Blue Heron Realty can help you find the perfect vacation cottage for any season on Ocracoke Island.

Sandcastles

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:11:00 +0000

Someone built a grand, and perfectly simple, sandcastle at the campground beach yesterday. Buckets were used as forms, and the towers and parapets and hold looked like they'd been carved from rock. The castle was at the edge of the tide line, proudly jutting toward the sea, awaiting the wash of time.

Welcome to America

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:07:00 +0000

Yesterday I was in Morehead City with an Ocracoke friend, car shopping. We also went to Wal-Mart. An enormous Wal-Mart, the kind with a grocery store. The kind of store that's so big you end up calling each other. We actually had three separate phone conversations while in the store, acres of plastic merchandise separating us. Being from Ocracoke, huge stores are both thrilling and mystifying. What does it cost to air condition that place? Who buys CD's at Wal-Mart? What marketing genius could make me want yet another beach towel?

I bought a stand up fan, a summer's supply of toilet paper, and pop tarts. Then, because there is still a limited selection on Ocracoke, I ran errands at the liquor store. News flash: the genial people at the ABC in Morehead bat not an eye when you purchase what struck me as a huge amount of vodka by an array of distillers. Now that was fun.

The ship! the ship!

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:02:00 +0000

The NOAA boat that's been berthed at the public NPS docks for weeks now is going to be open to the public today. I'm totally going. I hope it's cool and I learn something. Pleeeasse don't disappoint me, NOAA.

more is more

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:20:00 +0000

Summer is officially here, accompanied by a variety of fashion statements. I'm half in love with the gentleman I saw the other day who had just gone all out with the vacation vibe: loud Hawaiian shirt, banded straw hat, Madras shorts. Why not?

People who rock the Imperialist look, with seersucker and loafers, also score points with me. So crisp, so aloof, you deserve a gin and tonic.

There are so many cute sundresses in the world!! Shade your shoulders: the best straw hats on the island are sold at Bella Fiore Pottery on Back Road.

How glad are you that jumpsuits are easier to wear than ever? Not nearly as glad as I am. One of my sartorial heros took hers from beach to bar the other day just by adding a belt and necklace.

Mercy

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:06:00 +0000

It is rather warmish out, maybe to make up for what was, by all accounts, a long, cold winter. All that means is that hopping in the ocean is a good idea, as is idling away an afternoon on a breezy porch.

Get some relief. Call Blue Heron Realty and someone friendly, like Lynn or Cheri or Jennifer or Judy will pick up the phone and help you determine which vacation home on Ocracoke best suits your needs.

I don't have air conditioning, which makes me feel environmental and holy, but also lends itself to some sluggish behavior. Sticky and slow, that's me.

summer skies

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:55:00 +0000

While sunsets are routinely more spectacular in the winter, the way the sky deepens to dark during lingering dusks in the summer is one of my favorite sights ever. It always makes me feel as if something wonderful could happen at any moment.

Did I mention the coquinas?

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:06:00 +0000

Such a magnificent abundance of them. I don't know why I find coquinas so fascinating. Their tenacity, maybe. Or is it their powerful arms?

Tonight is the 2nd annual WOVV Women's Arm Wrestling SmacDown at SmacNally's. I still have no costume, but I know it's gonna be fun. Give Ocracokers an excuse to dress up, and they will come. Mostly, I hope we raise a pile of $$$ to support WOVV operations, to pay rent and bills and fun things like that.

Robert has worked on this for over 3 years, devoting countless hours and also, quietly, a lot of money. We are one engineering test from being on the air! If you see him, thank him.

Also thank Blue Heron Realty for being a corporate underwriter for WOVV. Jennifer didn't hesitate when I asked for financial support for the station, and I've noticed that she also donates to many other island non-profits and community service groups.

Better yet, book your rental cottage on Ocracoke Island through Blue Heron Realty, stop by the radio studio on Silver Lake across from the Anchorage Inn, and make your own show of support!

stew, anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:44:00 +0000

There are great profusions of coquina clams on the beach. They are mesmerizing to watch and admirably strong. Edible, too. Dig in!

Wow

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:32:00 +0000

Ocracoke community radio should be on the air any day now. What do you want to hear?

magical fairy island

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Heron Vacations) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:50:00 +0000

I like eavesdropping. Snippets of converation are often best. Today I overheard a what appeared to be an extended family negotiating transportation. They kept referring to a "ferry boat," as in, "I think they'll let you ride on the ferry boat even if you don't have a car," and "Why don't you just check the ferry boat schedule?"

Thank you, tourists, for putting the "boat" back in ferry. I will try to remember how fun it is to ride on boats the next time I leave the island.