The inevitable question: Fish, or cut bait? Not being a fisherman, I was never quite sure exactly what that meant, but it sure seems like an inevitable question. And we sure were in a quandary. After stopping for a break we had just gotten back onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike when traffic came to a standstill. It wasn’t like we were crawling along; we were completely stopped. The quandary arose because we were close to an exit. Not knowing what the holdup was, we watched for about 15-20 minutes as car after car took the exit to who knows where.
Dave figured out some alternative routes, so, to Debbie and Carol’s consternation (“Those guys – they won’t just sit, wait, and be patient!”), off we went. Up and down, over mountains, hills and dale. By the way, a dale is another thing I was never sure about. After some very beautiful scenery, and relieved that no locals made us squeal like pigs, we arrived at our hotel in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Betsy and Ed arrived at the hotel a bit later, having been stuck in the same traffic jam. After a few drinks, we somehow wound up in a detailed conversation about prostate exams.
Saturday, 06/08/02
Who should walk into the Waffle House outside of Richmond, VA, while we were having breakfast, but John and Jill and family. They had stayed at the hotel next door the night before. What a coincidence!
We arrived in Salvo at about 2:00 PM wondering where all the traffic went. For every other trip, we’ve had terrible traffic jams as we approached the Outer Banks. This time it was clear sailing all the way.
Everyone was surprised at how cold it felt. It was probably in the low 60’s, but the wind was so strong that there was actually a wind chill factor.
In the good deeds department, Dave and I had never expected to be pushing a car out of the sand, but that’s what we found ourselves doing. As we were headed towards the Food Lion, a woman of size, in the middle of nowhere, and obviously in distress, was waving to passing autos. We stopped to help, but weren’t able to push her Buick Century out of the sand. We acted as if we understood how such a predicament could happen to anyone, but later wondered how anyone could be quite so dumb as to take a two wheel drive vehicle on that sandy road to the beach. We were able to recruit the help a fellow with a pickup truck who was able to pull her out with a chain.
Sunday, 06/09/02
The winds calmed down a bit, but it still felt pretty cold. We still went to the beach and played in the pool.
“Ann’s Palace” isn’t quite one. Although it’s really fine, it also has some drawbacks, such as a non-closing refrigerator, non-working telephones, a cold pool, ants, a cockroach, a broken toilet, etc. We were able to fix about half of the problems.
Deanna and company engaged in a stimulating game of dominos.
Monday, 06/10/02
It’s finally warming up. Several of us went kayaking on the sound. Not terribly exciting, but it was still a-ok – we saw some pelicans and a jellyfish.
Jill was the last one to dinner. She had some lame excuse like needing to feed the baby, and she had told John to put some food aside for her. Carol had other ideas, however. She arranged her lasagna such that only a tiny morsel was left for Jill – the other tray was hidden in the microwave. When Jill saw what she had to choose from, John almost became a battered husband. But we all got a good laugh.
Tuesday, 06/11/02
Jack dropped me off just over the Oregon Inlet Bridge and I ran all the way home. But not before taking a tumble within the first ½ mile - I tripped over some concrete that was uneven by 1/16 inch. Otherwise, it was a good 19 mile run.
Dave, Carol, Debbie and I went to Duck to see Heidi, sister of Halle Berry’s rental place. It sure was a beautiful house.
Jack caught some fish – dolphin/mahi-mahi and mako shark. It was good on the barbie, but I kept saying that I like it fresher.
Several of us went to the sound to watch a very pretty sunset. We watched someone kite-surfing on the water.
Wednesday, 06/12/02
A bunch of us went on the Pea Island bird-walk. We saw lots of birds, but unfortunately, I don’t remember what any of them were.
Later in the day we went south to Cape Hatteras. We saw the relocated lighthouse and then watched turtles in a pond. Some of us shopped whilst others played miniature golf. Then we all got together for dinner (on Mom) at the Breakwater Restaurant in Hatteras. Since we had originally planned on meeting at the place across the street, we left the station wagon out as a signal to John and Jill that we’d relocated. It took actual human contact (from Ed) however, to get the message across to them. Everyone enjoyed the good food.
Thursday, 06/13/02
This time we headed north, to Manteo. Some folks went to the aquarium, and then everyone but John and Jill and family met at the Weeping Radish for a little light lunch (heh heh). Afterwards we went to the Elizabethan Gardens.
Friday, 06/14/02
Just hung around at the beach, and got Bubba’s Bar-BQ for dinner.
Saturday, 06/15/02
BIG-TIME Traffic jams during Jack and Deanna’s “short-cut around D.C. We’ll take the long way home next time.
Took us about 14 hours for the 12 hour trip.
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