Year-round on the Outer Banks.

2010-07-16T08:33:00.001-07:00

Today was a good day.

2009-12-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

Sunset in Nags Head.

Dreamy evening.

2009-10-10T02:10:00.000-07:00

It's 2 am on a Friday evening in October, and I am sitting on my front porch in a tank top and shorts. I am wearing no shoes. There is a warm breeze blowing off the ocean and the only sounds are the leaves rustling on the trees and a faint chorus of crickets.

I just got back from a walk on the beach. The half-moon hung over the calm ocean, casting a glow that took my breath away. I stood in the edge of the surf and let the small waves wash over my feet. The tide was low, so I would walk closer to the water when the waves would recede, and in an instant I would be standing knee-deep again. The water was warm, and I was tempted to take off my clothes and go for a dip. The sky was perfectly clear, and Orion stood out over the ocean, to the south of the moon, reminding me that autumn is here even though the weather is so mild.

I live here. I LIVE here. I am lonely sometimes and feel cut off from the world a bit (I hear they call it island fever), but the beach is always there, any time of day or night, welcoming me to come for a walk. I walked two miles today with Ruby, which is a workout in itself because she is 60 pounds of muscle, and she likes to chase crabs.

The boys are both gone for the weekend, and I miss them. I am on call tonight, otherwise I would probably enjoy a glass of wine. I worked last night, and slept all day because the house was so quiet without Seth and Drew here. It's now 2:10 am, and I think I'll go back to the beach.

Jockey's Ridge looks like Tattooine.

2009-09-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

My boys are obsessed with Star Wars. When I first showed them where our new house was, and showed them that there was access to Jockey's Ridge State Park right at the end of our street, they starting planning their light saber battles.

They are also very interested in YouTube right now, and today they begged me to take a video of their battle and post it for them. Forgive the quality, the video is taken with my point and shoot camera.

This area is known as "North Ridge Park", but is really just a trail through Jockey's Ridge to the sound. The trailhead is at the end of our street.