First, we’ll come home from the OBX, and then I get to catch
up with some mild ranting..
After our lovely afternoon on Ocracoke Island, FOJTE prepared a nice meal for our last night in the house. Speaking of which, I don’t think I ever
showed you our local “digs”. Here’s a
picture of "our" house
This is pretty typical of the “houses” you see down
there. Most are built/configured to accommodate
anywhere from ~6 to 12 couples (bedrooms), and in general they are “managed” by
real estate companies that coordinate dates, rates, etc. Prices follow the temperatures, that is as
the temperature rises (warmer months) so does the rent. And, given the potential for storms, they are
generally built up so that living quarters are on the second and third floor. The lower levels are for cars.
(the neighborhood)
Consequently there are stairs involved, and we had 32 of them
from car to living/dining/kitchen level.
Ours was nicely appointed
And had a lovely view from the back deck
All in all, it is a great place to gather the family and
enjoy the company which we very much did, especially our chance to be with our
Grand Dog, Stanley. It certainly will remain
a cherished memory of our 50th anniversary, thanks to our “kids”!
Oh, one of the interesting phenomenons of the OBX we should
comment opon is the existence of these stores:
The "stores" are virtually everywhere, regardless of the size
of the village or little town, and are of varying sizes from smaller to mega stores. One of those things like Stuckey’s; eventually you HAVE
to go into one, you can’t help it. There
are rows and rows and rows and shelves and shelves and shelves of beach stuff,
T-shirts of every design and silk screen imaginable, hundreds of hats, visors, caps, etc... we managed to come out with only one of those
little oval black and white OBX magnet thingies.. won’t be on our automobiles but maybe on the
kitchen door..
Anyway, with the able help (and younger knees) of FOJTE we
re-loaded the MOMSTER
And threaded the needle up the shore
Past Norfolk
And finally to home..
what a week..
Other stuff:
Maybe you have noticed, but Starbuck’s has re-invented most
of their food line, with a promotion called Le Boulange, after a bakery chain
(?) in San Francisco. Kind of a cheap take off on Boulangerie, the proper
name.. Anyway, SB now has revamped their
scones, morning buns, croissants, etc.; and added some savory squares along with
keeping the sandwiches. I have now tried
a square and the croissant, and they are much better than the previous
offerings. Not a plug, just fyi..
Speaking of plugs, have you seen the latest wrinkle from
Subway? They are now introducing “flatizza’s”
which just happen to be a hunk of flatbread, with “your favorite toppings” such
as pepperoni, cheese, and tomato sauce.
I don’t think there is a patent on the word “Pizza”, but geez, if it
looks like, tastes like, why not call it that..
Sheesh.
Speaking of TV, have you seen the series of commercials now
for KFC featuring some harried “Mom” at a table with a grinning “family” in the
background eagerly digging into the Colonel’s Bucket, hand to face. The dialog goes something like mom saying “I
never could get the family to eat, and now look at them..I’m such a good Mom”. Really?
Way to go Mom…
Better Stuff:
You never know what is out there.. There are a group of volunteers who help with
the State’s “Big Tree Project”. They
have a list of “champion trees” (their term) being the biggest of a specie (red
oak, silver maple, etc.,) and every few year they revisit the trees to
re-measure and look for candidates. A
lot of people call in and say “I have a big tree!” and if vetted they come and
tromp around and look. Last year we
hosted three of them, and were planning on doing it again this year, but given
the lousy weather this weekend, they postponed.
Sports Stuff:
By the end of today there could be three Big Ten teams in
the final four!! Go MSU!
Last Stuff:
Speaking of crummy weather, yesterday’s fog afforded this
picture of the bridge, just for interest – bridge to nowhere
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