Take a load off...

We took a drive up to Kitty Hawk today, to go shopping at Home Depot, with stops on the way in Manteo and Nag's Head to look at furniture. (I'm looking for an additional chair/rocker/recliner to match our living room set.) This was the first time we had left the island going North since October! We didn't need to go up the beach in November or December, and then of course the road was closed on Ocracoke starting January 2nd, and we don't have a 4WD vehicle, so any off-island trips after that had to be via Cedar Island or Swan Quarter. This morning was my first drive up and therefore my first look at the new bridges. Here's a view of one:



We came back from Home Depot with a load: lots of wood and three types of inside moulding. Good thing we now have a truck!



We learned a valuable lesson today too: even when rushing to catch the ferry, it is not a good idea to pull away quickly when you have a truck bed full of stuff which is hanging off the back. Yes, we "took a load off"...literally. It landed in the middle of Highway 12 in Hatteras Village. Whoops. No, I didn't take a picture. I was too ticked off at the time to think of that! A friendly gentleman stopped to help us put the heavy pieces (4x4x8 posts) back in the truck, before continuing on his way. (A great example of the neighborliness of 'Bankers.) And, yes, of course we missed the ferry we were rushing to catch.

Which turned out to be a good thing, because the fact that we were on the next ferry enabled me to take this sunset picture:



So that was the second lesson of the day: sometimes unplanned events or accidents lead to lovely discoveries, if we take the time to slow down and look around. Hope you get the chance to slow down and relax, wherever you are...