News from Dajio

Here's another email I received recently, with updates about one of the island's newest restaurants (and one of my favorites). Check out their website, too!

Starting April 1st:
Dajio will be open 7 days a week and is serving food from 8am – 1am, with all new menus
Breakfast 8-11
Lunch 11-3
“Shrimp Hour” 3-5
(.20 Lemon Butter Shrimp)
Dinner 5-9
Late night food in the bar from 9-1am
Including a 2nd “Shrimp Hour” (.20 Lemon Butter Shrimp)
All New Menus

As always fresh, local and made from scratch
No extra charge for imagination.

Please stop by 8am-1am, any day of the week and you will find us open with great food.

305 Irvin Garrish Highway
All our food is made from
Scratch, using only the finest
Local ingredients whenever possible.
(252)928-7119
www.dajiorestaurant.com

Presenting...

In keeping with the "I'm too busy trying to get my life caught up that I don't have time to actually blog effectively" theme, I now present...

several quick (read: copied/pasted from email) blogs about upcoming events on the island!

Frozen Head and the Squirrels

...will be playing at Howard's Pub this Friday April 2nd at 9 PM. I confess, I posted this blog for one reason only: it's fun to have a blog with that title!

Girl Scout activities galore!

I received an email today about several fun events the Girl Scouts are planning for April, which is shaping up to be a busy month!

Friday April 2nd - Cadet & Senior Girl Scout Troop 2829 will be having
a Photography Show opening at The Secret Garden Gallery from 5:00 to
6:30. We will be showing the girls' original photography that they
worked on with Marissa O'Neal-Gross as their instructor. Any and all
proceeds will go to Troop 2829. The event is open to everyone. Please
come out and see the hard work and talent of our community's girls!

Saturday April 3rd - Cadet & Senior Girl Scout Troop 2829 will be
helping with the Ocracoke Methodist Church's Annual Easter Egg Hunt.
The hunt begins at 11:00 am. Please join us for this fun holiday
tradition.

Saturday April 10th - QUIZO is back just in time for Spring! The Cadet
& Senior Girl Scout Troop 2829 is hosting a QUIZO fundraiser at the
Ocracoke Community Center at 7:00 pm. Cards will be $10 for the whole
night. We have had many great prizes donated from local businesses
including a 6 person Parasailing trip, a massage, & many gift
certificates to local restaurants, just to name a few! Everyone is
welcome. Please join us for fun and prizes!

Hoops!

The annual Ocracoke Child Care Hoop-A-Thon (a seriously adorable event) is coming up soon. Here's the info. I received in email today.

OCC will be hosting their annual Hoop-A-Thon on Saturday, April 24th,
2010 at 11-1.

This will be a fun event for all!

Delicious food and baked goods will be sold.

Please plan to come out and join us in support of OCC!

More information out our event will be posted around the village and
sent out at a later date.

Give all you want - your body will make more

Okay, yes, I know you can really only give a pint or so. That's supposed to be a reference to those old commercials: "Crunch all you want. We'll make more.", which were for some kind of potato chip, although I don't remember which one. So does that make that an effective (because I remembered the slogan) or ineffective (because I didn't remember the product) ad campaign? Hmm.

Anyway, seriously, there will be a blood drive at the school from 2:30 to 7:00 on Monday April the 12th. Come by and give some blood!

Ocracoke Blood Drive
Time:2:30PM Monday, April 12th
Location:Ocracoke School

Concert on Saturday

If you're planning to be on the island for Easter weekend, you might enjoy the annual Ocrafolk Festival fundraiser concert. Here are the details.

Ocrafolk Festival Easter Fundraising Concert
Saturday, April 3, 2010
7:30 PM, Door opens at 7:00 PM
Ocracoke Community Center
$15 Adults, $7 Kids
The concert features many island performers from the Ocrafolk Festival
and is a fundraiser for the main festival held on June 4-6, 2010 on
Ocracoke Island.

To learn more about the Festival, visit ocrafolkfestival.org.

And another...

...newsletter about this part of the world is now available. The Ocracoke Foundation started publishing one last year, and you can sign up online to receive it via email.

Here's a link to the January edition (I couldn't figure out how to link to the current March edition). And here's the link to subscribe (which will probably get you the March edition).

Enjoy!

Bike lights

In case you aren't aware (as I wasn't) of the rules governing bicycle riding after dark, here's some info. I received today which will be of interest if you like to bike at night on the island.


A quick reminder from last fall's Ocracoke Civic and Business
Association meeting- the sheriff's department will began lightly
enforcing the old state law concerning lights on bicycles beginning
the Memorial Day weekend.

With several bicyclists hit the past year and the addition of golf
carts on Ocracoke's roads, the bikes must comply with state law for
safety. You must have a headlight on the bike and a rear reflector.

Please make sure your visitors are aware of this enforcement of state
law as well. If you have any questions, please contact Deputy Sheriff
Jason Daniels at 542-0108.

I promise...

Hawaii pictures are coming. Once I get caught up on my life! The trip was loads of fun, and Hawaii is stunningly gorgeous. Coming home to things to do, mail to go through, bills to pay, etc, etc is a bit overwhelming. So it may be a few days...

Flying wears me out

Why is it that sitting still all day on an airplane makes me feel like I need a loooong nap? After I get caught up on sleep, maybe I'll catch up on my blog, too!

Pearl Harbor

My sister and I went to the Pearl Harbor National Historic Site on our last full day in Hawaii. I found it very interesting and well done. Unfortunately, the museum is currently being renovated and therefore closed, so we were unable to see that which was a bit disappointing. I'll just have to plan to go back on my next trip!

Anyway, here are a few pictures.

Rapa Nui, Aoterea and other interesting Polynesian locations

My sister and I went to the Polynesian Cultural Center today, and we learned a great deal about Polynesian countries and culture. The PCC is sort of a hybrid location - part entertaining low key, small theme park layout (different areas for each Polynesian land with shows and activities in each), part educational museum (even including an iMax theatre as many museums do), and part theatre (more on that below).

The first thing we saw when we arrived was a show with dance and music showcasing each Polynesian culture - performed on moving platform canoes!



Then we watched the iMax movie, which featured loads of breathtaking scenery from all the Polynesian countries, including one with snow! Here's a picture of that location's name - which you most likely haven't heard before, although I'm willing to bet you have heard of this country. (Don't worry, I'll identify it later.)



After the movie, we took a relaxing boat ride through the entire park, and enjoyed the information provided by our guide, along with his sense of humor.

We also had a good time just being goofy, posing at the sign for each location (one example you've already seen - here are a couple more).





Here are a few examples of all the fun we had. Jocelyn practiced spear tossing in Tonga...



...we got "tatoos" in Fiji...





...then enjoyed a performance in Aotearoa (oh, by the way, that's New Zealand)...



...visited Rapa Nui (and learned that's Easter Island)...



...where we decided to continue the goofiness by giving the statue kisses!



We did a little shopping, although I didn't buy any of the gorgeous quilts. But here's a picture of one of my favorites.



And that still wasn't all of it! There was a luau for dinner, complete with traditional kalua pork.



See how gorgeous my sister looked in her fresh flower lei?



I thoroughly enjoyed my mango smoothie served in a fresh pineapple.



There were several traditional dances performed during the luau...



...but the best performances were saved for last, during the evening show, called Ha: The Breath of Life, which showcased the dances, songs, and other traditions of each of the Polynesian cultures using the story of a man's life - from his own birth to the birth of his son.











Whew - it was a full day! If you ever visit Oahu and are interested in learning more about the lands of Polynesia, I highly recommend a visit to the PCC.

Sea Life Park

Hawaii is gorgeous! We arrived on Saturday night, ate Hawaiian food at Zippy's, then slept like logs. (Although Connor slept pretty well on the flights, it was still a long day.)

On Sunday, Tutu Katy (Connor's grandma) threw a party for Connor, so we got to meet more family and friends. Connor had a blast playing with the bubble maker his great Aunt Annie got him (photos of that will be on his blog).

Then, on Monday, we went to Sea Life Park. It was a somewhere between a large aquarium and a small version of Sea World, with tanks to look in,



outdoor exhibits,





a touching station (we met a turtle),



and shows (we caught the sea lion and dolphin shows).













This particular park is the only one (at least that I know of) which has a wolphin. In case you haven't guessed it, that's a combination of a whale and a dolphin. This particular surprise resulted when a whale and a dolphin got - well, we'll say "friendly" - one night when the gate between their tanks was mistakenly left open.





Another thing that made this particular park different was the spectacular Hawaiian views.







There was even a lighthouse!



(But Ocracoke is still my favorite, of course.)

It would be lovely...

...if Hawaii were a little closer! I left home on Thursday, and landed in Honolulu on Saturday night. (Stayed with a friend in Raleigh on Thursday, flew to Vegas on Friday to meet my sister, stayed there overnight with Connor's daddy, then flew to Hawaii on Saturday. It was worth it to have Jocelyn to help with Connor on the long flight from LA, but boy was it a lot of flying!)

Anyway, Hawaii is gorgeous and I'm thrilled to be here. Watch for some blogs about our island adventures.

Another Island, probably still not Daily

I'm going to Hawaii!

We are leaving here tomorrow (Thurs. 3/18) and will be back Sunday 3/28 (or possibly early morning Monday 3/29). If I have some time, I may post a blog or two. But maybe not, and certainly not daily! (Not that THIS island daily has been particularly daily recently, either...)

Hope you are enjoying spring, wherever you are!

Want to learn more about the Lighthouse renovations?

Here's your chance!

Friday, March 19th
7 pm
Ocracoke Community Center

Alex Klahm and his crew will present photos, stories, and details
about their recent project of the restoration of the Ocracoke
lighthouse.

I'm going to miss this event (darnit!) so somebody go and let me know how it was!

Derailed

I feel as if my normal routine got somewhat derailed a couple of weeks ago. (As I'm guessing my readers noticed...sorry!) I have been thinking a lot about what's really important, where I spend my time, and whether I need to make any changes.

I want to really take to heart (and display by my actions) some recent advice Pastor Joyce gave: become a better person because I knew and loved Charlotte. I don't think I'll quit blogging, but I've just needed a while to get back into my regular routine. And maybe, going forward, I need a new routine. So possibly I won't necessarily blog every day. (But no, I won't change the blog name - the blog police will just have to come get me for having a name that doesn't quite fit!)

More reopenings

Here are the planned reopening dates for a few of my favorite places. It's officially spring on the island!

Flying Melon - Friday 3/19

Ocracoke Coffee Company - Wednesday 3/24

Cafe Atlantic - Friday 3/26

I will be out of town and miss the opening days of all three of those places. But I'll hit 'em up soon after I return! (Unless, of course, I spend too much on my trip!)

Foamy

I know I've written before about how varied the beach is here - lots of seaweed one day, none the next for example. And I think I've mentioned that some days it's really "foamy". But this morning takes the cake. I don't think I've ever seen it this foamy before. Here's some evidence.

Sunny napping spot

This morning when I arrived at the Post Office, I saw the following scene.



I love the simplicity of this - it's like the cat is saying, "Yes, of course I'm right in the middle of the steps - that's where the sun is. You'll just have to walk around me." And walk around I did. Far be it from me to disturb a sunny nap!

Pollen-y

It's that time of year - itchy eyes and watery noses are cropping up all around town. The cedar pollen is nearly at its worst (I'm not sure it has peaked yet, although it's getting close). My green Sebring has a yellow look to it, which is definitely a sign that the peak is close, but I don't actually see poofs of yellow dust rising from the trees yet. That's when I know that pollen season is completely upon us!

Hope you're not sneezing, wheezing and dealing with itchy eyes, wherever you are!

Reopening

It's that time of year again, when restaurants and other businesses start reopening for the tourist season. Here's an email I recently received about one such event.

Howard's Pub is opening for the season on Friday, March 12

Serving our Full Menu All Day

Spring Hours: Sunday - Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday 11:00 a.m. - Midnight

Entertainment:
Friday March 12 Aaron Caswell Band 8:30 p.m.
Friday March 19 Karaoke (Alan Ross Road show with Mike) 8:30 p.m.

Prime Rib on Sunday nights

Daily Lunch Specials

24 Drafts

Nearly 200 Bottled Beers

Sunshine

The last couple of days have been beautiful and sunshine-filled. I found the light very welcome after the dreary, cold winter, and especially after the difficulty and pain of the last few days (not that sunshine can or will erase that, of course). It was a terrific day today to walk on the beach, which I willingly did with my sister and Mom who had come for a long weekend visit. I need to remember to do that when I don't have visitors, too! Perhaps if the weather stays sunny, I will. I am ready for spring!

Finally!

After several months of renovations, the lighthouse has finally been turned back on, a fact which makes me happy. It's funny how something which is no longer "necessary" (for navigation, since we have GPS) can still feel so necessary.

Details

Apologies for the lateness of this, but here are the details about Charlotte's memorial service.

11 AM, Friday March 5th, Ocracoke United Methodist Church
If you have a photograph of Charlotte which you would like to have included in the collage or memory book, please bring it with you.

In lieu of flowers, Marcy and Lou request donations be made in Charlotte's name to Ocracoke Child Care (PO Box 284, Ocracoke NC 27960) or another local non-profit organization of your choice.

On Sunday March 7th, Dajio will serve brunch from 11 - 2 as usual. They will donate 100% of the profits to Marcy and Lou.

You can read Charlotte's obituary here.

Dark day

I have several blogs in draft from the last few days, including one which will have pictures of the Mandolin Orange concert, and I promise I will get caught up eventually (as I usually do, right?)

But it won't be today, as the entire village (me included) is grieving the loss of a beautiful child this morning. And many of us are also now grieving with another friend whose mother passed away today as well. It has been a very difficult day on Ocracoke, and all prayers and well wishes will be appreciated.

Turtles recovering

I have blogged plenty here about the unusually cold winter this year, but here's a new angle on that topic: the affect on turtles. Several have been rescued after being "cold stunned". Here's a link to a story about two of them, who are recovering in South Carolina.