If you've visited Ocracoke even once (even if you just drove through on your way to the Hatteras ferry), you surely know about the Lighthouse. Odds are good that you know about the British Cemetery. And if you've visited fairly recently, you most likely noticed the historic marker commemorating the Beach Jumpers, on Highway 12 just outside the village.
But did you know that there's a Civil War marker on Ocracoke? I bet many people haven't noticed it, as it's all the way at the end of the big NPS parking lot (the one with the OPS museum at one end, and the NPS boat launch at the other). Anyway, I ate dinner at one of the picnic tables at the end of that parking lot while watching the sunset recently and noticed that a walkway is being built to the Civil War marker. I had heard about the possibility of a walkway being added, but didn't know the project had become a reality. This will surely make the marker accessible to folks with disabilities (it was previously surrounded by grass - maybe difficult to get to in a wheelchair or by someone who has trouble walking if the ground is not level). But I suspect it might have the consequence of ensuring more people notice (and visit) the marker, too. It was pretty easy to miss the marker itself, even if you drove all the way down to the end of the parking lot, if you didn't happen to look over in the direction of where it sits. The walkway is a bit more obvious and will possibly draw attention to the marker as visitors wonder what the walkway leads to. Guess we'll see. (Or not. I'm not planning to study the issue.) :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
VBS
This week the Ocracoke United Methodist Church is hosting Vacation Bible School. The theme is Camp EDGE. (EDGE stands for Experience and Discover God Everywhere.) The first night was big fun, with music, dancing...
...crafts...
...and games.
Not to mention good messages.
There was also sign language instruction by yours truly, and - possibly the kids' favorite - snacks.
It was so much fun, some of us needed naps afterwards!
...crafts...
...and games.
Not to mention good messages.
There was also sign language instruction by yours truly, and - possibly the kids' favorite - snacks.
It was so much fun, some of us needed naps afterwards!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Good reminder
If you enjoy swimming in the ocean, please be careful, and be aware of what you need to do if you get caught in a rip current. We definitely have them around here (been in one myself at least once), and unfortunately lives are sometimes lost. Here's a Hyde County press release I received recently explaining the current high risk of rip currents here and on the rest of the Outer Banks.
Press Release #1: Rip Current Advisory
Please be advised of a high risk rip current alert for the beaches of Ocracoke and the Outer Banks. See information from the National Weather Service below:
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
435 PM EDT SAT AUG 7 2010
NCZ095-098-103-104-080845-
/O.EXT.KMHX.RP.S.0002.000000T0000Z-100809T0000Z/
CARTERET-ONSLOW-OUTER BANKS DARE-OUTER BANKS HYDE-
435 PM EDT SAT AUG 7 2010
...RIP CURRENT RISK NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING...
THE COMBINATION OF HIGH ASTRONOMICAL TIDES AND LONG PERIOD SWELL
FROM TROPICAL STORM COLIN WELL EAST OF THE REGION WILL PRODUCE A
HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING.
THE MOST LIKELY TIME FOR LIFE THREATENING RIP CURRENTS WILL BE A
COUPLE OF HOURS EITHER SIDE OF LOW TIDE. LOW TIDE SUNDAY WILL
OCCUR AROUND NOON.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS.
RIP CURRENTS ARE POWERFUL CHANNELS OF WATER FLOWING QUICKLY AWAY
FROM SHORE...WHICH OCCUR MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPOTS OR BREAKS IN THE
SANDBAR AND IN THE VICINITY OF STRUCTURES SUCH AS GROINS...
JETTIES AND PIERS. HEED THE ADVICE OF LIFEGUARDS AND THE BEACH
PATROL. PAY ATTENTION TO FLAGS AND POSTED SIGNS POSTED NEAR BEACH
ACCESS POINTS AND LIFEGUARD STATIONS.
IF YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...DO NOT PANIC. REMAIN CALM
AND BEGIN TO SWIM PARALLEL TO SHORE. ONCE YOU ARE AWAY FROM THE
FORCE OF THE RIP CURRENT...BEGIN TO SWIM BACK TO THE BEACH. DO
NOT ATTEMPT TO SWIM DIRECTLY AGAINST A RIP CURRENT...SINCE IT CAN
EXHAUST AND EVEN KILL THE STRONGEST SWIMMER.
###
Press Release #1: Rip Current Advisory
Please be advised of a high risk rip current alert for the beaches of Ocracoke and the Outer Banks. See information from the National Weather Service below:
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
435 PM EDT SAT AUG 7 2010
NCZ095-098-103-104-080845-
/O.EXT.KMHX.RP.S.0002.000000T0000Z-100809T0000Z/
CARTERET-ONSLOW-OUTER BANKS DARE-OUTER BANKS HYDE-
435 PM EDT SAT AUG 7 2010
...RIP CURRENT RISK NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING...
THE COMBINATION OF HIGH ASTRONOMICAL TIDES AND LONG PERIOD SWELL
FROM TROPICAL STORM COLIN WELL EAST OF THE REGION WILL PRODUCE A
HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING.
THE MOST LIKELY TIME FOR LIFE THREATENING RIP CURRENTS WILL BE A
COUPLE OF HOURS EITHER SIDE OF LOW TIDE. LOW TIDE SUNDAY WILL
OCCUR AROUND NOON.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS.
RIP CURRENTS ARE POWERFUL CHANNELS OF WATER FLOWING QUICKLY AWAY
FROM SHORE...WHICH OCCUR MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPOTS OR BREAKS IN THE
SANDBAR AND IN THE VICINITY OF STRUCTURES SUCH AS GROINS...
JETTIES AND PIERS. HEED THE ADVICE OF LIFEGUARDS AND THE BEACH
PATROL. PAY ATTENTION TO FLAGS AND POSTED SIGNS POSTED NEAR BEACH
ACCESS POINTS AND LIFEGUARD STATIONS.
IF YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...DO NOT PANIC. REMAIN CALM
AND BEGIN TO SWIM PARALLEL TO SHORE. ONCE YOU ARE AWAY FROM THE
FORCE OF THE RIP CURRENT...BEGIN TO SWIM BACK TO THE BEACH. DO
NOT ATTEMPT TO SWIM DIRECTLY AGAINST A RIP CURRENT...SINCE IT CAN
EXHAUST AND EVEN KILL THE STRONGEST SWIMMER.
###
Friday, August 6, 2010
Golf carts, golf carts everywhere...
If you have visited the island at all this summer, you have surely noticed the sudden profusion of golf carts, and businesses from whom you can rent them. If you thought it seemed to be the business model of the year, you were right. If you wondered why that was, here's some background.
This past winter, the Hyde County commissioners approved an ordinance making it easier to run golf carts on the island (my understanding is that it loosened some of the restrictions/requirements on golf carts which are operated on roads). The (surely unintended/unexpected) consequence was the cropping up of all the many golf cart rental places, and the addition of golf carts to the streets of Ocracoke, to compete alongside the bikes, skateboards, walking people, and cars.
I don't have anything against golf carts personally, although I have seen some folks operating them in ways that I consider less than responsible, and some doing things which are just downright unsafe (screaming teenagers hanging off the back/riding on the top of a cart being driven by another teen who is most likely not a licensed driver, and folks driving around with children (even infants!) who are completely unrestrained in the cart are just two examples).
Anyway, apparently the commmissioners saw the need (or were alerted to the need) to make the ordinance a bit stronger in terms of safety requirements. They recently passed an amended golf cart ordinance, which will take effect October 1. Provisions of the new ordinance include the following requirements:
- two headlamps and two rear lamps,
- a seat permanently affixed to the cart for each passenger (and a requirement that the driver ensure that said passengers are seated in said seats),
- children under 8 years and 80 pounds must be in a weight appropriate child restraint seat.
In addition, there's a reminder in the ordinance that existing NC law requires drivers to be at least 16 years of age.
So what do you think about golf carts on Ocracoke streets? Feel free to share your comments.
This past winter, the Hyde County commissioners approved an ordinance making it easier to run golf carts on the island (my understanding is that it loosened some of the restrictions/requirements on golf carts which are operated on roads). The (surely unintended/unexpected) consequence was the cropping up of all the many golf cart rental places, and the addition of golf carts to the streets of Ocracoke, to compete alongside the bikes, skateboards, walking people, and cars.
I don't have anything against golf carts personally, although I have seen some folks operating them in ways that I consider less than responsible, and some doing things which are just downright unsafe (screaming teenagers hanging off the back/riding on the top of a cart being driven by another teen who is most likely not a licensed driver, and folks driving around with children (even infants!) who are completely unrestrained in the cart are just two examples).
Anyway, apparently the commmissioners saw the need (or were alerted to the need) to make the ordinance a bit stronger in terms of safety requirements. They recently passed an amended golf cart ordinance, which will take effect October 1. Provisions of the new ordinance include the following requirements:
- two headlamps and two rear lamps,
- a seat permanently affixed to the cart for each passenger (and a requirement that the driver ensure that said passengers are seated in said seats),
- children under 8 years and 80 pounds must be in a weight appropriate child restraint seat.
In addition, there's a reminder in the ordinance that existing NC law requires drivers to be at least 16 years of age.
So what do you think about golf carts on Ocracoke streets? Feel free to share your comments.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Women's Opry
The fourth annual Women of Ocracoke Opry show was a hit, playing to a sold out crowd on Saturday night and a nearly-full house for the Sunday matinee. This year, the theme was Way Off Broadway. I don't have any photographs (most of the performers agreed they didn't want any taken during the show, so I didn't take any). I was also pretty busy changing costumes throughout much of the show, as I was in several group numbers, sang one song with DeAnna and one by myself. Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this wonderful review. (And no, of course, this was not REALLY in the NY Times...someone who shall remain nameless combined creativity and fun, and this is the result.)
Even on vacation, one is sometimes called to duty and such is the case here at the Deepwater Theatre on Ocracoke Island, twenty miles off the coast of North Carolina.
My wife saw the notice for the show: “The Ocracoke Women’s Opry,” it said. I said “No.” She said, “Oh, come on, it’ll be quaint and authentic.” I said, “No way. I go to Real Theatre two nights a week, my reviews make and break hundred million dollar productions overnight and I will not subject myself to an amateur production while I am on vacation. The answer is no.”
She, of course, was not dissuaded by my obstinacy and my “no” on Monday was a “maybe” by Wednesday and by Saturday, tickets in hand, we were going. The funny thing is, I heard at the door that the tickets had sold out earlier in the week, sometime between “no” and “maybe.” Hmmmm.
To my delight, the show was not “quaint,” as my wife had suggested, though “authentic” might be an appropriate descriptor. It was, in the end, well… good. Well, really really good. With only a little tarnished brightwork still asking for polish, the show in this little venue, on this little island was BIG, and bold and sexy and chock full of WOW!.
The aptly named “Way Off Broadway,” (just look for Ocracoke on a map) was a revue. Had I known it was a revue, my “no” might have actually held out until the tickets were sold out. Revues are theatre’s equivalent to the contents of a dorm-room refrigerator. But “Way Off Broadway” had all those things that make live theatre so enchanting, namely talent and drama and trajectory and connectivity and humanity and depth. I’m relieved, I’m happy, I’m elated to say “Way Off Broadway” had it all.
Each production – and there were eighteen of them – was announced by the MC, one Lou Ann Homan, a humorist and story teller from Indiana who did a fabulous job introducing the players and the songs. I shan’t review them all, but let me touch on some highlights:
There were stunning classics such as “Try to Remember” and “Send In The Clowns” and “Much More” rendered in big-city voices and polished tones. There was humor in a slapstick version of “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.” A fantastic updated version of “Money, Money” raised the bar another notch, and was followed on by “Take Me Or Leave Me” from Rent. Now, this is a song I have heard on stage a couple dozen times (I’ve been there and done that) but never with more feeling than I heard on Saturday night in Ocracoke. The first act finished with an unbelievable rendition of “Whatever Lola Wants,” bringing to stage for the first time a new talent we hope to see much more of, one Lida Jones of the Ocracoke Belly Dance Troupe. Her enthusiasm and gracious charm held the disparate parts of this troupe together, and you can believe me when I say there was no shortage of parts. Ooolala Lola!
At intermission, we wondered what could possibly follow the Belly Dance number. Well, we soon found out and were not disappointed, as recording artists Marcy Brenner and Kitty Mitchell wowed us with bells and whistles and trash cans and tin pots in a rhythm piece pounded out from Stomp! More glitz and drama and humor followed. “Sister Suffragette” (great costuming!) preceded a wonderfully heartfelt instrumental rendition of “Seasons of Love.” “Nothing” from A Chorus Line was cleanly and poignantly sung, the audience swayed along with “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” and laughed along with “Stepsisters’ Lament.”
Now, sitting in front at a small venue, I thought I had the best seat in the house, until the penultimate number when a lucky guy, plucked from the audience, became Susie Kennedy’s “guest” on stage, as she performed a steamy dance to “Hey Big Spender.” (I actually went to the second show on Sunday, dressed in my best NYC hip fashions, hoping I would be chosen as Ms Kennedy’s “guest”, but you’d never guess what happened: That same guy was there again and quite unfairly was selected for the second show, too. I’m thinking it was a fix!)
The Finale bookended the opening act with a touching personal story and choral rendition of “Edelweiss” which transformed into a finale finale with all hands on stage that rocked that little theatre as only good entertainers can. Thank you, Women of Ocracoke, thank you, Deepwater Theater, thank you Ocracoke, it was a great show and a memorable evening. I’ll be back next year!
Even on vacation, one is sometimes called to duty and such is the case here at the Deepwater Theatre on Ocracoke Island, twenty miles off the coast of North Carolina.
My wife saw the notice for the show: “The Ocracoke Women’s Opry,” it said. I said “No.” She said, “Oh, come on, it’ll be quaint and authentic.” I said, “No way. I go to Real Theatre two nights a week, my reviews make and break hundred million dollar productions overnight and I will not subject myself to an amateur production while I am on vacation. The answer is no.”
She, of course, was not dissuaded by my obstinacy and my “no” on Monday was a “maybe” by Wednesday and by Saturday, tickets in hand, we were going. The funny thing is, I heard at the door that the tickets had sold out earlier in the week, sometime between “no” and “maybe.” Hmmmm.
To my delight, the show was not “quaint,” as my wife had suggested, though “authentic” might be an appropriate descriptor. It was, in the end, well… good. Well, really really good. With only a little tarnished brightwork still asking for polish, the show in this little venue, on this little island was BIG, and bold and sexy and chock full of WOW!.
The aptly named “Way Off Broadway,” (just look for Ocracoke on a map) was a revue. Had I known it was a revue, my “no” might have actually held out until the tickets were sold out. Revues are theatre’s equivalent to the contents of a dorm-room refrigerator. But “Way Off Broadway” had all those things that make live theatre so enchanting, namely talent and drama and trajectory and connectivity and humanity and depth. I’m relieved, I’m happy, I’m elated to say “Way Off Broadway” had it all.
Each production – and there were eighteen of them – was announced by the MC, one Lou Ann Homan, a humorist and story teller from Indiana who did a fabulous job introducing the players and the songs. I shan’t review them all, but let me touch on some highlights:
There were stunning classics such as “Try to Remember” and “Send In The Clowns” and “Much More” rendered in big-city voices and polished tones. There was humor in a slapstick version of “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.” A fantastic updated version of “Money, Money” raised the bar another notch, and was followed on by “Take Me Or Leave Me” from Rent. Now, this is a song I have heard on stage a couple dozen times (I’ve been there and done that) but never with more feeling than I heard on Saturday night in Ocracoke. The first act finished with an unbelievable rendition of “Whatever Lola Wants,” bringing to stage for the first time a new talent we hope to see much more of, one Lida Jones of the Ocracoke Belly Dance Troupe. Her enthusiasm and gracious charm held the disparate parts of this troupe together, and you can believe me when I say there was no shortage of parts. Ooolala Lola!
At intermission, we wondered what could possibly follow the Belly Dance number. Well, we soon found out and were not disappointed, as recording artists Marcy Brenner and Kitty Mitchell wowed us with bells and whistles and trash cans and tin pots in a rhythm piece pounded out from Stomp! More glitz and drama and humor followed. “Sister Suffragette” (great costuming!) preceded a wonderfully heartfelt instrumental rendition of “Seasons of Love.” “Nothing” from A Chorus Line was cleanly and poignantly sung, the audience swayed along with “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” and laughed along with “Stepsisters’ Lament.”
Now, sitting in front at a small venue, I thought I had the best seat in the house, until the penultimate number when a lucky guy, plucked from the audience, became Susie Kennedy’s “guest” on stage, as she performed a steamy dance to “Hey Big Spender.” (I actually went to the second show on Sunday, dressed in my best NYC hip fashions, hoping I would be chosen as Ms Kennedy’s “guest”, but you’d never guess what happened: That same guy was there again and quite unfairly was selected for the second show, too. I’m thinking it was a fix!)
The Finale bookended the opening act with a touching personal story and choral rendition of “Edelweiss” which transformed into a finale finale with all hands on stage that rocked that little theatre as only good entertainers can. Thank you, Women of Ocracoke, thank you, Deepwater Theater, thank you Ocracoke, it was a great show and a memorable evening. I’ll be back next year!
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