It's a mystery...

...where the heck I've been for the last week! Sorry for the complete lack of blogs. So what have I been up to?

This past weekend, I participated in a "Murder Mystery" party/event. It was quite fun, even though I was also working (serving food, drinks, etc.) during the evening. My character got to find the evidence which led everyone to figure out who the "murderer" was, and I enjoyed that. The participants were completely into it, with fabulous period (1823) costumes, and well developed characters. The guys completely stole the show, mostly because they were much louder than the ladies. Everyone seemed to have a great time. I definitely would recommend doing something like this.

Last Wednesday, I attended the Ocracoke Preservation Society annual fall membership meeting and potluck. The speakers presented some very interesting information about tax credits for historic rehabilitation of old homes, and showed slides with pictures of many lovely restored buildings and villages around eastern North Carolina. During the potluck part of the evening, while we were all immensely enjoying the mounds of wonderful food, my friend Jamie floated the suggestion of a frequent (weekly?) potluck during the winter months, especially this year when things are expected to be quieter than usual during the bridge replacement project. I think potlucks are always a fabulous idea, and will certainly attend all I can (i.e. if I'm on the island, I'll be there!)

On Sunday night, I shared dinner with a few friends (leftovers from the murder mystery weekend). I enjoyed their company mightily, as we chatted and laughed about a wide variety of things. And I learned a "life in a small town" lesson when I completely opened my mouth and inserted my foot because I didn't know the status of something. I'll not go into details here, but I really need to get someone to keep me up to date on things, so I won't say stupid things which might hurt someone's feelings because I'm clueless.

Last night, I went to my friend Sundae's house and took dinner (yes, more leftovers from the murder mystery meal) for her and the kids (her husband is off the island, helping sail a boat to the Bahamas for the winter). After dinner, all of us (Sundae, her son Emmett and daughter Caroline and I) played a game. Sundae's youngest, Mariah Daisy, is still too young to participate, but we enjoyed her giggles and antics. The game was fun and thought provoking: each player is given a few cards with things on them for which one might wish (some are actual things, while others are experiences like "go to a spa with Mom", others are family things like "watch old movies with your Grandma", and others are successes, like "win an award for..."). Your task is to give the cards to others in the game, the goal being to give them the ones you think they will like the most. You then look at the cards you've been given, and rank them in order from most favorite to least. That, for me, was the thought provoking part: since most of the activities and items were positive and enjoyable to me, it was interesting to ask myself "which of these would I like better?" I kept joking that "house on Ocracoke" would really be my ultimate card, and why wasn't that one in the deck? I often selected things which entailed money ("be a movie actress"), as they were possible vehicles to "house on Ocracoke". Yes, currently my mind is a bit one tracked.

Oh, that's the other thing I've been doing: looking at houses for sale on the island. I'm currently torn between 3, but I haven't yet visited 2 more that I am interested in, so I'm undecided. Guess that's a good problem to have. Wish me luck!

Wanted: Ocracoke guide

I have spent the last couple of days driving around parts of the village I haven't driven to before (yes, believe it or not). I know that there are other parts which are only walk-to or kayak-to-able. (Yes, I did just make up those words.) But I don't always know how to get to them. I am seriously spatially challenged, and during the exploring I got to do as part of the Ocrafolk school, I started realizing how things "fit together" around here. I've been looking at a hand drawn map of the village which shows things like canals, walking paths, and other lesser-known places. Now I just need someone who knows these places to show me how to get there, and tell me about them when we arrive.

So, here's my want ad.

Wanted: Ocracoke guide. Person with knowledge of beautiful areas, stories (recent or historical), etc. Availability of kayak helpful, but not required.

If you know anyone who fits the bill, let me know! :)

Bumps, bruises, bites and a blister

So, the other side of packing so much fun into four days is the fact that it shows on my body! I have a bump on my head (with a couple of small scratches) from where I wiped out on my bike (although I certainly could have done that any other time, so it's not necessarily Ocrafolk School related). I also have a couple of bruises on my leg (also from the bike wipeout), a scrape on the back of my foot (caught it on the edge of a brick in the water while flounder gigging), several mosquito bites, and a kayaking/clamming/flounder-gig-light-holding blister on my left thumb.

Now here's the odd part: I feel great! It is fabulous living life so fully that you get a bit banged up in the process. Makes me realize I'm truly alive.

So, all you parents out there: let your kids get some bumps, bruises and scrapes in the process of living and having fun. Obviously, keep them safe from serious harm, but don't try to prevent them from ever hurting themselves, because they'll miss lots of great experiences if you do.

That's my advice for the evening. Now I'm going to bed, because the other result of all this enjoyable activity is it makes a body tired!

Ghosts, giggin', graveyards, GPS and grub

I am not sure how it is possible to pack so much fun into a slightly-over-24 hour period, but here's what I've been up to since my last blog.

- Went on a ghost and history walk and heard many fascinating and spooky tales of the island, from shipwrecks to wandering spirits.
- Went flounder gigging with a small group. We got in at midnight, and I had to get up at 6:30 the next day but I didn't care! We didn't get an flounder either (we saw one and David stepped on one), but it was still a lot of fun.
- Walked through several of the old graveyards on Howard Street and heard about who is buried there, and how they are related to each other and to people I know who still live on the island today.
- Used GPS units to navigate to the sites of shipwrecks. For the most part, this involved walking on the beach on a beautiful day, but we did find one wreck site with a large piece of the ship exposed, which was fascinating. On the way back to the village, we explored Loop Shack Hill, which is a WWII historic site on the island. More about that in another blog (remind me if I forget!)
- Enjoyed a fabulous shrimp boil, complete with salad, baked beans, and baked potatoes at the Soundfront Inn (now a privately owned home). After the meal, we made s'mores on the bonfire while being entertained by several very talented musicians: John Golden, Bob Zentz, Fiddler Dave, and Gary and Kitty Mitchell.

Whew! No wonder I'm tired. But it's a good tired. I would love to do this kind of thing more often. Maybe not all within a 24 hour period, though!

Irrational love and insane amounts of fun

You've probably noticed by now that I love Ocracoke. I love this place more than I love many people. Yes, I know some people might think that's irrational, but there it is. I have loved Ocracoke for a long time, but I have fallen much more deeply for this marvelous, beautiful place over the last two days. How? By having insane amounts of fun enjoying the island during the Ocrafolk School.

If you love Ocracoke, I highly recommend you consider attending the next Ocrafolk School session (I'm thinking positive that there will be a "next"), and taking the "Ocrafolk Sampler" class, if it is offered again.

So far, in the Sampler class, I have gotten to:
- Take a short walking tour of part of the Village with Philip Howard.
- Go in the Lighthouse (yes, I had done this before, but it is still really a cool thing to do).
- Take a ride on the Schooner Windfall (ditto to the comment above).
- Walk across the widest part of the island outside the village, from the ocean to the sound. This part involved hiking through some thick woods, and worrying about ticks, but I still loved it. Every part of Ocracoke is beautiful (well, all the natural parts anyway...some of the newer houses don't fit my definition of lovely.)
- See one of the largest and oldest (if not the oldest) live oak trees on the island.
- Eat fish cakes (old island recipe) made with fresh caught drum.
- Spend an evening singing and listening to pickin' and grinnin'. My guitar skills are still much too rudimentary to try pickin' along, but I was grinnin' and enjoyed listening and singing very much.
- Go kayaking through some lovely areas of Pamlico Sound, including Northern Pond.
- Walk through Wickstrom's and see the old tennis court.
- Go clamming (we got about 60 clams!)
- Use a net to scoop through marsh grass "nurseries" and look at the tiny fish and shrimp to be found in there.
- Eat delicious scuppernong grape cobbler made by the cooking class!

And tonight we are going flounder gigging! I have had insane amounts of fun already, and there are three more days to come. And I am sure that by the end of the week I will be completely, totally, absolutely, irrationally smitten with Ocracoke. (Even more than I am now.)

If you're completely, totally, absolutely, irrationally envious(or even just a bit jealous), remember you may have the opportunity to do this too! Check out the Ocrafolk School website, and send Gary a note to let him know that if there's another School, you'll come!

Beginnings

I have been off the island for a few days (well, I've been back for a few days now too, but just now finally finding time to blog). I went to be with one of my very best friends who had a baby on Tuesday. We knew the baby would arrive on Tuesday, since his birth was a scheduled C-section, so the trip was planned. John Alexander arrived right on time and is a sweet baby boy. Congrats to my friend and new mama, Julie!

Today on the island we celebrated a new beginning, too, with the grand opening festivities for the Ocracoke Campus of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT). The organization completely re-furbished the former Coast Guard station on the harbor (you've probably seen it - the white building with red roof, on the left of the Ditch as you come in on the ferry), and today was the official opening of the building. It was an absolutely perfect fall day, warm and sunny but not too hot. After the speeches, we got to tour the facility. It is beautiful, with individual rooms (with private baths) for up to 24 teachers who will attend seminars there. But the absolute best part of getting to walk around the building was the panoramic view of Silver Lake harbor, the Ditch, and Pamlico Sound from the lookout tower. The sunlight dancing on the water was mesmerizing and I spent several minutes up there, staring out the windows at this place I love so much. This evening I attended the "Seafood Fest" dinner, which was delicious and great fun, from the lovely sunset to the dancing under the stars to music by Martin and Friends. And the fun is not quite over! Tomorrow, NCCAT is hosting a cookout for the Ocracoke community, which I plan to attend as well.

Also tomorrow, there will be another beginning, as the first annual Ocrafolk School kicks off! I have been assisting with planning for the school and will be attending the "Ocrafolk Sampler" class. I am really excited about it! You can read more about what I'll be doing and learning in the next week here. Aren't you jealous?

Hope you are enjoying fall wherever you are!

Warm fall

It has been unusually warm for October over the last few days. I'm enjoying the sunshine (although I'm still too busy to enjoy being outside in it much!), but I'm ready for some cooler fall weather.

One of the few things I miss is changing leaves. I love the trees we have on the island (I think Live Oaks are gorgeous, and Red Cedars are ingenious in how they allow the outer leaves to become salt stung in order to protect the inner ones), but they don't provide blazing fall color.

It's a small sacrifice, though, and I still wouldn't live anywhere else!