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Tuesday, July 1, 2014

All things, not necessaritly all good . . .

. . . will finally end sooner or later. We decided Tuesday we had had enough, and as we had finished our drink mixes, we would pack Wednesday and leave Thursday (two days early).

We went out to dinner to celerate this decision, and also, just to eat in another restaurant, and when we were done, we couldn't start the van. Luckily the nice people in the restaurant gave us a jump, so we could at least get back to the Sandpooper.

Once we shut it off, it wouldn't start. Tried again in the morning, and no dice. So we called AAA and settled in to wait. Watched more and more houses fill up around us, congratulated ourselves for our decision.  AAA finally showed up around 4 PM (and we didn't care, because we spent the day packing anyhow) and figured out it was a starter problem that could be overcome using a special ignition spell and incantation, which I duly learned.

They went away and we packed as much as we could in advance so the next morning would be easier. It was already easier leaving than arriving because many things could just be tumbled down the stairs or dropped over the bannister.

"Packing" here also includes cleaning the damned house, as in vacuuming, sweeping and in the morning starting the washer and dishwasher. Or you could pay them an arm and a leg to do it. Nah. We left a decent tip so they wouldn't report us for our spotty efforts.

We headed south accompanied by lots of rain and tornado warnings. Luckily we drove out of all that as we left South Carolina the next day. Two nights on the road brought us home and sent me to the computer to look at our usual location and yes! They have added a new property we can use, so goodbye forever to the Outer Banks.

Next up: France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany in the steps of the 101st Airborne next June, before we get too old to climb in and out of buses. This has been on Joyce's bucket list forever and we'll go with Valor Tours again. If they can manage the Philippines, Europe ought to be a real cakewalk, right? Right.

See you then.

The good stuff

Maybe you wonder why not just leave, it's not all that entertaining. But there were reasons to stay as well.

First of all, when there were no people, especially kids, screeching, it was very peaceful there. It smelled nice. I enjoyed sitting out on the screened porch and reading once the sun was off it.

Second, there was no phone and no mail, forcing us to contact people and do stuff. I only use my computer for social communication, not for any sort of work or official business. Joyce doesn't use it at all. So the utter isolation forced us to rest. It also gave Theo a chance to bond with the rest of us without interruptions like the phone, the doorbell, motorcycles, lawnmowers, and people coming and going to maintain or fix things. Except that one time with the toilet pump, but never mind. It only took a couple minutes.

It was quiet at might, good for sleeping, and the sky was full of stars. In fact, near the end, we got a full moon that was very beautiful:



Looks better larger, so click.

Them there was eating out, and visiting little beachy shops for souvenirs. This was my favorite and I wish they shipped stuff, but they can't ship some of the chocolate stuff, especially in summer:

trymynuts.com

If this doesn't turn into a link, just copy and paste. We went there three times. I think the best thing there is Dirty White Trash, but Joyce was partial to the various salt and sugar coated nuts.

And of course, there was inertia. The drive up wasn't fun, and having got there, we weren't in a rush to repeat it in reverse. So we decided to stay as long as it took to empty the margarita and pinacolada mixes we had brought. And weather permitting, we sat on top of the house and looked at the ocean. With an onshore breeze, you could even hear it some of the time.



I would say click to hear better, but we all know that's a hoax, just like the concept of an Outer Banks vacation when you've been somewhere else that's a lot better.