Good Bye to HI

We love being on Hatteras Island in the fall and this year the weather has been warmer than normal, both a good and bad thing.  Good thing, it kept Nanc happy, bad thing, the fishing (catching) slowed down.  There were a couple of days and nights with very heavy rain, but not enough to dampen our spirits.

The uncrowded, empty beach and sunny skies are wonderful.

The last few times we went to the beach we only had to share our space with some shore birds.

The only thing I caught the last couple times I fished were skates, a ray like fish without a stinger.  They put up a good fight and are fun to catch but after hooking over a dozen and not getting any other fish, I packed away my pole the last day.  That evening at Pangea, a restaurant by Avon Pier, the owner told me over forty drum were caught from the pier that day.  Oh well, my quest to hook and land a drum will have to wait for another day.  Pangea is a neat little locally owed tavern with great food, a great collection of North Carolina brews and very attentive owners Joe and Tammy.  

On Halloween we went out to dinner to celebrate our 46th anniversary.  I think we were the only people who were not in costume.  With a November 1 anniversary this happen quite often.

But look who I met.  The thumbs up is for the mask not the candidate:)

The Navy base at Norfolk is very close for a fighter jet and there is a bombing range across the sound, so we often saw F-16s.  This one flew directly over the RV park which is unusual.

Because Hatteras Island is so far from the mainland you get both great sunrises and sunsets.  At least we have heard the sunrises are great, we rarely are up at that time of day.  This sunset was over the Avon harbor.

Another sunset from the Sands of Time.  While there are some great sunsets here they don't compare to those we see in the Florida Keys.

On Wednesday we headed north on NC-12, the first leg of our trip south for the winter.  As usual they were working on moving sand to rebuild the dunes.  This is a never ending job.

We did hear some good news before we left.  The "temporary" bridge that has been in place the last several years is going to be replaced with a permanent one.  The new inlet that it crosses has filled with sand so it should be stable enough for a bridge.  

A long causeway leaving Roanoke Island and we were back on the mainland for the first time in a month.  Our first stop is in Raleigh to tour the state capitol.  Then we are heading down I-95 to Florida.  We have an appointment to have Opus serviced in Ocala next week.  Starting the 18th we have reservations for a month near Tampa.  While we are parked there we will be flying to Cancun to celebrate our birthdays and Thanksgiving. 

AAAH Life is Good!!!!!!