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Not even a hint of chilly water

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-06-27T23:00:28-04:00

It's almost the fourth of July. I can confirm the water is ready. As we walked on the beach tonight, the water washing over my feet felt almost felt warm.

There were actually a few people on the beach late this evening. It nice to see everyone enjoying themselves. That is what the beach is all about on the Crystal Coast.

I saw kites flying, kids digging in the sand, even a little girl fishing. Someone said the little girl caught a nice Bluefish earlier in the day.

It felt like summer today. The fact that I managed to get an early morning swim in before the heat came helped, but still it was a warm day.

When we were driving back from the beach late this evening, I noticed the temperature was still over eighty degrees. It is summer what can I say?

We when got out at home just as it was getting dark, the warm air with a nice breeze felt just about right.

I need to attach my flag holder bracket to the house, and I will be ready for the fourth of July. The fridge is stocked and plans have been made to watch fireworks either on the beach at Emerald Isle or in Swansboro.

I think the beach got ready for the fourth before I did. It certainly appears the Crystal Coast is ready and waiting for the holiday visitors. Except for Saturday, when thunderstorms are predicted, things look good for the fourth of July week.

For a larger image of the waves, click here.

Podcast

The Spirit of the Crystal Coast

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-06-18T22:04:13-04:00

I have been on the Crystal Coast for almost ten months now. I have been trying hard to capture the spirit of the area in a picture.

I think the one in this post comes pretty close.

As someone once told me, you cannot fully appreciate the Crystal Coast without getting in a boat.

This area is a land of almost horizon to horizon water. Some outside the inlets is very deep. The waters inside the inlets and even in the rivers are often shallow, that shallow water is often a bigger problem than deep ocean water.

Last night I went out our inlet in my kayak. I decided to explore outside the marked channel which we carefully follow with our boat. I soon found my kayak in six inches of water where paddling becomes very hard.

Yet all this shallow water is a nursery for an incredible variety of sea creatures and a very friendly human culture.

The shallower waters in the inlets and the shifting sands often create ad hoc beaches which are reachable only by boat.

I think the gatherings on those beaches really speak to the spirit of friendliness that permeates life on the Crystal Coast.

This is a magical place with opportunities for fun, friendship, and fishing that are hard to find elsewhere.
Podcast

Emerald Isle 50th Birthday Celebration Continues

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-06-07T22:04:59-04:00

Most of us in our fifties can remember the days of drive-in restaurants. Seems like I can remember a few A&Ws that did roller skates.

Most of all I remember Odell's Sandwich Shop in Mount Airy, NC which continues to make its famous Big Moe and still operates as a drive-in though the food is delivered by young guys not on skates.

I first visited Odell's in the early sixties as teenager and was there as recently as last fall.

When I heard Emerald Isle and Andy's were going to recreate a drive-in restaurant to help celebrate their 50th birthday, it did not take much arm twisting to get me to put it on my beach schedule.

Of course the beach weather is so nice that we had to squeeze in a beach walk first. Last night's beach walk was the best of the summer so I was hoping for a repeat, and it turned out that we were not disappointed.

Since it was 7:30 pm when we got off the beach, we were a little worried that Emerald Isle and Andy's might have run out of food or closed, but we drove down Emerald Drive and had no trouble finding the spot since there were people in the street trying to flag down customers.

We didn't need any convincing. We soon had our big white truck parked, our order placed, and our heads in another time and place with great music and Andy's staff zooming around on roller skates.

We enjoyed burgers, fries, orangeade and lemonade. Our meal was less than ten dollars which was also a treat. Seeing a burger basket on the dash brought back memories.

I think we closed down the drive-in but it was still a lot of fun. The food was great, the atmosphere fantastic, and it made me wish Emerald Isle could have a big celebration every year.

We even bought a couple of the commemorative pins for the birthday celebration. They are also pretty neat.

Cape Carteret's 48th Birthday

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-06-01T22:57:56-04:00

Friday morning around 6 am, I snapped this photo as I came back across the bridge from Emerald Isle to Cape Carteret.. The spectacular sunrise was an appropriate beginning to Cape Carteret's birthday party.

There are a lot of reasons that I enjoy living on North Carolina's Crystal Coast, but the small town atmosphere is at the top of the list.

We have enjoyed a number of local festivals since moving here last fall, but I never expected to be treated with hamburgers and hot dogs cooked by the Mayor of Cape Carteret.

We did not need special invitations either. My wife, Glenda, had just noticed in one of the Wednesday papers that Cape Carteret was inviting everyone to lunch this past Friday to honor their 48th birthday.

Since we are trying to meet as many people as possible, we headed towards Cape Carteret's Town Hall a little after 12 noon. We really had no idea what to expect.

When we got to the town hall, we saw some smoke coming from a grill in the park beside the town hall. There were also a few people eating at a picnic table.

The friendly fellow flipping burgers directed us inside the town hall where we found a cornucopia of burgers, hot dogs, chips, and salads. A number of people were spread out enjoying the burgers in the town council meeting room.

It has been a long time since I had a burger grilled over real charcoal. I really enjoyed the treat. On top of that, there were some hot dogs that had been cooked to proper crispness.

It did not take us long to figure out that our burger flipper was Mayor Harvey Ellis.

We talked briefly with him about why Cape Carteret is such a great place to live. Mayor Ellis also warned us that it gets in your blood, and if you try to leave, you will likely be drawn back.

Though everyone has their own answer as to why they like living and working here, being a safe, friendly small town is almost always mentioned. My personal guess is that the willingness of people to accept outsiders is an important factor.

Perhaps another reason everyone is so happy aside from the beautiful setting on the shores of Bogue Sound and the great winter-free weather is that almost everyone is here by choice. Being in this area is part of a dream for most of us, so it is pretty hard to complain or be unhappy.

Also while munching on our burgers and dogs, we also to meet David Fowler, one of Cape Çarteret's commissioners, who also welcomed us to the area.

That makes it official, having met two people from local government here, I have met twice as many as I idid in Roanoke in nineteen years, and certainly no government official there, especially not the mayor, ever expertly cooked me a burger.

I also just put up a few pictures of the Cape Carteret Town Hall and surrounding area. While you are wandering the web and planning what to do for dinner, check out the article, On the trail of some treats from the sea, that I just posted on my Crystal Coast Restaurants site.

One of my favorite things

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-05-27T15:12:36-04:00

The photo sites that I maintain at Picasa Web Albums and Flickr should convince anyone that I love to take pictures.

I also have a site where maintain my favorite sunrises from our deck in Roanoke.

Since coming to the Crystal Coast last fall, one of my favorite spots for photos has been the bridge between Cape Carteret and Emerald.

I guess a little of what I find special about the photos is the challenge of getting them.

First you have to time your bridge crossing. Then I usually have to let traffic pass me just before I get on the bridge and be careful that no one is behind me before I stop.

Even with those precautions I can only get three or four shots with a fast camera so I have to work quickly while my wife watches for traffic. I have gotten some really nice photos including the one in the post.

I am looking forward taking delivery of our skiff so I can take sunset photos on the water while sipping a beer.

I think that qualifies as a great time especially if it is interspersed with some fishing.

I have gotten some really great photos other places such as down by Clyde Phillip's Seafood where I took this sun-drenched Pelican or at Emerald Wood's park where I snapped this fantastic sunset.

The beach is a great spot for sunrise photos if you can manage to get up early enough to beat the sun.

I also love to take pictures down by the Point at Emerald Isle near the intersection of Bogue Court and Inlet Drive. This sunset is a great example.

Still when I can hit the bridge at the right time, it is hard to beat. I have even managed to time it right for one sunrise.

Crab feast- the Crab Shack in Salter Path

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-05-18T23:11:30-04:00

We were at the Crab Shack in Salter Path the other night enjoying one of my favorite meals, the whole fried clams.

One of our fellow diners got served a bowl of Maryland style steamed blue crabs.

They looked delicious, and my questions to enthusiastic crab eater confirmed it. That was the tipping point for me.

I made my decision then to come back the next afternoon and tackle a bowl of crabs myself.

I tried to convince my wife to participate in my feast, but she would hear none of it.

The next day we got to the Crab Shack sometime after 1:30 pm, I ordered my half dozen crabs, and my wife, Glenda, in protest I suspect ordered chicken pot pie.

Since I knew it would be a long time before I got any significant nourishment from crab effort, I also ordered a bowl of clam chowder which turned out to be excellent.

I actually enjoy the Down East style chowders which have little or no milk in them. The Crab Shack's version has a rich clam taste.

My crabs finally arrived in all their glory just before 2 pm.

Sometime around 2:45 pm I managed to see the bottom of the bowl.

It took me until nearly 3:30 pm to finish the crabs off.

I had to really hurry towards the end since my wife was starting to comment that we might as well stay for dinner.

I can highly recommend the Crab Shack's Maryland style steamed crabs.

The Olde Bay spices with the crushed red pepper were just right as long as there was a beer not too far from my hands.

My Maryland friends were impressed that the crabs showed up with nothing more than saltines.

There were no mallets but other than that I would have to say this was a great way to eat North Carolina blue crabs.

The Crab Shack opens daily at 11 am, and their phone number is 252 247-3444. Just tell them David sent you, and leave a few crabs for me. They are right next to Willis Seafood.

The best burger on the beach

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-05-05T22:53:31-04:00

...is actually probably on the mainland. While I have only been wandering the shores of Emerald Isle for a year in this decade, I have been eating burgers in the area for a number of years. Since 2003 I have eaten good ones as far east as No Name Pizza, Cubbie's, and Andy's in Beaufort and as far south as Wilmington's P.T.'s Grille.

The quest for a great burger is a life long journey. I first sampled a Big Moe at Odell's in Mount Airy in 1963. Fortunately for all of us Odell's is still cranking out great burgers. I have been lucky enough to sample Five Guy's Burgers from Northern Virginia. Recently I have enjoyed Cookout burgers on my travels to the coast. Still until walking in the doors of the Fairway Restaurant on Route 58, my favorite burger was from Burger in the Square in Roanoke.

Actually Fairway is a favorite spot of ours for lunch or dinner. I love some of their pork chop dinners, and I have written about them before, Dining along coastal side roads, The Fairway Restaurant.

However, it was just the other day that I had a burger there which confirmed the excellence of one that I had enjoyed there recently. I love grilled burgers, and the ones at Fairway definitely tasted grilled. We actually ended up there the day of the Lowe's Home Improvement Store's opening. Burgers were promised at Lowe's but were cut off at exactly 1PM so we bailed and headed to Fairway where we got a far, far better burger.

As I enjoyed the Fairway Burger, I compared it to all the great ones that I have enjoyed. Without a doubt it is the best that I have had along the Crystal Coast. I think for pure taste it may well outshine the Burger in the Square in Roanoke which is fried not grilled. Still I might have to validate that opinion on my next trip to Roanoke.

For now, I have no doubt that the Fairway Burger holds the crown for the best burger on the Crystal Coast. I am willing to investigate challengers, but I will look only at serious challengers that come highly recommended.

The heat is on

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-04-28T12:13:32-04:00

Last night we went over to the beach but the wind was blowing strongly. The folks on the beach seemed pretty wind blown, but the waves were definitely impressive. We decided that better weather was around the corner, and we could wait a few hours for some more heat. Maybe even the wind would die down.

Our patience was rewarded. It's just approaching 1 pm in Cape Carteret and the temperature is not far from 80 eighty degrees Fahrenheit. That will be good on the crop of hot house tomatoes.

I suspect that I will get more than my toes wet today. It looks to be a great day to be living along the coast. Of course in my opinion most of the days are great days to be living on the coast. At least I believe in the product, a piece of Coastal Paradise, that I am selling

Definitely Beach Season

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-04-23T23:05:18-04:00

We had friends from Boston visit us this weekend. I was really happy the weather decided to cooperate. They left home last Tuesday and woke up in Chincoteague on Thursday morning.

It was 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind was blowing. By the time they had wandered down to Cape Hatteras, the temperatures had improved to the sixties. They caught the 3 pm ferry from Ocracoke and after arriving in Cedar Island managed to find their way to Cape Carteret by 7 pm.

Saturday morning was a beautiful day, and we did a quick visit to Beaufort. Afterwards we drove down the beach from Atlantic Beach to Emerald Isle, where we stopped for a late afternoon walk on the beach at 3rd Street. The water was still a little cool but tolerable.

After a walk down the Emerald Woods trail to check out the sound, we went to visit the Pelicans by Clyde-Phillips Seafood between the bridges in Swansboro. Then we had a nice dinner at the Fairway on Route 58, and we hit the sack fairly early.

Next morning, we enjoyed the breakfast buffet at T&W's Oyster House, and then we did a little light shopping in Swansboro. Afterwards we bought some nice shrimp at Clyde-Phillips. After a swing by the house to fix the shrimp and put them on ice, we headed to the beach. It was nearly as perfect as the shrimp.

There were people in the water which was noticeably warmer. We spent three hours enjoying a perfect afternoon on an uncrowded beach at the eastern end of Emerald Isle. The water was very inviting and the horizon seemed to be nothing but waves.

We finished the day with a great meal at the Crab Shack in Salter Path, and then we caught the sunset over the sound at Cedar Street access.

We sent our guests on their way back to leafless Boston this morning. They could take some consolation from the fact that the Red Sock swept the Yankees this weekend.

Blue skies, warm temperatures, and lots of beach

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-04-20T14:06:53-04:00

For those who have been waiting for the weather to improve before heading to the beach, consider this your alert that all signs point to a great weekend with things even better next week.

I snapped this picture just up the street from the arrow on this Google map. It is the area referred to as the Point at Emerald Isle. We drove by after we had breakfast this morning over on the Island, and I hopped out of the car and took the picture before we headed to Buck's Corner Farm for some fresh strawberries.

The forecast for Cape Carteret, NC shows the temperature at seventy degrees or better for the next several days. That is a much better way to finish to the month of April. It is a big improvement over the cool temperatures we saw earlier in the month.

If you are looking for a last minute beach rental, you can always make a call to see if anything is available for short term. You can also check my Swansboro or Beaufort travel guides for recommendations on other places to stay and even places to eat if you make it here.

Speaking of food I happened to be wandering down the beach the other day and stopped for dinner at the Crab Shack in Salter Path. I had a wonderful fried clam dinner. They actually use whole clams which is unusual for this area. The view from the restaurant is pretty hard to beat. You can also grab some fresh seafood next door at Willis Seafood Market. It is not hard to feel like you are close to the ocean and sound when you are in Salter Path.

These warming temperatures make it an especially great time to come to the beach. You can expect fantastic weather for walking on the beach and other outdoor activities. This early in the season there should be no crowds either on the beach or in the restaurants.

We do have rainy days

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-04-15T23:44:58-04:00

This morning and early afternoon we got the soaking rain that we need for our yards and woods. I am not sure that what the local strawberries need, but that is the way weather works. It has pluses and minuses. We just have to live with it. It was pretty impressive for a while today. Still it was warm all today until the bottom fell out of the thermometer some time after 7 pm. By eleven PM it had dropped 20 degrees to 50 Fahrenheit.

We have had lots of wind today and this is the highest I have seen the water on our dock in a while, but a day like today is one that you just have to curl up with your favorite entertainment and enjoy. I spent more time reading newspapers than I usually do and even took a nap which is a nice Sunday afternoon kind of thing to do.

I did manage to stir myself to take advantage of the setting sun. I even wrote a post on my View from the Mountain blog contrasting the storm on the coast and in the Virginia mountains where some places saw some light snow this evening.

It looks like this weeks weather is going to be pretty nice. By the weekend we will be back in the mid-seventies.

Coastal NC Strawberries are ripe

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-04-13T23:47:22-04:00

The local strawberries are here. As far as I am concerned they are the first taste of summer. It is a delicious way to start the local produce season. This afternoon I dropped by Bucks Corner Farm, just off of Route 58 a little less than two miles before the intersection with Route 24 in Cape Carteret.

Bucks Corner Farm has signs out on 58 or you can call them at 252 241-2755, 241-2240, or 241-4854 for more information or to place orders. It is obviously a great family operation which works very hard to put quality fresh produce on our tables.

I managed to get to the farm just as they were about to sell out of today's berries, but the ladies assured me there would be lots more on Saturday. The buying experience does not get any better, fresh berries and friendly ladies.

We first discovered Bucks Corner Farm last summer when we were getting ready to close on our house in Bluewater Cove. We managed to sample lots of their produce including tomatoes and those famous watermelons. I really looking forward to enjoying all the vegetables as they come in this spring.

I believe I heard them say that there will some hot house tomatoes ready soon. They can't be soon enough for that first tomato sandwich of the year.

I certainly I enjoyed the strawberries this afternoon. It is not often you get produce right from the farm these days. Later this evening I made myself a strawberry-banana smoothie so I am down to half a box and will have try to get some more in the next few days.

We are really blessed to have strawberry fields this close to Cape Carteret. Folks who have lived here a while might take them for granted, but once you live in the city and are forced to accept strawberries shipped in from California, your really appreciate what our local farmers can produce. The California berries are not nearly as good as the local ones.

I am really happy that the folks over at Bucks Corner Farm were able to protect their strawberries from the big freeze and snow last week. The farmers up the central part of North Carolina or the mountain valleys near Roanoke, Va. where our other home is were not able to do anything to save their berries from what I've heard.

We need to enjoy wonderful berries. I have a feeling that fresh strawberries and other fruits are going to be valuable items this year thanks to that Canadian cold that hit us.

Now if I just had my old White Mountain ice cream freezer down here, I might be convinced to make some homemade ice cream. I am sure someone would prevent me from using all the cream that it needs so I would be content if we could just make some strawberry freezer jam like we did last year. When you open a jar of that in the winter time, it is like opening a jar of summer.

Impressive Waves

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-04-09T23:29:40-04:00

I snapped this picture on March 22 during some pretty good surf. I think almost all of us can stand and watch the surf for hours. If you give us a chair we will be there for days. I believe April 1 & 2 when I went for beach walks and actually got my feet wet for the frist time this year. The last weekend I visited Roanoke, Va. which is our other home besides Cape Carteret.

Our grass was in serious need of mowing. I spent most of Friday afternoon getting the yard in shape for the kids to join us for Easer.

After that I spent some time wondering about "What makes me happy." Then I started thinking about whether it is the mountains or coast where I want to plant my roots. That's a pretty hard to decision to make when you are surrounded by beauty in two different areas. This sunrise in Roanoke this weekend was impressive, but I don't like it any better than this coastal one. This time of year, there is lots of beauty to go around including some nice Dogwoods, Flowering Cherries, and Redbud trees.

Inviting water

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-04-04T08:47:52-04:00

I am hereby declaring it beach season. This weekend I actually waded in the water as we walked along the shore after we parked at the 3rd Street Beach Access in Emerald Isle. I thought it was going to be too cool but the water was not that cold for my hot feet.

Since our walk on the beach, we have had two really warm days so I expect things will improve until we get to this unfortunate cold snap that is headed our way for Easter weekend.

Yesterday marked the changing of the seasons for me. I showed up to work for our real estate caravan in tan pants as I have been doing since the first of the year. I was the only guy not in shorts. That is one mistake I will never make again.

I guess wearing long pants after April 1 in Coastal NC is against the rules. I am all for those rules.

When I got home at lunch and told my wife, she said that she might as well pack up my long pants since I will likely adopt the new business casual with any hesitation.

Sometimes you know that you have died and gone to heaven. To think I spent nearly twenty years wandering around Washington, DC in a suit. What was I thinking?

If you need help escaping from the rat race, call me. The advice is free if I can help you find some property.

Sunrise on the beach

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-03-31T21:40:58-04:00

Well I took another shot at getting over to the beach by sunrise. I almost made it. I did catch the sun rising on Bogue Sound. It was pretty spectacular. My wife actually said, "Does it really look like that?" I told her that folks who never get up to see the sunrise should not question those who do. Of course that meant I had to take her out to dinner tonight to make up for having a smart mouth.

Usually the dramatic effects come from zooming in on the area which is most exotically colored and then cropping out the rest of the scene. Sometimes putting pictures on the web distorts the colors a little, but usually it mutes them, and you have to adjust for that to get the image back to the way your eye saw it. Of course my eyes might see if differently than someone else's.

I got a really nice shot of the sun through the beach grasses just as I walked on the beach. Then there was this spectacular shot of the light from the rising sun catch the foam of waves that I had zoomed in on for a closer shot. Part of the reason I enjoy taking pictures into bright sunlight is that you get some very unusual effects as the camera lens adjusts for the very bright light.

Later in the morning, we took a run over to Newport and checked out the annual Pig Cooking Contest. I wrote a post, "Barbecue for breakfast," about the event on my View from the Mountain Blog. I also posted some pictures at "Newport's Big Barbecue Event."

Bogue Sound Sunrise

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-03-30T22:20:43-04:00

There were a couple of days recently when I did not take any photos. It actually bothers me since I use my pictures to help with ideas for my writing. There is one time of day that is almost always wonderful for pictures. That's sunrise on a clear morning. As difficult as it is to roll out of bed early, I decided that I wanted to get a picture of the sunrise from Emerald Isle. Unfortunately our cat took a playing spell around five this morning and woke me up. When I fell back asleep, I overslept by about ten minutes.

When I got into the car, I knew that I would be late, but I figured it was worth the ride anyway. I was right. Each inland body of water was a mass of fog so dense that my camera's auto focus wouldn't work on it. I only got to the bridge over to Emerald Isle before the sun started coming up. It was a fantastic sight, and traffic was light enough that I was able to come almost a complete stop at the high point on the bridge. That is where I snapped the shot included in the post.

I could have turned around after getting to the island and been happy, but I went on over to the first public access and got a few more shots. It was worth the effort The first shot I call beachrise and the next one simply palmsunrise.

It was cold enough on the beach to have a coat on, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day later.

This morning Yardworks finished laying some sod around our house that did not get put down in the fall. Now I can start enjoying the patterned concrete patio we had done this winter. I also put our new gas grill together this week. The gas company hooked up the gas line, and I have a nice Porterhouse Steak in the fridge for Saturday night. I am looking forward to it.

Speaking of food we had a birthday lunch for a co-worker at Rucker John's on Emerald. I think we all had one of their delicious salads. We previewed a few homes this afternoon, washed my car, and still got home in time for me to go for a bike ride and water the new sod.

This is the weather that I moved to the Crystal Coast to enjoy. Today the high temperature was 66 degrees Fahrenheit with a low temperature of 34 degrees. There was widespread frost last night but tonight we aren't supposed to be so cold. By next week, the first week in April, the forecast is for us to be back in the mid-seventies which is pretty close to perfect.

The rain earlier this week did a good job of getting much of the pollen out of the air for a few days. So there is not much to complain about except we need more rain.

Tomorrow is the big Pig Cookout in Newport. With any kind of luck we'll get to sample that great vinegar based barbecue.

Watching the waves

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-03-26T23:00:07-04:00

We were all young once. I can remember climbing out on the roof of my college dorm with nothing but an old copper gutter to keep us from falling four or five stories. I snapped this photo from one of my favorite beach houses.

After previewing hundreds of homes, on or near the water, I have to say the spot where I took this shot is one of my favorites since you can rotate 45 degrees and see a wonderful sunset.

I think it is really neat that people are drawn to some of the great spots for sunsets. It seems viewing the great ones is a daily activity for some of us. People often do little talking, mostly they just stand in awe of the natural beauty unfolding in front of them.

It is one of my favorite times of day. It's a little easier to take than sunrise which requires lots of effort to enjoy unless you have a home like we do in Roanoke where sunrise is part of your bedroom.

So far my favorite sunset is this one over Bogue Sound from the Emerald Woods trail pier. I like this White Oak River Sunrise. If you like the photos, I have some prints of other scenes in the area for sale at the Tidewater Gallery in Swansboro.

The value of location?

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-03-21T22:34:03-04:00

I just came back from Roanoke, Virginia. The local newspaper, the Roanoke Times, published an article today called, "On the upswing." It was about the real estate market. The article certainly had a different tone from the one entitled, "The real estate bubble," which was in the Careteret News-Times this past weekend. I guess the first question is whether or not the Roanoke, Va. real estate market is in that much better shape than the Carteret County one.

The Roanoke area has a much larger population, and figuring out how to compare apples to apples would be a huge challenge. Something that I do not think that I will try in a quick blog entry. I would likely end up swamped in statistics trying to equalize the two areas.

However, since I am a Realtor® and have homes in both areas, I have a pretty good idea of the market conditions. I think that I can safely say there isn't too much difference in the two markets, except in the newspaper coverage. Some home prices have come down in Carteret County, but they went far higher than they did in the Roanoke area. The average sale price here on the coast is still about 24% higher. My guess is that our waterfront properties add substantially to the average price. Living on the Roanoke River actually is a negative on selling price since the river often floods. Both markets seem relatively healthy to me.

Real estate is a very local business. It is also very dependent on the attitude of the buyers and sellers. Both Roanoke and Carteret County-Swansboro are attractive areas but for different reasons. Each area has its boosters and some wonderful things happening. It just depends on whether you like a little more urban environment with mountains or little more rural setting with beaches and lots of water access.

Buyers and sellers are the real ones to decide the prices for which homes sell. If you are happy with the area you live in and have no pressure to sell, you will likely not come down quickly in price on a house that you have placed on the market. If you want to live in a certain area, you will pay more for that area. The opposite can be true in both cases.

The wonderful thing about real estate is that different people love different areas. My guess is that both Roanoke and the Crystal Coast will see an improvement in the real estate market this year. Homes here are no longer selling before potential buyers even have a chance to see them. Prices have adjusted some but the average cost of a home continues to rise, just not as quickly.

A home is still a great investment in Roanoke or on the Crystal Coast. Now is a great time to be looking since there is plenty to choose from and as is always the case some people want to sell quicker than others.

Do you buy stocks based on newspaper editorials?

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-03-18T23:00:47-04:00

I pose the question of "Do you buy stocks based on editorials in the newspaper?," because Sunday, the Carteret County News-Times published an editorial entitled "The real estate bubble."

I am a newcomer to the area so I have no axe to grind with the News-Times. I have become a relatively faithful reader of their paper. I might disagree with some of the editorial writers that they choose to publish on their pages, but it isn't much of hardship to go online and find ones that I do like. I do not consider myself an expert on balancing editorial pages so I have not launched a blog campaign about how the News-Times handles their editorial pages. Actually I would far rather take pictures like the one above of Swansboro just after sunset on this past Saturday, than read most editorials.

In addition to taking pictures, I have spent the last nine months studying real estate intensively. On top of that, I have bought one house myself, sold another and helped my kids buy two other homes in very different markets over the last five years. I have lived through a so-called "real estate bubble implosion." We owned a home in Halifax, NS in the late eighties when the off shore oil boom collapsed. We ended up losing about 25% of our investment because the market became flooded with homes that the oil companies were trying to unload for whatever prices that they could get. We carried the payments for the Halifax house even after we moved to Columbia, Md where we bought another home near my new job. We sold our Columbia home less than twenty two months later before we moved to Roanoke, Va. It sold in six days. We actually gained back everything we lost on the Halifax home when we sold our Columbia home.

In the fall of 2004 we sold my mother's house in Mount Airy, NC. Our family had been living on that plot of ground since around the turn of the century. The house itself was built in the twenties with the help of some workers from National Furniture that my father kept employed during the depression by putting them to work on the house. Much of the woodwork including doors in the house is solid walnut. It was one of the first houses in Surry County to have electrical breakers instead of fuses. It even had a tile roof and solid copper gutters. The house also had a huge formal garden which was one of the reasons we had to sell the place. We just could not devote the time that was needed to keep the house in the shape that it deserved. We ended up selling the house for less than we wanted, but it is now a wonderful bed and breakfast and is called the Sobotta Manor.

At the same time we were selling the Mount Airy house which stayed on the market for over two years, we were striking out in finding a house on the water that we could afford somewhere along the Crystal Coast.

The point of this tale is that generalizations do not mean much in the real estate market. The News-Times says that "Carteret County's average home sales prices in recent months have been flat." The statistics which I am looking at tonight from January 1 through March 18 do not agree with that assessment. However that is beside the point. Anyone who has spent much time in Carteret County knows that there are widely different housing markets across the county. Before settling in Bluewater Cove, we gave up trying to buy a home in Beaufort. The market was so hot that by the time we got an email on a property, it was already sold. Things are not that way today in Beaufort.

The market that we face here in Carteret County is far different than the market that I faced in the late eighties in Halifax, NS. There are no oil companies here unloading homes for whatever they could get for them. I seriously doubt we will see something similar to the Halifax market correction since most people living on the Crystal Coast are not in a corner and being forced to sell their properties. In fact we have a number of properties where the pricing is relatively inelastic. The owners will sell them, but only if they get something near what they want for the property. They are trying to maximize their profits and are willing to wait.

I imagine most of them are well aware of tax changes over the years and have consulted their tax attorneys to figure how much profit they can shelter if their home qualifies as a principal residence according to IRS rules.

It has been widely reported in newspapers recently that North Carolina is one of the top destinations for retirees. In spite of what the News-Times says, most people coming here, myself included, find the tax rates, even the new ones, much less than what they are accustomed to paying. Our property taxes are about 20% of what they were on a similarly priced home in Roanoke, Va. People from Northern Virginia and other urban states have been paying even higher than what we pay in Roanoke.

We bought our home relatively close to the top of the real estate boom. Still we had looked for three summers before finding this house which ended up having almost everything we wanted.

I have looked at a lot of property in Carteret County since becoming a Realtor® with Bluewater GMAC Real Estate, I still have not seen a property that was a better value or where I would rather live. When I factor in the amenities of the Bluewater Cove subdivision, the growing services available within five miles, and the proximity to the Emerald Isle beaches plus the access to the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway, I am confident that we made a good investment. Also as a purchaser of a single family home, the prices of high density condominium homes would have to change massively before it would impact my decisions. As much as the News-Times worries about that the condominium market impacting the whole real estate market, I would caution that your single family home is a different market.

To close I would say, talk to a Realtor® if you want or need to sell your property. Don't base your decision solely on what you read in the newspapers. Real estate is one of the most locally sensitive and personal commodities in the world. Realtors® spend all their time figuring out how to get you the most money for your home if they represent you as a seller. If you hire them as a buyer's agent they spend all their time trying to get your a great deal. One of the key factors in the real estate market is that it only takes one person to buy your home. When we sold our farm in New Brunswick, a lady from Singapore bought it and turned it into the Tay Ridge Farms bed and breakfast.

If you are waiting to buy because you believe there will be fire sale prices on homes in Carteret County, I think you will have a long wait. There are far too many people wanting to buy houses for the bottom to drop out of the market. The statistics which I am looking at suggest that some markets are doing well and that prices have not gone down in all markets. It is also important to remember that many of the buyers are not coming from around the corner. Some come and find our prices reasonable because they haven't been able to find the mix of amenities, quality housing, and water access that they want elsewhere.

Last summer there was even a NY Times article, "North to Canada, for an Ocean View," about people looking as far north as Prince Edward Island for beach front property. Let me say this clearly. The weather in Prince Edward Island in July is about like our March weather except the water is colder along their nicer beaches. Their only water that is swimmable by something other seals and Labrador retrievers is not nearly as nice as our beaches. We're a much better buy than Prince Edward Island unless you place a lot of value on property where you can also ice skate and shovel snow in the winter.

Remember the real estate advice you get from the newspaper might be worth the whole fifty cents that it cost you.

In the end newspapers care about selling newspapers.

The Carteret County real estate market is what the buyers and sellers make it, not what the newspaper declares it. Invite someone to the beach this summer. We're still the best kept secret on the East Coast.

Glorious day, magnificient sunset

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-03-10T23:53:12-05:00

Now this is the kind of weather I have been waiting to enjoy. It was actually a little warm when I went to get the newspaper this morning. I know it was in the mid-sixties even over near the beaches.

I had a great day. I wrote a little this morning, had a relaxing lunch, and did some email correspondence. Then I went to the office and worked for an hour or so getting familiar with some MLS listings before coming home for a great bike ride. It was even warm enough to switch to shorts. Lots of people were outside working.

There were also plenty of daffodils blooming and none of them were falling over from dampness like they often are early in the spring in the mountains. The other great news is that I saw same bait fish in the channel behind our house. When I did a little casting after coming back from my bike ride, the small fish even boiled the surface around a plastic bait.

It's nice to see something alive in the water besides a heron, pelican, or duck. The sighting of bait fish means that there is hope for some real fish in the not so distant future. I guess I better start thinking about that boat.

After my fishing expedition, I decided to go take some pictures of the sunset. I gambled that the light would be right from the ramp in Emerald Isle Woods Park. As you can see from the photo, it was a pretty good gamble.

I posted a few of the shots that I took on both Flickr and Picasa Web Albums. Someone even piped in as I was posting and asked me the location of this photo. I also tagged it on a map in Flickr so people could see where the photo was taken. You can go to this link and click on the map link to right of the photo to see for yourself.

Bogue Sound can certainly do a wonderful job with a sunset. When I got back to my truck, there was an Emerald Isle Policeman parked behind it. He told me that he was getting ready to close the park down for the night. Fortunately I escaped before the gates were locked.

I grabbed some takeout Chinese at Golden China and enjoyed a feast at home. It seemed appropriate to have food from Golden China to go with the golden sunset.

Swansboro Sunset and the White Oak

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-03-08T11:48:41-05:00

Though the weather seems to be reluctant to get warm, we cannot complain very much. The Washington, DC area had snow as I noted in a post I did on my View from the Mountain blog. Other areas are also still experiencing lots of really cold weather. It looks like we can expect some nice seventy degree temperatures early next week. With that in the near future, I'm not going to complain about some temperatures in the fifties since the snow isn't that far from us.

The local papers have articles about the planning process for the growth along the White Oak River basin. We know the growth is happening. I live in Bluewater Cove which is one of those new subdivisions along the White Oak. There are plenty more planned which as a Realtor® I believe are important to the economic health of Carteret County.

Still it is very important that we all work to not only keep more damage from happening to the White Oak but to also repair it the best we can. It's too beautiful a spot to let it be ruined by growth which doesn't factor in the health of the river. Te

Can spring be far way?

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-03-06T22:07:23-05:00

I have been in the mountains for a few days and welcomed the coastal warmth today. While today might have seemed cool, all I can say is that you should have been in Roanoke, Va. on Sunday, March 4, 2007. The high temperature was 38 degrees Fahrenheit with wind gusts between 15 and 33 miles per hour. That translates to a very cool day with some snow flurries. You can almost feel the cold from this picture I took the next day. If that doesn't make you feel cold then this shot of snow showers across the Roanoke valley the morning of the fourth will probably do the trick.

Still it did get over fifty degrees Fahrenheit in Cape Carteret today so it was pleasant enough for me to make several casts from the dock behind the house. My left arm was a little sore so I considered it therapy. I was very surprised to see the fishing kayak paddle into the channel behind the house at not much before five pm. I asked the angler if he had done any better than I did a little earlier. His comment was that he suspected all the fish were home by the fire. Given how the temperature was dropping at that time of day, I suspect our kayaking fisherman wished he were there by the fire himself. I know it was cool enough this evening to turn the gas logs on for a while.

If fishermen are starting to flail the water, can warmer weather be very distant?

The storm has passed

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-03-02T11:11:46-05:00

I'm hoping that it won't take many days to get back to clear skies and calm water like the that in this early morning picture of Swansboro that I snapped earlier in the week. The weather system and front which passed through today after walloping the Midwest and the South, is still causing trouble in the Northeast and Canada.

The fifteen day Accuweather forecast for the Cape Carteret/Cedar Point/Swansboro area has twice as many days in the sixties/seventies as it does in fifties. So we are making steady progress towards spring. I'll take fifties and sixties over snow and ice any day of the week.

This was a huge storm even when it moved off the coast. You can click this link for a current NOAA image. If you are a little late catching this post, I did a screen capture which I hope NOAA won't mind me posting for posterity.

The better weather forecast for the next couple of weeks and the warm weather we've already had should make for some improved fishing in to the not too distant future.

In the technology front, if you're interesting in real estate tools, I have had great luck building a home virtual tour for 126 White Heron Lane which is located in Bluewater Cove. The tour includes a walk thorugh. The software I used is called Mapwing and I highly recommend it. I'll be posting more on it later.

A wonderful sunrise in Swansboro

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-02-27T23:28:35-05:00

I decided to watch the sunrise from Swansboro this morning. It was a little nippy on the hands but I got some great pictures. My buddy the old Pelican was hanging around the dock with lots of friends. The pictures of the sun coming up over the White Oak River turned out really nice. This sunrise picture caught a flight of geese I believe. It was taken from the Swansboro Memorial park which made for an interesting shot itself.

I have found Swansboro a little more difficult to photograph than Beaufort. I think it may have something to do with the wide streets in Beaufort compared to the very narrow ones in Swansboro. I was hoping to have few cars on the streets this morning, but there were plenty including a truck towing a boat. If you know anything about Front Street in Swansboro, the last thing you want to drive there is a truck hauling a big skiff.

I did get a good early morning shot of Swansboro from close to the end of the bridge by Clyde Phillips.

I can offer no complaints on the weather. It certainly a nice day here on the coast and a taste of more good days to come I hope. I even wore shorts for part of the day. It was great to get back in uniform.

Late this afternoon while I was working in my office, I had to open the window to enjoy the cool breeze. Even the cat thought it was time to taste the fresh air.

Finally some warmth and no wind

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-02-24T22:35:35-05:00

This shot was taken at Hidden Bay this evening. We've spent most of the week wandering Emerald Isle. I have been surprised at how windy it has been over on the beach, but I guess that is just me being new to the area. Last week it seemed ten degrees on more cooler over on the island compared to Cape Carteret. This has been a good week to hope for a bridge without delays. There have been plenty. Maybe they are almost done with whatever they are doing.

We have been over on the island so much that we have managed to eat lunch twice at Mike's Place. There aren't many places to get inexpensive lunch food in this area, and Mike's is one of them except I am guessing that during the summer you probably can't get near it. I've tried one of their Greek specials and enjoyed their very tasty vegetable beef soup.

As long as you can get your lunch in before 2 pm, Mike's is a good spot to hit.

Carteret County is truly an amazing place. I actually don't know how I get anywhere on time. I am always stopping to take pictures. When I go around a curve there is always a new vista where I think I might snap the next great shot. This is the perfect time of the year for photography. The air is clear with no haze, and there are just enough people around to add some interest to the pictures. The pelicans also seem especially cooperative right now. If they can find a sunny spot, they aren't going to give it up just because someone is taking their picture. This shot which I call Clyde's Birds was taken over between the bridges near Clyde Philip's Seafood on Friday night. I took two others that I really like at the same time and spot. One I call Pelican on Fire and the other simply Gull and Pelican.

My new camera, which I got for taking wide angle shots in houses, is also great for landscapes like this picture from the point at Emerald Isle that I call Beach Light. The new camera is the reason I cannot seem to go around a curve without stopping to take a few pictures. It also does a great job on houses.

This Bluewater Cove house is still under construction and has not been cleaned up yet, but you still can see how well the wide lens shows off the house if you visit my website dedicated to 126 White Heron Lane.

Better beach weather

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-02-21T22:32:38-05:00

Finally after a month of cold weather, we are now getting some warm temperatures once again We've had lots of Robins in our yard, and I've actually been out to get the newspaper two mornings in a row without a coat. Those are good signs. It's nice to see that the ice on channel behind the house didn't become permanent.

The last couple of weeks, I've been previewing homes throughout Carteret County. I am stunned by the selection of real estate available here on the Crystal Coast. There is everything from huge homes on the water costing in the millions to newly constructed homes priced under $270K. I am also surprised by the number of people interested in the Crystal Coast who have never even been here. People are searching for areas with low crime, great weather, pure water, and friendly people.

I feel pretty safe in saying the Crystal Coast meets those requirements with little trouble. There are lots of other advantages that come with living here. We have had a good time hiking in spite of the cool weather. I have created a web page with links to many of the wonderful accessible trails here on the coast that can be enjoyed even by those who need to use wheel chairs.

While we were checking out homes in Emerald Isle today, we decided to have lunch at Jordan's. I have given them my official award for the best piece of Flounder that I've had so far in Western Carteret County. They are located at 8106 Emerald Dr. and are closed on Tuesdays this time of year.

Prelude to a cool morning

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-02-17T22:26:39-05:00

The warm weather has disappeared from the Crystal Coast this past week. Since those long ago sixties that we saw on Monday and Tuesday, we have struggled to even get into the fifties.

I felt sorry for the folks working on the Emerald Isle bridge yesterday. It was definitely cool in the wind. We got a chance to view a number of houses on Emerald Isle yesterday and the day before.

It amazes me how nice homes that there are in the area. One home turned out to be a real surprise. The people selling their home had just bought a home just up the street from us at Bluewater Cove.

We did take the time to stop and hike the wonderful trail at Emerald Woods. I'll try to get up a site with some pictures of that this evening. By the time we hiked down to the sound at around 5pm, the temperature had dropped to 39 degrees Fahrenheit. I had hoped to catch the sunset there, but my wife disappeared on me. She headed back into the woods to get out of the constant wind.

I convinced her to ride over to the Point at Emerald Isle which is where I snapped this shot. It was 36 degrees when I got back in the car. It felt great to warm my hands up a little.

It was good practice for this morning when the temperature got down to 20 degrees.

Valentines Day temperature change

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-02-14T22:39:40-05:00

We have had some really warm weather recently. Monday and Tuesday, the temperatures were in the mid to upper sixties. With those temperatures in mid-February, the Crystal Coast was an even nicer spot than usual.

I snapped the picture to the left of the Swansboro bridge disappearing into the fog on Tuesday afternoon. I think the air was so warm that fog was forming just a few feet above the surface of the water. It made for an interesting picture. Earlier in the morning the sky had been a beautiful Carolina blue. The surface of the water leading to the White Oak River was also dead calm.

Later in the afternoon, we headed over to Emerald Isle to preview homes which are listed by Bluewater GMAC, the firm where I am a new Broker. We have some great houses listed over on the beach. This is the view from the upper deck of one of our listings over by the point at Emerald Isle. Now is a great time to be looking at beach property. Mortgage rates are low and many people are still waiting to jump back in the market. There is also plenty of inventory to view. The best properties always go first so don't wait if you're interested.

I have been surprised by my how many homes are rented this time of year. I think it is a great time to be at the beach, but I guess I thought I was the only one with that thought. I have had to wait to view a number of homes because they were occupied with renters.

I love all the small restaurants here which typically have far better food than your average chain restaurants. Tonight my wife and I had a special Valentine's dinner at Floyd's 1921 on Bridges Street in Morehead City. It's only 20-25 minutes from Cape Carteret. I had the Prime Rib, and Glenda, my wife, had the baked stuffed Salmon. Everything we ate was delicious. The service was excellent. We'll be going back, and I'll write a review once I've been a few times.

The weather will cool off over the next two days. We may even struggle to get few degrees about forty Fahrenheit on Friday. Still, we can't complain very much since the Valentine's Day Blizzard of 2007 was just some nighttime rain here on the coast. Some rain is a lot better than twelve feet of snow.

An icy morning before the warm up

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-02-11T22:11:08-05:00

When I got up this morning, it didn't take long to figure out that the temperature had dipped below freezing. There was ice on Raymond's Gut which leads out to the White Oak River. Still it didn't take long to warm up. We decided to do another visit to T&W's Oyster Bar for their Sunday brunch. It was well worth the trip. The food was great, and there were a number of people there so business is good.

With warmer temperatures of fifty predicted for the afternoon, we decided to head out for some more hiking in Croatan National Forest. We had done part of the Tideland trail on Saturday, but we started so late it was a little cool to contemplate finishing the bigger loop. Today we got to the park in plenty of time to enjoy the warmth of the early afternoon sun.

We had a nice leisurely hike around the larger trail loop which takes you through the maritime woods and along the shore marshes. We stopped several times to take pictures and to say hello to a few new canine friends. In addition to the website with pictures from yesterday, I put up another website with some additional trail shots from today including one of the not so rare black-backed swimming cheetos eater. Lots of people were hiking today, but there was still plenty of room on the trail.

Tomorrow the temperatures are supposed to get into the sixties. I guess that will mean going for a hike on the beach.

Snow only five hours away

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-02-07T22:02:15-05:00

It may come as a shock, but you only have to travel a few hours to find some significant snow that is the result of the recent east coast cool down. While it got to 54 degrees Fahrenheit in Cape Carteret today, just a little over five hours away in Roanoke, Virginia the temperature only managed to make it to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. That coupled with roads that had been chilled by temperatures as low as 8 degrees Fahrenheit mean that the snow stuck to the roads. Roanoke is just far enough south that a good snow is a treat. Unfortunately the town is also in the mountains and as any experienced winter driver will tell you, it is not going up an icy hill that is a challenge. What separates those who are crazy from those who are only slightly foolish is going down an icy hill. Once you have broken loose on ice there is nothing to do but try to enjoy the ride and hope that where land is a soft spot instead of a metal guard rail or in someone's living room.

The February 6, 2007 snow was a fairly small one, but it has created some treacherous roads. The snowfalls on February 12, 2006 and February 28, 2005 were both more impressive. The larger snows actually keep people at home and off the roads. A small storm like the one on the six is ignored by the thousands of four wheel drive vehicles in Roanoke. The storm finished just before people headed off to work so the roads were not plowed. The morning traffic actually packed the snow into ice.

On our 17% slope hill which has a vertical drop of over 160 feet is a popular spot for kids whose parents haven't figured out the dangers of sledding on a road. Our kids who were used to playing in the woods which surround us had some great sledding spots which weren't on the road. Today's kids whom are a little less adventurous in trying the woods. They are crazy enough to think that is okay to be sledding on an icy road and competing for space with SUVs weighing over two tons. I actually saw a parent sledding with some this morning. On an icy 17% slope hill, the last thing you need to be doing is dodging people on sleds. The sleds also pack the snow so the plows can't clean the roads. It ends being some short term fun for the kids and a lot of headaches for the people who actually use the road. It also can lead to serious injuries and even death.

I'm actually looking forward to getting off the icy hill and walking on the beach once again. I should be there tomorrow.

Winter has made it to the Crystal Coast

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-02-01T11:11:14-05:00

Based on this picture I shot yesterday, it doesn't look winter could be in the forecast, but this morning before the clouds rolled in there was a hint of red in the sky. Now we have a cold rain with temperatures in the mid-thirties here in Cape Carteret.

In Kinston, at a little after nine am this morning, there are reports of 1.5 inches of snow. Fortunately it all goes as planned, temperatures will warm up for a couple of days and then we might be seeing the coldest weather of the season early next week.

One forecast is calling for the high temperature next Tuesday to be 37 degrees Fahrenheit. That's a pretty cold high. Actually we are getting off pretty light considering the Accuweather people are saying that the cold air surge this weekend and early next week will be the coldest for this time of year in nearly thirty years. Next Monday and Tuesday the high temperatures in Chicago will be 4 and 8 degrees Fahrenheit respectively.

If you head almost 1,100 miles north from Cape Carteret to Quebec City, Quebec, you will find a high temperature of 1 degree Fahrenheit on next Tuesday, February 6. I guess it would be a good time for a winter carnival which is exactly which is happening in Quebec from January 26 to February 11. It's time for the Carnaval de Québec. According to the website, it is the largest winter carnival in the world. I'm glad someone has figured out what to do with the cold weather.

It is interesting to have a look at the impact of next weeks cold air attack.

Below is a table of high temperatures that I put together for a friend who lives in Forked River, NJ. Forked River is about 500 miles, mostly north and a little east of us. They are actually close to the coast similar to our area.

This cold air scheduled for early next week will certainly impact all of us, but I think we will be spared the worst of it. If you go a little more inland and not so far north, you can still see the impact of the arctic air. Reston, Virginia which is between the Dulles Airport and Tyson's Corner nearly 370 miles north of Cape Carteret, will see low temperatures early next week in the single digits.

Tuesday night of next week our low temperature is forecast to be twenty degrees Fahrenheit. Even we have to pay the price for living on the edge of what can be a very cold continent. Still we should see high temperatures in the mid-forties except for that cold snap which will last from Monday through Wednesday and keep highs in the low forties on all days but Monday when we won't break out of the thirties.

I guess it is time to throw another log on the fire and be thankful that we don't have to suffer through the ice and snow that is hitting the areas to the west of us.

Mid-winter hike along the White Oak

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-01-28T22:58:21-05:00

We have enjoyed the little park off of the VFW Road in Cedar Point since we started spending time in the area. The other day we miraculously had some extra time on our hands and decided to go for a hike. We enjoyed it so much that we headed back the next day. The trails are absolutely outstanding. The weather this week through Sunday January 27 has been great for hiking or any type of outdoor activity except maybe fishing since the fish don't seem to be biting. I did take some pictures of the Cedar Point Tideland Trail and stick then up on a website for everyone to enjoy. If you visit the site you'll see that the shorter loop trail is very accessible and in great shape. The footbridges that have been built are very impressive.

Today I managed to get in a bike ride and some hiking. The temperature approached sixty degrees Fahrenheit at our home in Bluewater Cove today so there won't be any complaints from me even as the weather gets cold this week. Actually I've written another article for Dropping Anchor. The article which I wrote a couple of week ago predicts some winter weather this week.

With some cooler weather on the way and my new job as a Realtor® working for Bluewater GMAC in Cape Carteret, I am spending a lot of time getting familiar with our listings. One of the listings that we visited on Emerald Isle recently has fantastic views.

The sound view from the top floor of one this Bluewater listings was absolutely stunning, and the ocean view was almost as good. I never get tired of the water views they seem to renew my soul each I catch one of these stunning Crystal Coast panoramas. I have a lot of listings to visit in the next weeks, so I'll probably have plenty of neat scenic views to share. It wasn't too many days ago that I took a stroll on the point at Emerald Isle. I also put up a website with some photos from there. Emerald Isle is a wonder spot, especially this time of year when the beaches are empty and the streets are uncrowded. I feel very lucky to live close enough to over on the island in ten minutes or so. You never know, one of these days, we might end up living on the island.

T&W Oyster House, a classic seafood spot, now offering breakfast

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-01-21T22:44:42-05:00

T&W Oyster House is located five miles north of the Emerald Isle bridge on Route 58. Our first experience with T&W came this summer when we were still looking for a house in the area.

I had been searching for some great oysters and happened to be driving by one day. It seemed logical to me that you would find great oysters at an oyster house. That proved to be the case. Since then we have had a number of fine seafood meals at the T&W Oyster House. In fact Saturday afternoon we were coming back from Jacksonville through Stella, and we happened upon T&W about 4 pm. Since we had skipped lunch, an early dinner sounded pretty good, so we swung into the parking lot. My wife, Glenda, immediately noticed the signs for breakfast. Having breakfast in a restaurant is one of our favorite ways to start the day.

That is sometimes a challenge in the Emerald Isle, Cape Carteret, Cedar Point and Swansboro area. If you're late for breakfast, you can end up waiting. The idea of another breakfast spot sounded great to us.

We went into T&W and enjoyed a great plate of flounder and shrimp by one of their impressive fireplaces. As we were finishing the meal, we asked the waitress about the Sunday breakfast buffet. It sounded delicious and having our next meal sixteen hours or so later sounded about right considering the amount of flounder and shrimp we put away.

This Sunday morning we showed up at T&W's just as they were opening. In fact there were plenty of people already in the restuarant so it took them an extra five minutes or so to finish preparing everything before they opened the buffet.

The variety of food spanned the imagination of a breakfast lover. There was everything from scrambled eggs to eggs Benedict, French toast, bacon and sausage.

I particularly enjoyed the fluffy biscuits and the spicy sausage gravy which was filled with sausage. It will take more than one trip to do a taste test on all the buffet items. It is a tough job, but we will see what we can do. Randy Swanson, the manager, told us that he will likely open earlier next Sunday due to popular demand. It wouldn't hurt to phone ahead to check the opening time if you want to do the Sunday buffet.

Or you could check out the regular breakfast which is available from 6:30 until 10:30 AM during the week. We just might see you there.

The buffet is very reasonably priced at $7.50 per person with beverages being extra. I've eaten at some very fine buffets over the years, including some famous ones like the Homestead and the Greenbrier. While the T&W Oyster Bar certainly isn't as fancy, the breakfaast food will hold its own against plenty of more expensive spots.

Their telephone number is 252 393-8838. They are located on the left on Route 58, five miles north of where 58 and 24 intersect.

A nippy morning in the mountains

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-01-18T11:10:53-05:00

I have been traveling recently so updating my my Coastal Carolina blog has been on hold for a few days. There's been a touch of winter weather through the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia. In fact it delayed our return to the coast by a day. Having lived through lots of snow and ice, I'm always of the opinion that the best way to enjoy winter driving is to become a spectator and stay inside. As you can see from the view from our deck in Roanoke, we're used to the mountains. The steep, half mile long hill that you need to negotiate the final almost five hundred feet of elevation before reaching our home has been the scene of many exciting traffic incidents.

During one blizzard they even sent a bulldozer to clear our road. Mostly we worry about ice. As most people are aware, ice is a problem on even what appears to be flat ground. Just imagine what it is like living on a 17% slope like ours. We had one neighbor back his Subaru out of the driveway one particularly icy morning. It completely spun around, and he ended up doing a miraculous job of guiding it down the hill backwards. He went out and bought chains the next day. I think they were only temporary as he and his family are now living in the Wilmington area. We have a seventeen year old AWD Nissan Access that stays in Roanoke. Several neighbors have tried to buy it from us since it is famous for going up and down the hill with chains on all four wheels. It's gone by any number of four wheel drive trucks and SUVs in the ditch. We call it "little Limo." It has rescued many people trying to haul groceries up our hill. Still until I snapped this picture of the cold temperatures on our deck, even in the moutains of Virginia the temperatures were in the seventies on Monday.

Those warm temperatures resulted in some interesting flowers popping up. The recent cold weather has certainly slowed down all that spring growth. I expect the cool temperatures are getting closer to the coast. It's is inevitable that winter will find us if it has found the rest of the country.

I bring up the snow, ice and cold temperatures to the west and north of us because I have noticed in the long range forecasts that there is a chance for some wintery weather in our Coastal Paradise. If the something as long as a fifteen day forecast is to be believed, a week from today, we will be entering in a colder period of weather with highs only in the mid to upper forties for a whole week. Then on January 30, the prediction from the Accuweather folks is " A chance for rain or snow showers in the morning, then a shower possible in the afternoon."

Of course three days later, temperatures are expected to approach sixty degrees Fahrenheit. Next week might just be a good week for visitors to the beach to make sure they have a nice warm gas fireplace to keep them cozy after what looks to be a colder than normal week.

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I'll be talking about it more later, but I have recently accepted a real estate broker position at Bluewater GMAC in Cape Carteret. I'll be happy to help anyone find a spot on the Southern Outer Banks or to market their properties to some of the freezing folks whom I regularly visit in western North Carolina, southwest Virginia, or northern Virginia and DC.

You can visit my REALTOR® page at CoastalNC.org/realtor .

Emerald Isle visit

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-01-10T21:11:37-05:00

I had the good fortune to attend a meeting today where I heard, Frank Rush, Jr., Emerald Isle's Town Manager discuss some of their town projects and issues that might impact Emerald Isle. I came away very impressed. I was most inspired by Emerald Isle's commitment to keeping the town a really great place to live.

Hearing the town's plans will make it even easier for me to be an advocate for this area. I could clearly see the careful planning, attention to detail, and great effort to build an inclusive community that addresses the needs of both residents and businesses.

It was actually really refreshing to see a town on top of the issues and with a realistic plan for the future. I think the incentives that Emerald Isle has created around the East Village project will end up creating a very unique area in Emerald Isle. I'm looking forward to being around to see many of these plans come to fruition. After watching the city and citizens of Roanoke, Va argue about the fate of their ancient stadium for over ten years, this was a real treat.

I was also really excited that other municipalities had cooperated to help with our local sound dredging project that has recently been in the papers. That sign of cooperation makes me feel good about living here.

I certainly hope Emerald Isle continues to have success in planning for the future. I am sure they will have a great fiftieth anniversary celebration. I knew when I went to the Emerald Isle Christmas parade that I was a guest in a special spot.

Golden sky heralds a cool down

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-01-09T23:37:54-05:00

Yesterday, Monday January 8, it looked like we were going to have a wonderful sunset about 4pm. Then the clouds rolled in. I had pretty well given up on the sunset until I just happened to glance up at about 4:45 to see the sun sneaking out from the clouds which seemed to be quickly disappearing. We hopped in the car and headed down the Croatan National Park launch area on the White Oak River which happens to be a great spot to catch sunsets.

We made it just in time to capture some wonderful sunset shots. It seems the weather is going to cool down on us a little for the next few days. I even heard the weatherman talking about snow in the mountains of North Carolina. I've always had the theory that it's better to take your snow in January than in March. Unfortunately mother nature does whatever she wants to do, and at least in Roanoke, Va some of our biggest storms have arrived in late February and in March.

My thoughts are turning to planting tomatoes when March rolls around. I've never lived anywhere that I could plant a tomato at that time of the year. I'm interested in finding out just how early the tomatoes can go in the ground in Carteret County. I hope the Carteret deer are a little more respectful of my gardening efforts. Last year was tough year for tomatoes in Roanoke.

If you're interested in technical and computer things, I posted an article today about Business Email Services.

Swansboro's Centennial Park and weather fit for paradise

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-01-06T21:22:00-05:00

If the weather gets much better, all work is going cease. It's probably good that the fishing isn't very exciting right now or all the boats would back in the water. Today we decided to get out from the weight of the Internet which delivered about 30,000 click-throughs to my other sites from an article that I wrote about the upcoming MacWorld.

We went out to breakfast at Laurie Ann's Kitchen (I'll do a review when I get time), then drove over to the Swansboro Centennial Park and enjoyed the expansive water scenery from the piers. After that we took a trip down through Swansboro's Historic District. The only excitement was Morris, one of the town cats, was helping with merchandising just outside one of the stores. After that we drove across the bridge to Emerald Isle to check the movie times. We then headed back to home in Bluewater Cove. I immediately changed into shorts and tee-shirt as the temperature was well into the upper seventies on the very sunny south side of our house. I finished a project to add some tippet to the leader for my fly rod and then headed to the dock to exercise my new NC Saltwater fishing license.

I got in some good practice casting into a slight wind. The extra tippet was perfect. I didn't expect to catch anything but I had some very pleasing casts. I don't have nearly as fancy a saltwater fly rod as the one which is my favorite for mountain trout fishing. The rod I'm using is a St. Croix one with a LL Bean reel. So far I haven't seen much fly gear here in the Swansboro area, but I keep looking.

I know fishing picks up in the spring along with the interest in the beach rental market. With the weather the way it is right now, it would be a great time to rent a spot over on the Emerald Isle beach. There are no crowds and the rates are low, but the water might be a little cool for a dip.

After my fishing, I went for a forty five minute bike ride in the neighborhood. It was almost too hot. I had to take a shower when I got back before we headed out to our 3:10 movie over at Emerald Isle. Since we came to one of the early shows, we got our tickets for $5 each which is a good deal these days. We watched "The Pursuit of happiness" (review also coming) and after it was done headed to the Ice House in Swansboro for dinner. We both had Grouper Grandwiches for dinner. Since I'm trying to do better with my food selections, I did at least switch the fries out for a small salad.

As we left the Icehouse, and noticed the crowd of people waiting for seats, we were glad we had come early. When we got home just before seven pm, I was surprised to find the house where we left a number of windows open still at over seventy two degrees Fahrenheit.

I guess that is the way it is in paradise here on the Southern Outer Banks. I hope tomorrow is as much fun.

The great lamp quest, some clouds and my first tornado watch

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-01-05T20:22:51-05:00

We headed down to Morehead City yesterday (Thurs) to look for that last lamp for our new house. As we pulled out of the driveway, we grabbed the mail, and I was pleased to see that my new Saltwater Fishing License was already here. I have to give the state credit, that was really quick. I only ordered it Tuesday. Now if they could just deliver some fish to the end of my line that fast, I would be a very happy fisherman.

I'm always amazed how far the drive to Morehead seems even though it is only seventeen miles. It doesn't take but a few minutes, but it just seems longer.

We pulled into the parking lot at Shore Decor and spent a few minutes hunting down every lamp that they had. They had lots of furniture and plenty of lamps but none that really excited us enough to take home. I did snap a picture to show Tommy, the designer at Mills and Thomas Furniture who has been so helpful in getting all of our furniture to coordinate. We were just getting ready to pull out of the parking lot and go in search of bagels when my wife told me to back up. She had seen an attached lighting store. We repeated the lamp hunt and found one that we both liked. The folks at Creative Lighting, Kitchen, and Bath were nice enough to let us take the lamp home for twenty-four hours to see if worked. We got it home, took a picture of it and sent it to Tommy who told us the shade was too big for the table. It being a stained glass shade, there was no way to replace it, so this afternoon we headed back to Morehead City.

Fortunately I got out of the Friday afternoon lamp hunt. Thursday except for the trip to Morehead I spent the day answering feedback from an article of mine, "What Jobs told me on the iPhone," that the Guardian in London, England had published. There were about 20,000 people who once they read the article clicked on a link to one of my blogs. Many sent email comments and a couple of people that I had known years ago surfaced. After we got to the lamp store and unloaded, I had a couple of cell phone calls to make. It got so warm in the car with the sunshine and blue skies that I had to roll down the windows. Just as my last call was winding down, my wife showed up with a sales person carrying another lamp. I hope this one is a keeper.

Still we had not managed to get to Morehead City before the three o'clock daily closing of Bountiful Bagel so we thought about getting some from Dunkin Donuts, but the late Friday afternoon traffic on Arendell Street convinced me that a bagel wasn't worth a left turn out of the Shore Decor parking lot.

As we headed west along Highway 24, the clouds seemed to roll in well before we got to Cape Carteret. Late this evening we got some brief but heavy rain and then saw the announcement that we had a tornado watch. So far we seemed to have survived our first watch without any problems. It isn't set to expire until 1 am tomorrow morning, but hopefully we won't have get more experienced on this.

Tomorrow the temperatures are predicted to hit 74 degrees Fahrenheit before an early week cool down. Maybe I can finally get in a bike ride and use that new fishing license.

Blue skies and warm temperatures are back

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-01-04T00:04:31-05:00

There's nothing like coastal or mountain weather. If you don't like it just wait a few minutes. Tuesday we went for a drive over to Emerald Isle. This shot was taken from the sound side of Emerald Isle looking towards the mainland. We even stopped and went for a walk on the beach. It's a little hard for an ex-Canadian to fathom walking on the beach with a warm sun beaming down on your back on January 3, but I am trying hard to adjust. Wednesday I even wore short sleeves to a business meeting. As far as I am concerned I would vote for this as our year round climate.

As we were driving around, it dawned on me that many Emerald Isle neighborhoods get down to very few souls in the winter time. I know it is better than many coastal area, but still compared to our spot in Bluewater Cove, things are a little deserted for my taste. Of course some people thrive on the extra privacy. However, it hit me that the best way to tell is to show up just before trash collection and see how many cans are waiting at the curb.

Wednesday was an even a nicer day, so I keep wondering when the weather gods are going to demand their pound of flesh. I know people all along the east coast are enjoying higher than normal temperatures so just maybe we won't be singled out when the time is near to pay for this wonderful winter weather.

Thursday I have promised myself that I will save some time for fishing and bike riding. Why live in paradise if you can't enjoy it some?

The clouds roll in & saltwater fishing license time

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2007-01-01T22:11:02-05:00

It was a strange New Year's Eve. The weather was so warm that we went out on our deck and watched the local fireworks while no even wearing a coat. It was a beautiful night, much more like a spring night, that a mid-winter night. We ended up sleeping with the windows open once again. I think last night's low temperature was 65 degrees. This morning, it was sunny at first and the temperature quickly rose above 72 degrees. When I checked the Weatherunderground site tonight, it looks like the 72 degrees Fahrenheit is a new record for Cape Carteret.

Earlier today, just as I started thinking about going fishing at around eleven am, the showers rolled in. We were pelted with rain for a good portion of the rest of the day. The temperature, however, stayed above sixty all day, and once again we have the windows open trying to cool the house so we can have some good sleeping temperatures.

Other than an early morning trip to the grocery store, we had a very relaxing day watching football games. There have definitely been some good games on and with rain outside, it wasn't too hard to dedicate time to soaking up some of the last of the college football for the year. It's a little hard to believe the last bowl game isn't until next week. Maybe with a few more, football can compete with March madness.

Since today was the first day of the new saltwater fishing license, I went online and purchased a license. I was not sure what the residency requirements would be, and was a little worried that I might have to have my NC driver's license first, but it turned out that I didn't. I only had to be "domiciled" here for sixty days so residency was no problem. You can get your saltwater license online at this link. You also get to print out a temporary license which you can use until your permanent one comes in the mail. At least this way I won't have to stop fishing, Of course the fish are in no danger since it has been a while since I caught any.

Today being the first day of the New Year, we had to honor our family traditions by having greens (spinach in our case- no collards allowed), black-eyed peas, and pork for a meal. Now I really hope the good luck works for this year.

I am also excited to have my first article in the "Dropping Anchor" magazine. It's the winter weather article on page 24. I guess I get to be a mystery author since Will forgot to include my name. Anyone familiar with my background will recognize my Canadian stories. If that is the worst thing that happens to me this year, I won't have many complaints.

I am looking forward to my first full year on the Carolina Coast. If the weather will stay this way, at least the heating bills won't be very challenging.

A big coastal view

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-31T21:44:32-05:00

Sometimes my favorite part of living here is driving across the bridge from Cape Carteret-Cedar Point to Emerald Isle. The view you get from the top of the bridge is truly stunning. This picture was taken looking southwest towards Emerald Isle. As the year draws to a close, we certainly can't complain about the weather. This afternoon the outside thermometer at our house in Bluewater Cove on the White Oak River registered 72 degrees Fahrenheit. After reading the local paper this morning, I think the economy looks relatively strong with a number of organizations hiring so perhaps 2007 will be a great year for lots of people.

I took in an article this morning from the NY Times, "America the Overfull," (subscription required). Paul Theroux, the author, laments about an overcrowded America.

I grew up in a country of sudden and consoling lulls, which gave life a kind of pattern and punctuation, unknown now. It was typified by the somnolence of Sundays, when no stores were open. There were empty parts of the day, of the week, of the year; times when there were no people on the sidewalks, no traffic in the streets, no audible human voices, now and then no sound at all. In this hushed world, a bumblebee was a physical presence, the sound of a cicada could dominate an August afternoon.

I wonder if I should send Mr. Theroux an invitation to visit the Crystal Coast. While there were plenty of stores open today along the Crystal Coast, there were a number that were closed. It seemed pretty peaceful, perhaps with the exception of the Maxway store in Cape Carteret having a going out of business sale. People today were out washing their cars and talking to neighbors. I don't get the feeling that Carteret or Onslow counties are very crowded. We took the Stella road over the headwater of the White Oak and then cut on another road over to Route 24 where Route 172 intersects it. I was impressed with all the agricultural land tucked in around the White Oak.

Though no place can lay claim to having stopped time. I find that the Crystal Coast strikes a pretty good balance between growth and retaining the feeling of years gone by. Certainly some of preservation efforts here have resulted in some interesting main streets surving. I certainly don't feel the same traffic pressure that I do on Interstate 81 in Virginia or Interstate 40 near Raleigh. When were driving down late at night earlier this week and turned off Interstate 40, I got that feeling that we were practically alone on Route 24. We could see some red lights in the distance but there was very little traffic. I almost felt like I had gone back in time to those days in the late sixties when I drove nearly deserted highways between Chattanooga, Tennessee where I was in military school and Mount Airy, North Carolina which was home. We picked up traffic as we got close to Jacksonville, but driving through Swansboro was pretty peaceful at 11 pm.

At night when I walk out on our deck, there is no ambient noise unless there is training going on over at the base. Typically I find myself alone with the stars and very little else. This afternoon when I was enjoying the last free day of saltwater fishing, there was little noise but some birds, the wind, and my fly line. I feel immensely lucky to live in such a beautiful place even if there are a couple months of tourists. The rest of the year, there aren't a whole lot of traffic jams. Perhaps it's fortunate that Mr. Theroux isn't singing the praises of our coastal paradise or all of New York would be down here.

The steel is up for the Cape Carteret Lowes home improvement store

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-30T19:28:50-05:00

I've been away from the local scenery for a few days. The first thing I noticed after coming back into town the other day was that the Lowes now has a steel skelton. I'm looking forward to having a Lowe's home center that close, but I sure hope our local hardware and building supply places can find a niche to help them survive. Part of what has attracted me to this area is the number of small businesses. While having a Lowe's close by is very convenient, it does not beat the friendly helpful service that you get in your local hardware store. The challenge is achieving a balance of growth and keeping services that have helped the area to grow to what it is today.

This was another stellar day for weather here on the Crystal Coast. The temperatures were at least in the mid-sixties by mid-day, and kids were outside playing like it was srping. It was the first time since my blogging injury that I took the gamble of going for a bike ride. It was great to get out of the house again and back onto my bike. It's pretty hard to complain about weather like this. Later in the day after watching Boston College slip by Navy on a last second field goal, we went for a walk. While walking, we came up a group of kids being trailed by a neighborhood mom. She told us the kids were on a cat tracking expecittion. Now that's a profitable way to spend a warm winter afternoon.

Anytime we are thrity degrrees warmer than my friends in Canada, it is a day to celebrate. Now if they would just get some snow, the picture would be perfect.

Don't you miss the mountains and the view?

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-28T19:14:30-05:00

It's funny how you find people at the beach who have a mountain place and people in the mountains who have a place at the beach. We have lived on the side of a mountain in Roanoke County, Virginia for over seventeen years. The view of the city of Roanoke and the mountains surrounding it is spectacular. You can even see more shots taken from my deck by clicking on this link to my mountain sunrise prints.

I absolutely love having a mountain view, but I find it hard to fault the coastal view that we have. I actually love driving around capturing some of the coastal scenery which as far as I am concerned does a a very good job standing up to the competition of the mountain prints.

Drop by my Picasa web albums site to have a look at some of the shots that I have captured just in the last few months.

Most of our life we have lived with a view of something besides the trees around us. Only when we lived in Columbia, Maryland were we so surrounded by poplar trees that we couldn't see anything. It felt claustrophobic.

Living on the North Carolina coast is totally different. The views are almost unlimited. In fact some of my favorite shots are of views where the scenery seems to fade into infinity. This shot of the beach at Cape Lookout is of a view that it is so big that it makes you feel small. I absolutely love those shots where the water and sky combine to dwarf you.

So I guess the answer is no I don't miss the mountain scenery. I still get to see plenty of it. However, right now I am enjoying the impressive scenery that the Southern Outer Banks has to offer. When I ride across the bridge to Emerald Isle and cross over the Intercoastal Waterway, it still almost takes my breath away it's so beautiful early in the morning or late in the afternoon. I don't think the mountain scenery is any better than the coastal scenery. They both stand on their own merits. There is plenty of room for enjoyment of both. In my case I'll just stick some mountain prints in our coastal house and some coastal prints in our mountain house. We may not have two houses for long, but as long as we do, we'll keep the wall filled with prints which I enjoy creating. If you're interested in purchasing any visit my print site.

Today over at View from the Mountain I talked about a trip we made to Mount Airy, NC or Mayberry as it is often called. It's our homeplace. I also did a post on my Applepeels blog about the atmosphere at Apple which probably contributed to the deepening Apple options backdating scandal.

On my blogger site, Ocracokewaves, I did a write-up about corporate ethics in America.

Time to sit a spell and enjoy family and friends

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-22T21:16:44-05:00

Read my holiday post at View from the Mountain

See you in the New Year

-David

"Written by fools..."

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-20T20:53:09-05:00

When you live in the center of the universe, variously defined as New York, Washington, or some place in California, I guess you have the luxury of being born with all the knowledge that you will ever need. Those of us on the edge of civilization need to make certain that we read only what has been approved by the editors from more civilized areas which are home to the main stream media. At least that seems to be the between the lines opinion of Joseph Rago, assistant editorial features editor at The Wall Street Journal, in an article, "The Blog Mob," that he wrote in today's WSJ. The article certainly isn't worth going out and buying the paper to read. It's and elitist article written by someone who has probably never gotten his hands dirty. I'm sure we'll be reading about it, since it is an inflammatory piece. I have posted a detailed reply to the article at my View from the Mountain site.

In areas that aren't covered by the main stream media, blogs and local websites provide a tremendous amount of information that fills in the gaps in our world. If you move into an area like the Southern Outer Banks, a blog with a local flavor can answer a lot of questions about the area. It is pretty easy to see if your opinion of the world syncs up with the blogger. If it does, you will probably like the same things. Actually the things which Rago went after don't even need defending. They survive because they fill a need and people use them. If no one read blogs, no one would bother writing.

The good news is that even though this was our "cold" day of the week, I think temperatures got into the mid-fifties so it wasn't too hard to take. I had my office window open until about 3:30 pm so I would rate the day as very acceptable especially since I seem to be recovering from my blogging injury.

I have posted an online album of some recent photographs of the Southern Outer Banks area. These are some of my current favorites. The pictures are located at my Picasa Web Albums site. The Picasa Web Albums site does a very nice slide show.

A blogging injury

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-19T20:26:13-05:00

It's hard to get injured blogging, but I might have managed to do it. Yesterday morning, I woke full of energy and ready for a busy week. I decided to go find a great sunrise picture. I left the house and eventually ended up Route 24 between the Swansboro bridges. Being the fool that I am, I immediately determined that the best pictures would be captured on the north side of the road. In spite of the speed limit being 35 mph by the bridges, people zip right along. Even 35 mph is pretty fast if you are on foot. I crossed over, got my pictures and headed back across the four lanes of traffic. Some traffic from the Swansboro direction looked to be traveling a little faster than I had first estimated so I speeded up a little.

About two strides from the edge of the road, I felt something pop and some intense pain. I could still walk so I didn't think I had broken anything, but I actually didn't have a clue what I had done. I headed home and by the time I got home, I figured out that it was my heel. I put some ice on it, and took a couple of Bufferin and hoped for the best. Getting around wasn't much fun yesterday, but I wasn't in much pain, my heel was just sore enough that I couldn't walk on it. I didn't exactly feel much like writing so I just tried to relax.

This morning it was a little better, but with the holidays coming, I figured that I needed to know what I was facing. I called a neighbor for advice, and then called the Cape Carteret Eastern Carolina Internal Medicine location. A very friendly lady told me to come on in since no appointment was needed. I had to wait a little while but it wasn't very long before a very competent nurse wrote up my history and a very pleasant doctor saw me. After examining my foot, he said that likely a bone spur had popped through a tendon. He had the foot x-rayed to be sure, and once the diagnosis was confirmed, he prescribed Aleeve for ten days to ease inflammation and a horseshoe insert for my shoe to protect my heel while it gets better.

I got several nice pictures that morning before my injury, but it's hard to say that they are worth the pain. Actually I glad that it wasn't anything worse. Last year my wife slipped on some black ice in Roanoke, Va. and ended up having surgery, two metal plates, and nine screws so I got off pretty easy.

It just shows how quick something can happen. At least it has stayed warm and dry so I didn't have to battle the weather. It takes me a while to get through a parking lot to a store. I am glad I did my Christmas shopping two weekends ago, though warm weather doesn't make it seem much like Christmas.

It's hard to believe that I have windows open to cool the house down at 9:00 pm on December 19. I even sat out on the deck this afternoon and enjoyed the beautiful weather. I hope we don't have to pay for this in March. The picture with the post is one of the ones I snapped the morning I hurt my heel.

Christmas is drawing close

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-17T22:33:47-05:00

This great picture was taken Friday morning behind our house. The older you get the faster the holidays seem to come. At twenty one bird watching didn't make much sense. Now it seems perfectly logical. I was back down to Wilmington today for more post licensing real estate training. Doing a new career at fifty-seven is not unusual, but it is a challenge. Getting up at 5:45 am for a drive to weekend classes in Wilmington has not been easy. It's a long day, and staying awake through a full day class takes some work. I am glad we will be finished well before Christmas.

There was fog on the road early this morning as the air was colder than the water. In fact I saw a lot of fog on Route 17 after I went through Jacksonville. Later as the sun burned the fog off, it turned out to be a wonderful day. On my way back home, I decided to take another ride on the new US 17 by-pass. I had taken it the night before and followed 17 over to 58 which took me home. It seemed to take maybe five minutes longer.

That trip had prompted me to get out my maps as I often do. As my post, "Wanderlust of the soul," indicates, maps are an addiction to me. The challenge of finding a better, shorter way, is always in the front of my mind. It seemed to me that there had to be a shorter way from Jacksonville to Bluewater Cove where we live. My normal route to Jacksonville goes through Swansboro and up route 24. The maps just didn't quite connect in a way that assured me that I could easily find way through the back roads from Jacksonville in the dark. Actually the Onslow County map did not even show the Stella road going all the way across the White. An incomplete map can never stop a real explorer so Sunday night I got brave and turned onto Piney Greene, which I took to Old 30 Road, which I followed to Smith Road which led me to the Belgrade-Swansboro Road. From there I turned onto the Stella Road which did cross the White Oak in fine style at the new bridge at Stella. There was a sharp left turn after the bridge and it was a quick two miles to Route 58. I actually made it back from Wilmington in under an hour and thirty minutes which was nice for a change.

I am looking forward to following the route again in the day light, It is nice to know that there is a back way to Jacksonville. It looks like Monday is going to a shorts and scandals day. I found out one other thing today that made me happy that we picked Carteret County as our place to settle. It seems that a huge container port is being planned for Southport. It will be bring jobs, but people were suggesting that it might also bring 8,000 trucks a day. I just left the Shenandoah Valley to get away from Interstate 81. I would have been really upset to find 8,000 trucks a day on my local roads.

The fog is gone and the sun is back

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-15T21:34:48-05:00

Yesterday and early this morning all of eastern North Carolina and especially the Crystal Coast was beset with thick fog. What is surprising, is that this is the first fog that I have experienced since we moved to Bluewater Cove on the White Oak River. This is our fourth month where we have spent considerable time here, but this is first fog that I have seen. From my years on in Nova Scotia, I learned to live with the fog. Actually our mountain home in Roanoke, Virginia is often completely obscured by fog. I love to take pictures of the sunrise and sometimes I worry that I will get through the whole month of August without ever seeing the sun come up over the mountains. There's an old mountain saying that if you count the number of fogs in August, you will know how many snows there will be that winter. Fortunately that has never played out very accurately.

I am a pretty serious computer geek, so this morning I was very excited to find that the movie I created for a DVD of Bluewater Cove had successfully rendered and burned onto the DVD without any problems. I still have some more tuning to do on the project, but iMovie HD and iDVD which run on my dual G5 Power Mac generally do not let me down. I would love to move to HD format for my movies. I am sure Sony would like me to move also since that would be my fourth Sony video camera, but I cannot justify it right now. I just have to force myself not to look at the video being shown from the new Sony cameras when I am in Best Buy in Jacksonville or Wilmington. However, that HD SR1 looks mighty tempting. The way technology is, there will always be something better soon.

After a successful viewing my movie (it looked great on widescreen) and getting my Christmas cards done (thanks to my trusty Dymo LabelWriter), I decided to go for a bike ride. My old Schwinn is a little creaky like me, but I have outfitted it with a deluxe, exceptionally comfortable bike seat that I bought from the bike shop over on Emerald Isle. The cosy seat makes a huge difference in the amount of time I spend on my bike. Of course having some flat terrain for biking as opposed to mountains doesn't hurt either. In honor of the close to seventy degree weather I put on a short sleeve tee-shirt for my ride, but about half way through my ride I wished that I had also changed from jeans to shorts. I even worked up a sweat. I did switch to shorts when I got back so that my fishing experience on our dock could be as close to summer as possible. I borrowed my wife's extra strong reading glasses to put a new longer leader on my fly line. My rod, a relatively inexpensive St. Croix model, seemed to respond the change, the artificial flies dropped to the water a little more delicately

After sunning myself and practicing my casting (I'll call it fishing afterwards when and if I ever catch a fish from our dock), I needed to get those Christmas cards in the mail. Since Emerald Isle is a little closer, I headed over the bridge to beach. I was really surprised to find that there is a Post Office in the US that closes at 4 pm on Friday just a few days before Christmas. I guess it's a serious case of beach time. Unfortunately the stamp booklet machine wasn't working either so I had to drive the Swansboro Post Office. It's not like that's a long drive. I was more successful there. They were open until five and not very crowded for this late in the holiday season.

On the way back I pulled into the parking lot of Clyde Phillips Seafood to snap some pictures of the sunset. That's where I got the shot in today's post. From all reports we have several nice days of weather ahead of us. I had a couple of our upstairs windows open all day today and in fact until about 9:30 pm this evening. It certainly is a strange winter so far. More details over at my View from the Mountain blog.

More competition for the fish

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-13T23:06:30-05:00

I spent most of the day writing, but I did take a few minutes for a break out on the deck to enjoy the warm but cloudy weather. I was looking down the canal behind the house and happened to notice a visitor. Based on his beak I would guess that he would be deadly on fish. I don't think we need any more competition in the canal for fish. I've already seen some river otters ( I think) and what looks like a Loon, and several other egrets or herons.

It's a good thing I enjoy just casting and that Clyde Phillips always has a good supply of flounder. I am hoping to get boat sometime after the first of the year, but until then I'm stuck on the dock or the beach unless I take my kayak out. The water might be a little cool for that, but it sure is nice out in the river. Once we get a boat, we will face the challenge of learning the White Oak which from the charts appears to be pretty complex.

That's a challenge I hope will be a lot of fun. The idea of spending a morning fishing minutes away from the house has great appeal. It's one of the reasons we spent so much time trying to find a reasonably priced home on the water. We ended up in a great spot in Bluewater Cove. So far there are no regrets.

We have great neighbors, the amenities are right on target for someone who enjoys the outdoors, and we are just close enough to shopping and restaurants so that we don't have to spend a lot of time on the road or in traffic. Then there is the beach just minutes away. It's pretty hard to compete with all that and reasonable prices. That in a nutshell is why we ended up in Carteret County by the White Oak River.

The White Oak is certainly a beautiful area. There aren't many places you can find a sunset like this.

Warm enough for the beach

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-12T23:10:03-05:00

If mid-December weather gets any better than this, it is going to be hard to take. It was a challenge getting any work done today. I went for a shirt sleeves bike ride after lunch, then I spent some time fly casting off our dock. I didn't expect to catch anything so I was not disappointed when I saw nothing but a cloud of minnows. There is something really pleasing about having an artificial fly drop where you are aiming. Just feeling the power of the rod transfer to the line is pretty neat. Anyway it's a great way to relax, but it is hard to explain if you have never used a fly rod.

After I was done with the fishing I decided to go for a walk on the Emerald Isle beach and try to catch a nice sunset. Though the clouds rolled in just after I got there, they usually provide for a more spectacular sunset. The beach had a few people on it, but I was surprised to find no fishermen. I walked a ways down the beach and found the right spot to watch for the sunset. I snapped a lot of pictures. Once I got home I created a website with some of the best shots. It probably no surprise that the temperatures today were in the upper sixties. I hope tomorrow is a repeat of today.

The coastal shopping experience

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-11T23:09:47-05:00

At times it seems like I have been in every quaint coastal gift store in Carteret County in the last three years. I know that is impossible, but I am pretty sure that I have hit a number of them.

I don't mind visiting the small stores, but I try to avoid malls at all costs. Avoiding malls isn't very hard when you live over on the east side of White Oak River. I also have an allergy to Jacksonville traffic, can find no reason to make the trek to New Bern, and get plenty of Morehead City in trips to Walmart and Lowes. I will admit to driving to Wilmington, but the mall entrances have been so clogged with traffic that there is no way that I have even been tempted to get in line to search for a parking place.

I did a post, "The Christmas shopping caper," on my View from the mountain blog about all the places I have shopped for my wife's Christmas presents over the years. This year I ended up at the Blue Moon Showcase in Wilmington. It's not that there aren't lots of neat local shops, it's just we have been in those shops so much this year taking our family and friends shopping that I need a break from the local shops.

The Blue Moon Showcase had just a few people wandering around when I visited last weekend. At the same time you could not even get close to the spot where you turn into Best Buy. There's is something about shopping in a herd that takes all the pleasure out of buying a gift. I actually could take the time to contemplate my purchases without being trampled or having loud music pounding on my ears.

Next year I won't be going even as far as Wilmington for presents. For 2007 I am counting on being free the weekend of the Core Sound Decoy Festival and for some of the other wonderful area Christmas events like the shopping by candlelight in Swansboro and the Beaufort Christmas walk. Surely not every year can be as busy as 2006.

The live oak pictured in this post was photographed recently near Snead's Ferry.

The Bagel Bakery, Hampstead, NC

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-10T23:03:53-05:00

This morning on my early morning run to Wilmington for my real estate classes, I decided to stop for a bagel just before I got to Wilmington. I was hoping a bagel might help me stay awake. Getting up well before six am and driving to Wilmington for a 9 am class can make keeping your eyes open challenging.

I had seen the bagel shop in Hampstead a couple of times but it never appeared to be open in the afternoon when I had time to stop. This morning I found out why. The Bagel Bakery closes at 3 pm every day. They open at six or seven am depending on the day of the week. Bagel shops often have weird hours.

Many of our coastal shops are famous for having "island time" or basically being open whenever they please. I guess when you have a coastal bagel shop, you can expect a schedule that fit the environment. The bagel and cream cheese was very good. I bought a few for some breakfast and sandwich variety so we'll see out they turn out.

If you're headed south to Wilmington, The Bagel Bakery is located on the right on US Highway 17, in Hampstead, NC. If you go past the big Ace Hardware, you have missed it. Their phone number is (910) 270-9099.

Frozen Gut on the White Oak

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-09T21:39:44-05:00

This morning I was up early to get ready for my drive to Wilmington. I had hoped to catch the Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars alignment, but either my eyes weren't functioning or somehow I missed it. What I did see was the gut or channel that is behind the house had frozen over night. That's not very surprising considering the temperature was 24 degrees Fahrenheit when I got up just before six am this morning. That's almost cold enough to be classified as mountain weather. I did not get home this afternoon in time to see if the water had thawed. It supposed to be warmer tomorrow, and there's supposed to be another chance to see the planetary alignment. My problem could be that we are only something like nine feet about sea level and have some very tall trees to the south and east of us.

I hope we have warmer weather tomorrow. In spite of the nippy weather this morning, the weather was great for our neighborhood Christmas party which was an appropriate ending to the coldest day of the year. It was certainly a lot of fun with plenty of great food and good company.

Mistletoe on the mind

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-08T11:42:16-05:00

Certainly the cool weather that came riding in on the winds last night should be wintery enough to put anyone in the holiday mood. I drove over to Emerald Isle this morning to fill up my car. As I crossed over the bridge I notice the temperature was 29 degrees Fahrenheit even by the water. I posted a nice picture of the water that I snapped at my Ocracokewaves blog.

It is starting to be time for Christmas parties. There is one scheduled here in our subdivision Saturday night. Since I am without my better half for a few days, I will be doing the cooking for my contribution to the party. I guess it is a good thing that I have kept my hand in the cooking all these years. I probably going to do sausage balls and a pimento cheese dip. My oldest daughter is a member of a book club in Northern Virginia. I once made pimento cheese for them. Since it was a hit for a bunch of particular young ladies, I have some confidence that I will be up to the task.

This morning's picture is of mistletoe that is visible from our upper deck. I have been eyeing that large clump of mistletoe for awhile. As a youngster in North Carolina back in the fifties and sixties, one of our jobs was to bring home some mistletoe for the holidays. As I remember we shot it out of the trees with our trusty twenty two calibre rifles. I am a little older and wiser these days. I might try to get some with my surf casting rod.

I did a little Internet research on mistletoe. The article that I found had some interesting information. According to the author, mistletoe is actually named after "bird droppings on a branch." Also the proper etiquette for kissing a girl that you should remove a white mistletoe berry with each kiss. It your mistletoe runs out of berries, you have to stop kissing.

According to the weather reports, this brief interlude of cold weather is not going to last long. We should start warming up by tomorrow and by the middle of next week, temperatures should be in the middle sixties. This morning it was 28 degrees when I checked our back of the house thermometer. I am ready for winter to be over.

December 6 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-06T22:39:17-05:00

Today was one of my favorite kind of day. My college roommate Gus, who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, made my day by telling me that they had their first snow storm of the season. In fact Cape Breton Island got slammed with twelve inches of snow. Fredericton, New Brunswick, the closest civilization to our old farm in the Canadian wilderness saw mid-afternoon temperatures of nineteen degrees Fahrenheit. Here in Carteret County it was cool (down to thirty) this morning, but it warmed up nicely. I worked outside trying to get some Christmas lights up before our neighborhood Christmas party scheduled for this weekend.

As is normal for me, I had to make a trip to the hardware for some things I had forgotten last night when I went shopping for decorations at Lowes in Morehead. You can get to Lowes from western Carteret County in less than twenty minutes. In a few months the trip will be even shorter since Lowes is building a new home improvement store at the intersection of Routes 24 and 58. That will be under ten minutes from our house. I am hoping that our four area hardware stores still manage to survive. Since they are all pretty unique, I think the odds are in their favor. We have one more day of weather in the sixties, then we have our winter where we might not make it into the fifties. Fortunately the sixties are predicted to return on Saturday.

December 5 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-05T14:50:47-05:00

This is definitely the coldest day that I have seen here on the Crystal Coast. This morning our thermometer was reading 30 degrees Fahrenheit. There was actually frost on the dock and on the ground leading down to canal and marsh. The frost was melting quickly as the sun came over the pines, but I had thought that I might not see frost down to the water until January. I guess that I was wrong.

A little cool weather gets us into the shopping mode. What I do not want to ever again is that Canadian cold when today's low temperature is tomorrow's high temperature. This afternoon we are up to 56 degrees and tomorrow is supposed to be in the low sixties so I guess I will have to do a little more Christmas decorating than just hanging a wreath on the door. My friends in Fredericton, New Brunswick are suffering through a temperature of 19 degrees Fahrenheit so I will not be complaining very loudly that we got slightly below freezing this morning. Our friends over at Mallard Gas installed some gas fireplace logs for us recently so I am looking forward to enjoying a fire in the fireplace this evening. I long ago gave up on the romance of heating with wood. Once you done three cords or so a year for several years as supplemental heating, propane, gas, and electricity look pretty good.

December 4 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-04T22:36:41-05:00

There is no doubt that cool weather has finally found the Crystal Coast. The weathermen are even calling for temperatures to fall into the upper twenties tonight. That is about as cold as I care to see it.

Still I have a hard time complaining. It was warm enough sitting in the sun in my upstairs office, that I opened the window for a few hours. Reports from the mountains around Roanoke, Virginia indicate that we should be thankful for the warmth that we have.

I still have not had to put a coat on to go get the newspaper yet. I also worked on some panorama pictures just after lunch today, and it was still shirt sleeves weather. I can still remember when we moved from northern New Brunswick in eastern Canada to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We found that we could wear tennis shoes for a good part of the winter. We were astonished. We had seen temperatures as low as minus forty degrees on our farm.

I was definitely a lot tougher in those days, but that was twenty five years ago. As one New Brunswicker who visited us in Virginia a few years ago asked, "Tell me again why you moved to Canada." Well we moved for cheap farm land. Fortunately today I can say that we moved to the Crystal Coast for quality of life and a great climate. So far it has been a great experience.

December 3 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-04T22:22:25-05:00

The skies got heavy this morning as I approached Wilmington. I would have to call the traffic on the by-pass light by Wilmington standards.

Late this afternoon when I drove back the skies had opened, and there was plenty of rain.

The temperatures today held in the fifties, but I think we are in for some cooler weather. The traffic in Wilmington is pretty impressive for this area.

Of course if you have lived in the DC area like I have, it is not too hard to take. All I have to go is close my eyes and remember Route 7 at Christmas time, and then I am no longer worried about Wilmington traffic. I think the skies are supposed to clear tomorrow so perhaps I will get some good photos.

December 2 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-03T22:20:13-05:00

I am back in real estate post licensing classes so all I am seeing is scenery flying by as I drive to Wilmington.

This morning I slowed long enough to snap this early morning picture of a White Oak River marsh.

As you can see, our blue skies have returned. The temperatures are cooler but definitely pleasant. The rumor is that the great weather is rapidly coming to an end.

Yet, I think good weather is all relative. It may get cooler here, but I do not expect to see cold weather that I used to experiencing in the Virginia mountains. Time will tell, but right now I am planning on keeping the shorts and sandals accessible.

December 1 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-12-01T22:17:12-05:00

The showers are finally here. Yesterday I was home in the mountains doing the final mowing of the year.

Last night when I got back just before ten, I was surprised to see two walkers in the neighborhood. I was surprised to see them both wearing shorts since I had been driving through some gusty rain. I guess the wind gusts had not made it to our nieghborhood. Thenight was so warm they probably could not resist one last summer evening stroll. It was a warm, almost perfect evening. In fact I had a number of windows open in the house until the rain blew in just before noon today.

Next week, instead of the sixties and seventies, we will be seeing more seasonable temperatures in the fifties. It is December, so we need a little cool weather to get into the Christmas spirit.

November 29 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-11-29T22:11:55-05:00

It feels like a Canadian summer day here this morning. We actually slept with the windows open last night, and the house was still warm this morning.

The temperatures are supposed to stay warm for the next two or three days, and then we will get some Canadian cold air.

According to the Weather Underground for yesterday, here are today's statistics for Cape Carteret.

Max Temperature 70 °F, Average High Temperature 59 °F, Record high 75 °F (2001)

Min Temperature 51 °F, Average Low 39 °F, Record low 25 °F. We appear to running about ten degrees warmer than normal. There is nothing wrong with that this time of year.

November 28 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-11-28T22:06:24-05:00

If you can have perfect weather we had it yesterday. I actually switched back to wearing shorts.

I am guessing this will be our last warm spell for a while, but it was absolutely fantastic. The temperatures were in the mid-seventies. We went over to the Ice House and joined the crowd having lunch outside by the water. When the sun came out from behind the clouds, it was actually a little two warm.

As we ate our Grouper Grandwichs, we could see the dock over at Clyde Phillips seafood where we like to purchase our goodies from the sea. The fresh local shrimp are one of my favorite treats. It does not take much effort to prepare some perfect shrimp if you start with really fesh shrimp.

We are expecting a few more warm days before the bottom drops out on Saturday, and we have to face the mid fifties. I can remember my Canadian days when that would have been getting close to spring weather. So far my first Carolina winter since my childhood days is turning out to be a pleasure. Every day that we do not have to run the heat makes winter one day shorter. That is a very good thing.

November 27 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-11-27T21:57:01-05:00

After a delicious late lunch at the Fairway Restaurant which I plan to review soon, we went looking for used boats once again. This time we headed up Route 58 through the Croatan National Forest to Maysville and then followed Route 17 east to New Bern. We stopped by one boat dealership that I had communicated with by email. The one used boat they had was way out of our price range so we forged on and headed east on Route 70.

We found the boat dealer we were had been seeking, but their winter hours include closing on Monday so we were out of luck. I got a telephoto snapshot of the boat we had come to see. Since we were only thirty miles away, we decided to go shopping in Beaufort . We took Route 101 in Havelock to get around Morehead City and Route 70 traffic. We were soon cruising around Beaufort.

Our first task was to see if some of the houses we had looked at before settling on western Carteret County were still for sale. The first three we checked were still on the market. The one we had made an offer on in June finally had a sold sign in the yard. I wonder if they got as much for their house as our original offer?

After checking out all the houses, we walked the boardwalk and snapped some pictures of a fantastic sunset. We checked out the local birding store that was having a going out of business sale, and then found a couple of great coat bargains at one of the local stores. We debated having a shrimp melt at Finz's since it was starting to approach six o'clock, but we finally decided that our Fairway lunch had killed our hunger for dinner.

We headed over the bridges to Morehead City, and got on Bridges Street to miss the five o'clock traffic. A few minutes on Route 24, and we were back in Cape Carteret shopping at the Lowe's grocery store in under thirty five minutes. We actually live in a pretty small piece of paradise. All the spots are a little different, but that is what makes living here so great.

November 26 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-11-26T21:54:24-05:00

Yesterday was another great day. We mostly relaxed, enjoyed some football, fishing off the dock, and visiting Swansboro's little park by Route 24.

I did walk out on the bridge and takes serveral photos for a panorama shot that I will be posting later with Instructions on how to make your own.

Later in the afternoon I worked on my fly casting, then went for a bike ride before we went off to Morehead City for a quick evening meal.

I absolutely love being able to get on my bicycle on go for a quick ride. At our Roanoke house the road is so steep, that I have to load my bike on the back of the car and drive for a mile or two to find reasonably flat ground. With weather as warm as it has been here on the Crystal Coast, I hope to ride my bike well into the winter months.

November 25 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-11-25T21:51:09-05:00

The day after Thanksgiving was a busy day with the family. It was also a wonderful, relaxing day.

We managed to spend a lot of time outdoors and to get a few things done for the holidays. We started our outside activities with a late brunch at Jana's. Then the ladies when shopping for the holidays and the guys went boat lot hopping, looking a great deal.

Just before dusk, we went to see the Swansboro flotilla followed by dinner at Captain Charlie's. Later in the evening I found my Crocs had been decorated with a purple people eater which apparently was a major focus of the ladies shopping.

Today after catching the wonderful sunrise along the marsh on Route 58, we went for a walk on the beach. Then the kids all headed home. After that we made a trek over to Emerald Isle for the annual Christmas parade. I even took the time to create a website with photos of most of the floats and a few shots of the crowd.

Late tonight we got word that the kids had arrived safely back home in Cornelius, NC and Reston, Va. Now we can go to bed tonight and rest easy. We have survived our first Crystal Coast Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful.

November 23 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-11-23T21:38:43-05:00

Thanksgiving day dawned a cool gray day. I doubt the temperature ever got above 50 Fahrenheit, but it was definitely warm inside.

This shot was taken from the Carteret county side of the White Oak River looking towards the Onslow county side. It is framed with with some pine trees in Bluewater Cove where we live.

Today was devoted to family meals, the Macy's parade, a dog show, football, and lots of naps interspersed with a few dog walks.

There is nothing like being together with your family on Thanksgiving, the American holiday.

November 22 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-11-22T21:25:21-05:00

This morning the rains stopped, and the sun came out. It was great to have the weather clear before the Thanksgiving holiday.

This shot was taken at launch ramp in Croatan National Forest near Swansboro on the Carteret County side of the White Oak River. It is one of my favorite places to watch the sun set over the White Oak River.

It would not have taken much to float your boat today. The water was way up the ramp.

The high temperature at our house was 67 degrees Fahrenheit. That's not bad for the day before Thanksgiving.

November 21 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-11-21T21:20:28-05:00

The weather has definitely changed. This morning I went over to Clyde Phillips Seafood to buy some Shrimp for our holiday feast. The White Oak River was already a little choppy. The word at the seafood shop was that it was going to be a while before anyone went out fishing. The winds have been impressive, and we have had some substantial rain. These were the highest wind gusts reported by the Weather Underground as of this afternoon. The high winds did not stop these surfers over at Emerald Isle late this afternoon.

... Peak wind gusts as of 5 PM Tuesday...

Cape Lookout... ... 59 mph 242 PM
Manteo... ... ... ... 52 mph 441 PM
Pea Island... ... ..63 mph 420 PM
Kill Devil Hills..62 mph time unknown
Rodanthe... ... ... .61 mph time unknown
Duck... ... ... ... ..61 mph 344 PM
Alligator river... 60 mph 230 PM
Cape Lookout... ... 59 mph 242 PM
Cedar Island... ... 52 mph 1150 am
Hatteras ASOS... ..44 mph
New Bern ASOS... ..45 mph
Cherry Point... ... 46 mph

I think we are lucky this storm is not building when the weather is a lot colder. It could be a nasty Nor'easter.

It's hard to believe the shot at the top of the page was only taken 12 days ago.

Even paradise has to have a few storms.

November 20 Daily Record

dsobotta@coastalnc.org — 2006-11-20T21:18:36-05:00

have really enjoyed my first fall along the Crystal Coast. I am still busy finishing things around our new house and taking courses, but that doesn't mean that I have not been able to enjoy what is some of the most spectacular weather that I have ever experienced. I have particularly enjoyed the late fall walks along the beach and the sunsets over the White Oak River. I recently selected a few and posted them on the web at a site I call Coastal NC Shots. I did another site of shots that I took at Emerald Isle Beach on October 19. My favorite ones are at a spot that I call Margaritaville.

I have also done some articles about the local area, foods and restaurants over at my blog View from the Mountain. One of the posts was called The Magic of Good Neighbors. I am guessing that many people moving into the area are amazed about how friendly Coastal Carolinians are. It is a different pace of life here. That easy pace of life is of the special things that I hope doesn't change. It may take a little longer to get some things done, but that just gives you more time to enjoy the beauty of your natural surroundings or try out some of the wonderfully uncrowded but top knotch restaurants. I even managed to go kayaking this year for the first time in a long time. This area is perfect for kayaking.

We did get to go the annual Seafood Festival in Morehead City, but we missed Swansboro's annual Mullet Festival. All the exposure to fresh seafood has completely hooked me on the wonderfully fresh local shrimp. I even wrote a post about The Easy Way to Perfect Shrimp. Some local friends have convinced me the only place to buy seafood is at Clyde Phillip's Seafood between the bridges. We also did a crab feast and made some great crab cakes.

This is the first of my regular posts here. I will also try to provide links to new pictures of the area that I take. Many of the pictures eventually end up at my Flickr site which you can also always reach from the link on the upper right of the main page. There will continue to be local articles like The reason it is called the Crystal Coast on my main blog.