Itchy Feet

Standing on top of Pike's Peak.  What a view!

Made it to the Eiffel
Tower - Vietnam version

There are a lot of funny things my little Granny Wade used to say that have crept into my vocabulary.  Just the other day I was visiting with cousin Madeline Ruth (Ruth was Little Granny's name) and out of my mouth came "Well I swan!"  She just looked at me and rolled her eyes.  Yep, Little Granny never swore, but she swanned at all kinds of unusual events.  She used to also say company was coming if her nose itched, money was coming to her if her right hand itched, money going out the door if the left hand itched.  She would probably say I have itchy feet, and she would be right. 

Me crossing the continental divide
via the Panama Canal.

I love to travel.  When I moved to Thailand to teach I
visited as many places as I could because you never know when you'll get back to a place again.  So one dark night I was riding a bus from Chang Mai in the north back to my school in the south along a highway that was very near the border with the country we used to call Burma.  The moon was full and lighting up the mountains and jungles of modern day Myanmar, but I was thinking of the stories from bomber crews in World War II who flew the treacherous Burma hump.  I think I got a good picture of what they meant that night looking out my bus window.  Which got me to thinking.  I had seen a lot of southeast Asia in that year and learned a lot of their geography.  More, I was ashamed to say, than I knew or had seen of my own country or even my own state.  Well, I decided then and there to correct that problem once I
returned to Tennessee. 



That's me standing on
the Bridge on the
River Kwai.

Since that dark night in Asia I have been to every county courthouse in the state of Tennessee, visited every state park in Georgia, and at least stuck a toe in every Florida county (67!).  Since retiring from teaching and moving into an RV I've traveled to every state east of the Mississippi, summered on the coast of North Carolina, learned to spot birds in New Mexico, and kayaked with gators in the Okefenokee.  Oh, but there is still so much more to see and do.  Just hope there's time for me to get there and do it all.  If I sit still in one place for more than 2 months my itchy feet start making me crazy.  What do you think Little Granny would say to that?  "Well I swan!"

Lighthouses and Ferry Rides

One

A sunny day at Bodie
Island Lighthouse.

of the items on my bucket list for this part of the country was lighthouses.  Now I'm not a real enthusiast like Mitzi Edwards but I did try my best to get around to all of the still active lights along the coast of North Carolina this summer.  If I've learned nothing else in my 60 years, I have learned to take advantage of all opportunities when they are open to me.  One day I might regret missing the lighthouses of North Carolina.

The first light was easy since I passed it every time I drove up 12 to go to Nags Head or points north.  It's a neat little lighthouse called Bodie Light (pronounced like body).  It was also the first light I visited along the coast.  There I learned that all of the lights have a distinctive paint or color pattern as well so that they can be recognized in the day time as well as at night.  Bodie is white with black rings every so many feet all the way to the top.  My favorite thing about Bodie was passing it at night and somehow feeling reassured when I saw the light.

Corolla Light for some
reason just didn't really
feel like a lighthouse
to me.
 

Way up near the Virginia state line is Corolla light.
  It's an odd looking lighthouse to me because it's red brick.  It's also farther inland than I had expected it to be.  I think it was my least favorite of all the lights but I'm not sure why other than it just didn't grab my imagination like the others. 

Down on Ocracoke Island is the Ocracoke light.  It's the smallest one I visited and it's solid white.  Like Corolla light, it didn't do much for me, but it gets more points from me because I had to ride a ferry to get to it.  It's also kind of small for a lighthouse, or maybe just seemed like it was small to me.  But I did visit this light a couple of times when I was on the island.  The ferry from Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island is free and takes 45 minutes so next to Bodie this was the easiest light for me to get to.

Hatteras Light has more of
a candy cane design.

By far the most famous lighthouse I visited was the Cape Hatteras light.  When the girls were out here visiting Darlene and I watched as Addy and Jennifer climbed to the top - in 6 minutes.  That's the equivalent of 
12 stories and they were up and down again in less than 15 minutes.  It's also a distinctive light with it's diagonal black and white striped pattern.  The story of how they moved the light inland because of ground erosion was pretty cool to learn about too.  Yep, my favorite of the North Carolina coastal lights for sure.

Then one day near the end of my stay I realized that I needed to go south - all the way south almost to South Caroliina to see Oak Island Light and Bald Light. 

It was a long drive and I was pretty beat.  Had to stay in a hotel overnight near Wilmington because it was too far to drive there and back in one day.  And I confess that I cheated a little on these 2 lights. 

Oddest looking of all
the lights I visited.

I ended up going to a beachfront park in Southport where I could actually view both of the lights from shore.  The cool part was once again the role played along the coast in World War II naval history.  But I did see them and learned about them in the local visitor center so I'm counting them.

 

The weekend before Labor Day my caching buddy Georgia rode with me to visit my final lighthouse - Cape Lookout.  We drove down the coast along highway 264 grabbing caches and crossing rivers by ferry rather than a boring bridge.  We took the Bayview to Auroa ferry across the Pamlico River, another free ride, where we rode with a small group of women bikers.  They looked like they were having fun.  Then on the Minnesott Beach to Cherry Branch ferry (free ferry across the Neuse River) we traveled with a large group of deaf bikers.  They were having a great time and we just had to smile being around them.  I just love the North Carolina ferry system!  


Love the diamond pattern
on Cape Lookout Light but
the heat that day was
getting to me.

We got so caught up in caching and ferries that we almost missed getting to Harkers Island in time to visit the lighthouse.  We took the 3:15 ferry out to Lookout Island and the 4:15 ferry back to shore.  I would have to say that Cape Lookout was my second favorite of the lighthouses.  It's distinctive black and white diamond pattern makes it stand out in the daytime.  I wish I could have seen it lighting up the sea at night but we had to run.  We had just enough time to get to the last ferry from Cedar Island back to Ocracoke that night.  By far my favorite ferry ride of the summer. 

Georgia and I enjoyed our picnic supper in the observation deck while watching a beautiful sunset.  Later we went back down to relax in the car for  a while (it's a 2 1/2 hour ride) but the lure of watching a full moon rise over the sound was too much.  We had to go stand near the bow and watch the show.  And what a show it was.  The sea was a bit choppy so the waves were crashing over the bow.  The captain was spotlighting the channel markers along the way which seemed to make my stomach tighten a bit.  And all the while this huge white moon was shining down on the scene.  My passage was only $15 and I'd say I got more than my money's worth.

The next day Sue joined us and we took the ferry back to Ocracoke - yes I rode the Hatteras to Ocracoke ferry a lot this summer (it was free) - to go and find our last 2 caches on the island. 

Visited Ocracoke Light
while caching on
the island with my
crew.

On the ride back we saw dolphins playing just outside the ferry's wake.  Then we ferried ourselves across a small stretch of Pamlico Sound in Avon to get to a small island the last cache I needed to find on Hatteras Island.

It was so much fun seeking lighthouses and caches along the coast this summer.  I kind of hate to see it all come to an end.  In fact, I just realized that I missed riding 2 of the ferry routes so one day I'll have to get back there to ride them.  Now what can I do to top this?

Flip Flop Summer

It's hard to believe that we have gotten to Labor Day weekend already.  Where did my summer go?  To the beach?  To the pool?  To the lighthouse?  Maybe a deserted island? 

Yes, all of the above.

Big brother came to visit.

I know I have been a very poor blogger this past 4 months, but I have been a very rich person.  Rich in experiences that is.  In April I accepted a reservationist position at a campground on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It sounded cool.  The term Outer Banks sounded cool.  I had no idea what I was signing up for.  And I was nervous about hurricanes even though I was assured by my soon to be boss that I had no reason to worry.  Yet, one day out from my destination tropical storm Ana was gaining hurricane strength and heading up the coastline.  I called the campground.  No worries, they said.  Come on out. 

This is actually in
Southport closer to
South Carolina line.

Found this marker
in a park looking
out to Oak Island
Lighthouse.  My
daddy was in the
Naval Armed Guard

Out is the operative word here.  We are OUT on the edge of the ocean.  Literally a sandy strip of land less than a mile wide that connects Hatteras Island to Nags Head and the mainland.  There is only one 2 lane road in and out.  So that's what "outer" banks means.  The nearest grocery is 17 miles south although there is a Dollar General a mile from the camp that just opened this spring and it's doing great.  They carry a few groceries of course - at least enough to carry you over until there's time to drive south or go to Kitty Hawk and the big Walmart 38 miles north.  But I haven't really minded that.  I've been busy.

Was lucky enough
to watch biologists
unearth a sea
turtle nest.  17
live babies!

How's that for a
flip flop tan?

Yes, there's the beach and while I'm not really a beach person I have enjoyed some time out by the waves.  Then there's the pool which is more to my liking especially early in the morning when the vacationers haven't gotten up and around yet.  And the hot tub is a nice perk when your back and legs are beat.  But really I haven't been hanging around the campground much on my time off.  There's too much to see out here.

Watched the sun setting as we
ate a picnic dinner on the
Cedar Island Ferry.

Also got to watch
a full moon rising
on the sound as
we crossed on
Cedar Island Ferry.

Highway 12, the little 2 lane road that bisects this sandbar begins up in Kitty Hawk where you find mile post 1.  My campsite is located at mile post 40.5.  Down at mile post 82 is the end of Hatteras Island and a ferry over to the next island in the Outer Banks (from here on referred to as OBX) chain.  Hop on the ferry and after a leisurely 45 minute ride with a chance of seeing dolphins along the way as you cross the Pamlico Sound and you will be on Ocracoke Island. Blackbeard was captured, killed, and beheaded here.  It's a quaint little island only 13 miles long with another ferry post at the other end.  From there you can take another ferry ride, this one two and half hours long to reach Cedar Point where you can pick up the highway again and drive on down the coast visiting other islands and beaches along the way.  Did I do all that?  What a silly question. 

And when the 3 of us are together
it's really crazy.  No, we aren't
nuts, the mosquitos on Portsmouth
Island were deadly.

Whenever I cache
with this woman I
have the most
unusual adventures!

There's lots of history around here besides pirate lore.  During WWII there was a navy base on Ocracoke and German subs sank US merchant ships just off the coast leaving the island residents to go out looking for survivors - English & American - and spies trying to come ashore - German.   And there are geocaches of course.  Only 8 on Ocracoke itself (yes, I found them all) plus 2 virtual caches on Portsmouth Island which is a deserted island in Ocracoke Sound.  Yep, got those too with my new cache buddies GeoKu (Sue) and Gigiwoll (Georgia).  Now that was an adventure.

Me & Georgia: 1 day, 276 miles, 6
ferry rides.  Too many laughs.

Speaking of geocaching, you who know me well enough to know I've been at it all summer.  The closest cache to my camp is a micro called Nights in Rodanthe placed near the actual house from the movie of that name.  Did that one the first day.  In fact while out here this summer I hit a milestone in my geocaching career by reaching 6,000 finds and held a little gathering at a Dairy Queen in Nags Head (there are LOTS of ice cream shops on this island which is not a good thing for me).  Several folks showed up as well as Georgia and Sue and afterwards we all went to another event up the road in Kitty Hawk.  I've met a lot of great cachers this summer and done some great caches too.  It's kind of sad to see it all come to an end, but there is a little something called Hurricane Grace forming in the Atlantic so I think I'll get out of her way.  You know, just in case.  My boss assures me all will be OK.

I do love this life.

Girls Weekend

So I did turn 60 just a couple of weeks ago.  A pretty big turning point in my life.  Considering that over the years I've been hit by a car, beaten by a spouse, and walking around for 3 days with a ruptured appendix - getting to this point by some could be seen as almost a miracle.  I spent that particular day enjoying a cool drink by the sound watching a beautiful sunset and thinking about all I've seen and done.  Not really making plans for things in the future but realizing that having a future is a gift in itself.  Another great gift in my life is my Hickerson family.  I love them all and they love me with no limits.  Best gift there is. 

No doubt my favorite stepdaughter Darlene is the best stepdaughter anyone could have.  So it was only a little bit of a surprise when she loaded up the girls - Jennifer and Addy - and drove for 13 hours to visit me for my birthday.  What a wild and wonderful 4 days we had.  Wish it could have been longer and I think they wished it too.  Too much sun and fun and I have the sunburn to prove it. 

Although we didn't have much time we did squeeze in a visit to Ocracoke Island (where Jennifer wants to move to), Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (which Jennifer and Addy climbed in 6 minutes), Nags Head for crab legs and shrimp, and the beach (where we saw NO SHARKS).   The girls packed in as much as they could in a short visit and my little rv was packed with wet swimsuits, sand, beach towels, beach clothes, and laughter and love and all the other great gifts that I am blessed with. 

Truly a great girls weekend.

 

6-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0!!!!

Me at 3 after a
tangle with a Buick

I have been on this earth now for 60 years.  Wow, that's more than half a century.  One more milestone in a lifetime of milestones.  I don't feel like what I thought 60 would feel like.  Of course those thoughts came from a younger me with no idea of the life changing events that would carry me through to this point. 

Hard to believe so much time has passed, so many great things I've been a part of, and so many missed opportunities.  Along the way I finally found one true love after way too many false ones.  It didn't last as long as I would have liked but knowing that I could easily have missed out on love completely, I am grateful for what time I had with Larry Hickerson.  Also hard to believe that he's been gone for 9 years.  That was a tough year to get through and one that makes me a little nervous about 60. 

Forgive me if I'm a little apprehensive about the big SIX OH, but traditionally birthday years ending in zero have not gone well for me.  My FIVE OH was the day the doctors gave us Larry's dire prognosis.  And THREE OH was spent sitting by my father's deathbed.  But I refuse to believe this one will be anything but good.  I'm spending my summer at a beautiful beachfront setting working at a job I'm really enjoying, and meeting lots of great folks.  How can I not enjoy 60?

Life has been exciting since I retired from teaching in 2011.  Notice I didn't say I was retired.  I still work at some of the most unusual jobs and in some of the most unusual places.  This summer I keep an eye on the hurricane forecast while 2 years ago I was hanging out in tornado alley.  Been making my home in swamps and refuges and now out on the barrier islands of North Carolina.  Doing what I can to have some fun and should I wind up in a nursing home somewhere I hope to have the best stories to tell.  Doing all I can to achieve that goal until then.  OK 60, bring it on.

Digging Around In My Roots



Found that Charlie Riggan was the
oldest living Confederate veteran
in the state of North Carolina
when he died in 1947 at the
age of 105.  Seems he
loved the ladies.

One of the reasons I was excited about taking a job in North Carolina was the opportunity to get back into some genealogy research.  Seems that I have a lot of roots in North Carolina.  Of course none of them were on the outer banks so I've had to do some driving to get to the area that I need to be in to really research.  I'm having fun and learning a lot, but then the more I learn the more questions I find myself asking. 

For instance, I would like to better understand what drove my father's great, great, great grandfather to pull up roots and leave the middle of North Carolina for the middle of Tennessee.  Granted up until just a few years before he (and my mother's great, great, great, great grandfather) came to the Nashville area what we call Tennessee was still part of North Carolina.  Nevertheless, they still had to cover several hundred miles of rough terrain with very little roads and what roads were there were terribly rough.  Then you have to remember the Indians, wild animals, where to obtain vittals and such along the way, navigating the Cumberland Pass as well as rivers.  And after all that, they somehow decided to make homes west of the city of Nashville which was a thriving river town at the time. 

At least I know my two great, great, great, great aunts would have been prepared for the trip.  According to Francis Riggan's will he left them an assortment of farm tools and "two asses".  All items that would seem to come in handy while making a long trek through the wilderness, or at least that would be my guess.  Don't think you'd want to ride an ass through all that but at least you would have some beasts of burden to pull the wagon.


Have also discovered this southern girl has connections to New Jersey.  Can you believe that?  Yep, seems that my Hunt ancestors came from England and struck out to the wilderness of New Jersey. 

Memucan Hunt Sr.
Family lore says the name
comes from the book of Esther.

Memucan Hunt Jr. born
1807 in NC, later migrated
to MS to manage family
land, then went to TX
to fight for independence.
First minister of TX to the
US, first Secretary of the TX
Navy, and unsuccessful
candidate for VP of TX.

With time though they came to their senses and moved south to the wilderness of North Carolina where they formed the Jersey Settlement.  After fighting some Cherokee Indians and a couple of wars a few of the younger generation headed out for Tennessee.  Not all of them left.  One distant cousin stayed and became the first Treasurer of North Carolina.  Unfortunately only 2 years in to his term he was asked to leave concerning some mismanagement of funds.  None the worse for it he and his wife Polly (a Wade who married a Hunt which is funny since my grandmother was a Hunt who married a Wade) settled on their estate with their slaves.  Yep, seems some of my folks had some
money at one time. 

I think it would be fun to come across some explanation somewhere in a miscellaneous file of old letters, or maybe a newspaper article. What gave them the itch to move on west?  Did they travel in groups of friends and family or strike out alone like me?  I hope to find some answers.  Don't laugh.  When I learned that my great uncle (my mother's uncle) was killed by a lightening strike in 1929 I started looking at old newspaper microfiche.  Sure enough it was a front page story in the Nashville Banner.  Now, spurred on by that find I find myself driving half a day and spending hours in the state archives in Raleigh hoping to strike gold again.  If I do, you'll read about it here. 

Nights (and days) in Rodanthe

My office - upstairs on the left.

One of the great things about my adopted lifestyle is the pleasant surprises of unexplored territory.  After answering a help wanted ad in Workers on Wheels, and surviving a couple of intense phone interviews, I was hired to work this summer at an rv resort in Rodanthe, North Carolina.  Yes, Nicholas Sparks fans, that Rodanthe (don't think there's another one anywhere).  It was a long drive out here, all the way to the outer banks of North Carolina, but now that I'm here I love it!  My first day I had the morning off so I rode my bike about a mile north of my campsite to take a photo of the house from the movie and post it for Marie. 

Thinking of a visit?  Just take 40 to Raleigh then
head east til the map turns blue! 

So what's my job?  I sit in an office upstairs answering the phone and making reservations.  When there's a lull in the phones I stare out the window at all the campers and off in the distance to the Atlantic Ocean.  Does that mean I'm camped at the beach?
  Well, yes and no.
I'm actually set up in a site across the highway on the Pamlico Sound.  So I am "at the beach" but it's a short walk, or bike ride, to dip my toes in the salty water.  But on the sound side I enjoy absolutely gorgeous sunsets.  And there's usually fewer people on that side of the campground so it's much quieter too.  Either way, I'm loving it. 



Tina Piper - my first visitor from home.

Today and yesterday were my "weekend" and I just felt my way around the area.  Enjoyed meeting the folks at Pea Island Wildlife Refuge and will certainly be going up there next week for a bird walk early in the morning before the mosquitos get out and about (I wish).  Then I drove on up the 12 stopping for a look around Bodie Lighthouse before going over to Roanoke Island to do a little genealogy research.  It's a cool place and I will definitely get back over there to see the Lost Colony play while I'm out here.  Today I slept in a bit then drove south on the 12 to watch the ferry head out to Ocracoke and browse the shops, then had a great fresh shrimp wrap at a local café.  Yes, I think I'm getting the hang of this beach life.

Bird by Bird

 

 

Emperor Geese

The end of April meant the end of my stay as a camp host in Georgia.  Tough to say good bye to big brother and his family as I have so enjoyed being involved in their lives.  Matthew and MJ are growing so fast, and Mike is having so much fun playing out his grandpa role with them.  But the road is calling my gypsy soul.  Heading out this time to a new part of the country for me where I have signed on for the summer to a paying job.  Of course I will make time to explore the area and see what birds I can find. 

Flamingos, of course

Getting to my job meant driving through the far eastern part of North Carolina, the unexplored area that I mentioned earlier.  A stop at one of the state's awesome visitor centers led me to discover a true gem that I doubt many folks think of when they think of North Carolina.  In a tiny spot on the map called Scotland Neck a gentleman fulfilled his love for birds from all over the world by setting up a refuge for them.  Yes, birds from all parts of the world all under one roof, er, well, nets - lots of nets.  Even when I saw the busloads of school children in the park I was not deterred.  The park is so spread out that there was very little "traffic jams".  So, with all that said, I will stop the dialog and finish this blog post with pictures - lots of pictures.  Hope you enjoy.

Green Jay

Helmeted Curassow

Laughing Kookabura

Nene's (Hawaiian Geese)

 

Rosybill and plovers

Scarlet Ibis and Hyacinth Macaw

Toucan

Umbrella Macaws

West African Crowned Crane

White Faced Ducks

Whooper Swan

Black Necked Swans

Black Swan

Macaws (yes, there's one behind the post too)

Blue Crowned Pigeon

Cape Barren Goose

Common Shelduck

Demoiselle Crane nesting