Southwest Virginia Blogs

The sun came up, and the rains moved to our west.  The skies are now very blue, and everything is starting to drain.

My normal route to the morning paper was blocked by closed road.  I had to take back way out which required fording some significant standing water.  We actually had a rainbow this morning so that's a good sign.

Fortunately our kids arrived safely last night, and the water is not any higher on our dock than it usually is after a heavy storm

I hope the areas to the east of us faired as well as we did.  Here on the western edge of Carteret County on the shores of the White Oak, we seem to be in good shape except for some minor flooding.

I hope the next Nor'easter has weather as warm as this associated with it, but that I suspect is a pipe dream.  You don't get many Nor'easters when the temperature is sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

It is hard to believe that the weather can change so quickly, but it does.  It was just last week that I was wearing shorts when I was cutting some weeds.

Today as I reported over at my Coastal NC site, we have rain and high winds.  Thanksgiving is going to be pretty damp in Carteret County.

When the sun comes up tomorrow morning, I will try to get some pictures of the water.  Late this afternoon, I drove over the bridge to Emerald Isle and took this picture of a couple of human bits of flotsam in the surf.

I think they were trying to surf.  Based on the driving rain and wind, I think I could find a nicer spot to play.   It will be interesting to see  how high the water level rises in the White Oak River  by tomorrow.

I guess if you can love a place in this weather, then you must have picked the right spot.  It is good thing I don't mind getting wet.

Long ago we learned that every spot on earth has some wonderful secrets.  You don't find the neat things about a place by driving through.  Sometimes when you're visiting you stumble upon them, but mostly you have to spend some serious time in an area to really appreciate what makes an area special.

When we lived in Nova Scotia, the Halifax Public Gardens made living in Halifax even more special.  When we farmed near Fredericton, New Brunswick, there was a really neat wading pool that our kids used to love.  It was one of those places where kids could be kids.  In our short stay in Columbia, Maryland, we grew to love the well groomed trails that wandered through the huge Poplar trees which grew to heights unimaginable to someone whose last sixteen years was in the land of stunted Spruce and Fir trees.

In Roanoke, Va. before development took it away, we used to enjoy an old woods road that we groomed into a trail.  It was a haven away from pavement and even summer heat.  Once we had to retreat from the trail,  our deck with a view over the city of Roanoke became our special place.  I still spend lots of time taking pictures of the sunrises.  Many of those pictures are posted at my on line print site.

As we've come to spent more time in Swansboro, NC, it has become clear that the bridges over the White Oak River are a pretty special spot.  The area makes for some pretty special sunsets and seems to draw people every evening.

Recently we were out on a mission looking for some nippers to cut brush.  We struck out on the nippers but decided to have dinner on the water and make the best of the situation.

We picked the Icehouse Restaurant in downtown Swansboro for our Grouper dinner.  As we settled into our seats, I couldn't help but marvel at the view from our table which is captured in the image to the left.  The water and sky couldn't have been a nicer shade of blue.  The temperature was nearly perfect.  Add a great meal, and you have a perfect evening.

There are several restaurants clustered around the bridges.  We've tried many of them and the food is almost all universally good.  Yet part of me wonders how much the wonderful beauty of the White Oak River near the bridges contributes to those special moments.  We aren't to the point of one the diners who left the Icehouse by boat, but we certainly enjoy watching the boats skim across the surface.  Seeing so many others enjoy the water in such a beautiful place can only make it more special.

I'm enjoying learning a new world and look forward to sharing some additional not-so-secret secrets I've already discovered.  If you interested in the reasons we selected Swansboro as our favorite part of North Carolina's coastal paradise, you can check out my Coastalnc.org website or  the view from my kayak.

Long ago we learned that every spot on earth has some wonderful secrets.  You don't find the neat things about a place by driving through.  Sometimes when you're visiting you stumble upon them, but mostly you have to spend some serious time in an area to really appreciate what makes an area special.

When we lived in Nova Scotia, the Halifax Public Gardens made living in Halifax even more special.  When we farmed near Fredericton, New Brunswick, there was a really neat wading pool that our kids used to love.  It was one of those places where kids could be kids.  In our short stay in Columbia, Maryland, we grew to love the well groomed trails that wandered through the huge Poplar trees which grew to heights unimaginable to someone whose last sixteen years was in the land of stunted Spruce and Fir trees.

In Roanoke, Va. before development took it away, we used to enjoy an old woods road that we groomed into a trail.  It was a haven away from pavement and even summer heat.  Once we had to retreat from the trail,  our deck with a view over the city of Roanoke became our special place.  I still spend lots of time taking pictures of the sunrises.  Many of those pictures are posted at my on line print site.

As we've come to spent more time in Swansboro, NC, it has become clear that the bridges over the White Oak River are a pretty special spot.  The area makes for some pretty special sunsets and seems to draw people every evening.

Recently we were out on a mission looking for some nippers to cut brush.  We struck out on the nippers but decided to have dinner on the water and make the best of the situation.

We picked the Icehouse Restaurant in downtown Swansboro for our Grouper dinner.  As we settled into our seats, I couldn't help but marvel at the view from our table which is captured in the image to the left.  The water and sky couldn't have been a nicer shade of blue.  The temperature was nearly perfect.  Add a great meal, and you have a perfect evening.

There are several restaurants clustered around the bridges.  We've tried many of them and the food is almost all universally good.  Yet part of me wonders how much the wonderful beauty of the White Oak River near the bridges contributes to those special moments.  We aren't to the point of one the diners who left the Icehouse by boat, but we certainly enjoy watching the boats skim across the surface.  Seeing so many others enjoy the water in such a beautiful place can only make it more special.

I'm enjoying learning a new world and look forward to sharing some additional not-so-secret secrets I've already discovered.  If you interested in the reasons we selected Swansboro as our favorite part of North Carolina's coastal paradise, you can check out my Coastalnc.org website or  the view from my kayak.

There comes a point when you've said all you can say about our political situation.  I think that I've arrived at that point.  The newspapers are full of opinions so it's no trouble to find one that matches your own.

I'm for as little government as possible, and I'm going to leave it at that.  I am for protecting our environment.  It doesn't make a lot of sense to foul our own nest.  I would like the next generations to have the opportunity to experience some of the wonderful places that I have seen.

For a number of years we owned a two person kayak.  I spent many wonderful hours in Carvin's Cove exploring and even fishing. Mostly due to career demands at Apple Computer in my last years there, I gave it up.

Recently I passed my NC state real estate exam, and I gave my self a reward for all those long hours of study and classroom time, I bought myself a new kayak.

I had done some research earlier and decided on a Wilderness System Pungo 120.  Unfortunately I couldn't find any locally so we went on a GPS adventure.  It's rare when my Acura GPS screws up, but this time it really did.  What should have been a trip to Rocky Mount of slightly over two hours ended up being over three hours.  The trip back with some human directions and my new blue Pungo 120 only took a couple of hours.

The river in our backyard is the the White Oak.  It's a beautiful river.  Getting out on the river in the new kayak was a real pleasure.  It you could zoom in a little on the picture to the left you could see in the distance the bridges over the White Oak near Swansboro, NC.

I spent an hour wandering around and exploring which is about all the old body could take cramped up in a kayak.

The water is still warm, and it couldn't be much more beautiful out on the river.  It's a good way to completely forget about politics.

I need to find a better exit ramp than the boat ramp in our subdivision. It's a little steep for a graceful kayak exit, but that's just a minor problem.

On the way back in I did have to get cleared by the local air patrol, but he was pretty tolerant of me trying to get as close as possible for a photo.

Lots more kayaking pictures at "Kayaking the White Oak."

There comes a point when you've said all you can say about our political situation.  I think that I've arrived at that point.  The newspapers are full of opinions so it's no trouble to find one that matches your own.

I'm for as little government as possible, and I'm going to leave it at that.  I am for protecting our environment.  It doesn't make a lot of sense to foul our own nest.  I would like the next generations to have the opportunity to experience some of the wonderful places that I have seen.

For a number of years we owned a two person kayak.  I spent many wonderful hours in Carvin's Cove exploring and even fishing. Mostly due to career demands at Apple Computer in my last years there, I gave it up.

Recently I passed my NC state real estate exam, and I gave my self a reward for all those long hours of study and classroom time, I bought myself a new kayak.

I had done some research earlier and decided on a Wilderness System Pungo 120.  Unfortunately I couldn't find any locally so we went on a GPS adventure.  It's rare when my Acura GPS screws up, but this time it really did.  What should have been a trip to Rocky Mount of slightly over two hours ended up being over three hours.  The trip back with some human directions and my new blue Pungo 120 only took a couple of hours.

The river in our backyard is the the White Oak.  It's a beautiful river.  Getting out on the river in the new kayak was a real pleasure.  It you could zoom in a little on the picture to the left you could see in the distance the bridges over the White Oak near Swansboro, NC.

I spent an hour wandering around and exploring which is about all the old body could take cramped up in a kayak.

The water is still warm, and it couldn't be much more beautiful out on the river.  It's a good way to completely forget about politics.

I need to find a better exit ramp than the boat ramp in our subdivision. It's a little steep for a graceful kayak exit, but that's just a minor problem.

On the way back in I did have to get cleared by the local air patrol, but he was pretty tolerant of me trying to get as close as possible for a photo.

Lots more kayaking pictures at "Kayaking the White Oak."

There comes a point when you've said all you can say about our political situation.  I think that I've arrived at that point.  The newspapers are full of opinions so it's no trouble to find one that matches your own.

I'm for as little government as possible, and I'm going to leave it at that.  I am for protecting our environment.  It doesn't make a lot of sense to foul our own nest.  I would like the next generations to have the opportunity to experience some of the wonderful places that I have seen.

For a number of years we owned a two person kayak.  I spent many wonderful hours in Carvin's Cove exploring and even fishing. Mostly due to career demands at Apple Computer in my last years there, I gave it up.

Recently I passed my NC state real estate exam, and I gave my self a reward for all those long hours of study and classroom time, I bought myself a new kayak.

I had done some research earlier and decided on a Wilderness System Pungo 120.  Unfortunately I couldn't find any locally so we went on a GPS adventure.  It's rare when my Acura GPS screws up, but this time it really did.  What should have been a trip to Rocky Mount of slightly over two hours ended up being over three hours.  The trip back with some human directions and my new blue Pungo 120 only took a couple of hours.

The river in our backyard is the the White Oak.  It's a beautiful river.  Getting out on the river in the new kayak was a real pleasure.  It you could zoom in a little on the picture to the left you could see in the distance the bridges over the White Oak near Swansboro, NC.

I spent an hour wandering around and exploring which is about all the old body could take cramped up in a kayak.

The water is still warm, and it couldn't be much more beautiful out on the river.  It's a good way to completely forget about politics.

I need to find a better exit ramp than the boat ramp in our subdivision. It's a little steep for a graceful kayak exit, but that's just a minor problem.

On the way back in I did have to get cleared by the local air patrol, but he was pretty tolerant of me trying to get as close as possible for a photo.

Lots more kayaking pictures at "Kayaking the White Oak."