| the
2004
Midwinters the trip home: Ocracoke Island - Nags Head - Maryland - home photos by Marc Bennett and Uncle Al |
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| A smoke break for
Uncle Al while Marc surveys the ravages of ... ... |
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| ... Hurricane
Isabel. Unlike Hatteras, Ocracoke has few residential
areas and we drove through unspoiled nature for close to half an hour before nature was interrupted in the nicest possible way by ... ... |
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| ... Howard's
Pub in the town of Ocracoke where we got to have a
nice, cool noon-time beer. Al neglected to get a picture of the lovely insides of this establishment, so we have to go back next year, same time! ... |
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| Looking out
towards the ocean in ... ... |
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| ... Ocracoke. ... |
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| Dune
reconstruction ... ... |
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| ... going full
blast on Ocracoke Island. ... |
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| I believe they
pump the sand back to shore. ... |
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| After a pleasant
ferry ride back to Hatteras Island, we dawdled on back
towards Nags Head, taking note of extensive reconstruction still ongoing half a year after Isabel. ... |
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Back in
Nags Head, Marc and I decided it was time to head back
across the Nags Head Causeway to revisit the lovely
...Roanoke Island. But as we started towards the
causeway, we discovered fine coffees and beer at the
marvellous ...
|
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| ... Junkanoo
Island Cafe on the south side of the Causeway in
Nags Head. ... |
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| A beer-and-coffee
break was called for in this lovely, quaint spot ... ... |
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| ... right on the
water's ... ... |
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| ... edge. After
getting the low-down from our server, on what things had been like during Isabel, we decided to visit ... ... |
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| ... Fisherman's
Wharf ... ... |
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... in
Wanchese at the south end of Roanoke Island. The
visions conjured up by the Tourist Guidebook, of
enjoying a beer while watching the fishing boats
return with their catch in an unyuppified setting was
not, alas, to be. The Wharf was closed either
for the winter season or repairs - although the
fishing division was still hard at work.
... |
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| It was fun to be
in a real little ... ... |
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| ... fishing
harbour ... ... |
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| ... complete with
its scruffy, genuine working boats. ... |
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| A bit of
hurricane damage (?) across from the Wharf. ... |
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Thursday
was the sad day on which we would return to winter. It
would be a long day's driving during which which would
go all the way from Nags Head to Erie, PA.
Appropriately, the day dawned cold and drizzly, but we
were able to fortify ourselves with large coffees to
go from the Junkanoo Cafe before heading
north. Rain all morning across the lowlands, past
Norfolk and Richmond. Partial clearing as we
approached Staunton and its vivid memories of our trip
south last year and our inadvertent adventures in
snowy fog up and down mountains along the infamous
highway 250. We made sure we gave 250 a pass this time
- even without SHADES - and proceeded up I-81
to I-68 where we headed west ...
... |
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| ... through the
snowy mountains ... ... |
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| ... along the
northern ... ... |
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...
edge of Maryland. By dark, we were driving through a
snowstorm across Pennsylvania towards Erie where we
again bedded down at the Days Inn and enjoyed
supper, beer and country music at Doc Holliday's.
By noon on Friday, we were safely back in Oakville where
Marc's car started OK despite its two-week nap in the
frigid confines of Uncle Al's driveway. It was a lovely
time, and soon we'll start counting down the days to the
2005 Midwinters!!!!
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