Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - October 2, 2011

It's Sunday morning, time for my off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. I'm cheating a bit this week because I'm totally exhausted. So, I'm using photos I've already posted during the week on Facebook. I will be going through my photos and putting together albums rather than posting thousands of images here on Blogger.

I had a fantastic time last week in Corolla (NC) -- the Outer Banks. I did do a bit too much standing and walking and by Friday I could barely walk at all. But it was all worth it! I gave that new knee quite a work out even if I didn't try surfing, nor did I end up renting a bike. I got very little sleep and tended to stay up later than everyone else, then get up early almost every morning so I could watch (and photograph) the sunrise and take walks on the beach.

We ate very well with meals in local restaurants and fantastic meals cooked by my fellow vacation friends at the house. Marge made us all breakfast daily. (Hey! Where's my breakfast today? I'm hungry!)

When it came to the ocean, I was a bit of a wimp. I don't really trust my knee -- sometimes it gives way on dry land. Plus I have a caught in the rip tide incident in my past when I almost drowned. So I limited myself to about knee-high wades in the surf. I do love that hot tub, though! That felt like heaven!

I became mesmerized by the abundant ghost crabs in the area. I had brought a flashlight to look for them at night, but it wasn't needed. If they weren't so darned cute, I'd say the area was infested with them. I took some video of one eating a Cheez-It and another working on his hole. I have to edit them a bit, but will let you know when they're up.

The big highlight of the trip was our Jeep-ish vehicle guided tour of the northern part of Corolla where the wild Spanish mustangs live. They used to be all over Corolla, but too many were being hit by cars as the town developed. Now they're fenced away from the lower part and have a huge expanse of land only accessible by 4x4 vehicles. Yes, (sigh) there are houses up there. The horses date back 500 years when they were abandoned by Spaniards fleeing the Outer Banks. They're gorgeous.

Oh. And they pronounce it Cah-RALL-ah, not like the car.

Margarita on the front deck

We did see quite a bit of rain in the first few days, plus thunderstorms nearly every overnight. The wind blew the rain onto the back decks facing the ocean. But the front deck, at least a part of it, usually stayed dry.

Gulls on pylons in the sound

We de-crabbed our pool on a regular basis

Isn't he cute? We rescued some alive, but unfortunately we didn't get to others in time. This one was very alive. He jumped out of the net and skittered away on his little crab legs.

Keep off the dunes!

The dunes protect the homes and the Outer Banks itself from hurricane tidal waters. I couldn't get up the dunes if I wanted to. Going up and down the stairs from our crow's nest private beach access was grueling enough on the knee.

Jellyfish

Dead jellyfish were found every morning on my early walks, but I didn't see any live ones in my ocean forays.

At the local library

Surf's up!

I can't remember if I took this one in Kill Devil Hills or Nag's Head. I only saw one surfer near our house and I didn't think the waves were that great for surfing for the most part.

Early morning

THE WILD HORSES ...

Solitary sunrise

But he likes Cheez-Its!

Vincent at Best Friends

He comes home this afternoon. Yay!