A Great May

The month of May began with our oldest grandchild's college graduation from the University of Mary Washington. We are so proud of her and all that she has accomplished, know that she will be successful at whatever she does. After all, she participated in the NOLS Southwest 14-week adventure and came home wanting more.

Our graduate with her parents

On May 19, I drove to Atlantic Beach, NC, to be with four really good friends. Anne, Katherine, Kathryn and I have known each other since kindergarten. Dot moved to town the summer before the ninth grade. Kathryn's 1937 beachfront house is charming and full of old-beach personality. We spent lots of time swinging and talking on the upper and lower covered porches, talked sometimes until almost 1:00 a.m., showed pictures. Sweet hubby Ron texted me Saturday afternoon to remind me of the Preakness, which I would have missed if not for him. My horse won. Yay!

One of the covered porches.

  

View of the house from the ocean side.

For Saturday lunch we went to the Beaufort Grocery Company restaurant on Queen Street in Beaufort. I ordered the No. 2--the Fuhgeddaboudit sandwich--and sweet potato chips, the best chips I've ever eaten. The sandwich was also incredible. 

 Our waitress snapped this picture of us.

Meanwhile, as I was making the seven hour trip home in sometimes heavy rain, Ron, sons Ronny and Bill, and grandson Matthew went to the airshow featuring the Blue Angels in Lynchburg. They all thought the show was fabulous, are so glad they went. Below are some of the pictures Ron took. Click to enlarge.

This morning Ron saw a fawn bedded down between our house and the lake. 

I put my "big boy" lens on my camera and snapped the picture below.            

About three hours later a doe walked past my front porch on the street side of the house. I could tell she was searching for something, figured the fawn I'd seen earlier had moved and Momma couldn't find him.

Five minutes later I saw Momma in the next yard with the fawn (See above. Fawn is in bottom left corner.) Couldn't get a good picture because I was shooting through the screen door, but it was a happy ending. I like happy endings. And I have thoroughly enjoyed the month of May.

SAND AND SEA

I grew up a couple of hours from Morehead City and Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, spent many happy weeks basking--and baking--under the summer sun. My friend Gene and I nearly drowned once as the undertow carried us out to sea.

Atlantic Beach at sunset.

Last Saturday Ron and I joined my brother Mack and sister-in-law Susan at Atlantic Beach for a few days. The old beach-front Pavilion, the gathering place for teenagers to dance and mingle when we were young, is gone. Emerald Isle and Salter Path, mostly sand dunes during my youth, are jam-packed with modern condos and houses and shopping centers. A modern, four-lane bridge over Bogue Sound has replaced the old drawbridge I liked so much.

 

A Place at The Beach III

The condo was small, but it had two bedrooms, two baths, a decent kitchen, small living room and covered deck. And it was clean. In the above picture, the water slide and ocean are visible in the distance. This was the second time we have stayed here. Click to enlarge.

We spent one day in Beaufort, one of my favorite towns. Ron and I considered retiring to Beaufort instead of  Smith Mountain Lake.

The boardwalk in Beaufort.

We ate lunch on the covered porch overlooking the water at Spouter Inn. If you crave really good seafood, eat here. 

Porch at the Spouter Inn on Taylor Creek 

which connects to Bogue Sound.

I miss the old Atlantic Beach. But the sand feels the same, the breakers still lull me to sleep at night, the air still has that indescribable beach smell with a hint of salt water, fish, and sun tan lotion, and the restaurants still serve scrumptious seafood. And no matter how it changes, I still have my memories.

Rainy Days and Mondays

For the last ten years I've loved rainy days. And Mondays. So because today is what most folks call a foul-weather day, I decided to put rain pictures in this blog post. And yes, I know it isn't Monday, but heck, I can't have everything.

The dreary picture below was taken from inside our car as we drove across Bogue Sound in North Carolina. I like the depth in the individual raindrops on the car window.



In the picture below, you can almost see automobile headlights through the rear view mirror.



The windshield wipers had cleaned the windshield a second before I snapped this picture as we drove across Bogue Sound to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.



I took this picture of the deck this morning through the sliding glass door. The white spot is from the camera's flash.


I like the way the rain drops cling to the porch screens. Earlier I sat in one of the rockers and listened to the rain.



What could be more fitting than a picture of a rainbow taken through a rain-drenched window?

I'm Back!

I know I haven't blogged since February. It wasn't because I didn't have anything to say. I did. I always do. Determined to finish my second book and mail it to my publisher, I forced all other thoughts out of my head. I did, however, take time to join Marion Higgins, Jim Morrison and Becky Mushko at Phoebe Needles--a delightful conference center in Franklin County--for a writing presentation. We had fun, enjoyed a gourmet lunch, met really nice folks and a handsome Brittany Spaniel. Yeah, I like dogs.

But guess what! I mailed my second novel, Secrets at Sweetwater Cove, to my publisher on May 2 at 9:31 a.m.! I'm scheduled to be on Hal Hubener's "Cover to Cover" cable TV show on July 14. Maybe my book will be published by then.

So what have I done since May 2? First, I walked around patting myself on the back. Then I tried to get my office organized. No luck. Then on May 11, Jim Morrison, Becky Mushko, Rodney Franklin and I spoke on "The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing" at the main Roanoke Library. The picture below shows us in the background. So many more folks came that library personnel had to lug in lots more chairs!


From May 18-24, hubby Ron and I vacationed at Atlantic Beach, NC. I grew up in Greenville, NC (Ron moved there in the 9th grade), only a couple of hours from Atlantic Beach. It was great being back on old stompin' grounds. The beach has changed a lot since those days. What used to be miles of undeveloped land and sand dunes is now thick with beach houses, condominiums and businesses. But we had a great time, visited with Anne and Katherine (friends since elementary school) and my brother Mack and his wife Susan, and feasted all week on fresh seafood.

Four years ago, high school friends Kathryn and Bobby introduced me to the Big Oak Drive-In. Their shrimp burgers are to die for! They have oyster burgers, too, and I'm sure I'd like them. Ron wanted to lunch there every day, but that didn't happen. While we were standing there studying the menu, I heard a voice say, "Sally Ross?" (That's me, at least it was until I got married.) I looked at "the voice" and--surprise!--saw Clara Faye and Nannie Sue, both high school classmates. Anyhow, if you go to Atlantic Beach, drive down Salterpath Road. After a few miles, you'll see the Big Oak Drive-In on your left. Try it. You'll like it. And if you're lucky, maybe you'll see Clara Faye and Nannie Sue.


I have lots more to tell you, but angry storm clouds are closing in and I'm ready to shut down. Will be back later.