And with the fall comes my hiatus, which I can't wait for. I pretty much disappear off the face of the planet and head to the Outer Banks for a while. Last year it was for about a week and a half, the second half was nature's choice, not mine; a huge nor'easter came through and trapped me there when I was about to leave. A few people came down on the first weekend with me, but Jack and I stuck around for the rest of the time.
It's dead quiet there in the off season. I work throughout the day, which means I'm on the phone all day, but other than that, I don't really have much contact with anyone else. I don't even turn on the TV while I'm there. Every evening, I sit on the back porch with Jack, my guitar, sometimes a beer. It's therapeutic. This was my view last year, sans sunset due to the weather at the time:
Here are the outer edges of the huge storm starting to roll in over the water. It was dead calm when I took this, but what came after were sheets of rain and constant 50+ mph winds for 3 days:
The house was shaking from the winds, rains pounding all of the windows, water coming in through the window and door sealing, and I kept my eye on the dune in the case that the water made it over, which would mean that it's time to get the hell outta there. Here's what Jack thought of the chaos:
There's something that fascinates me about the Outer Banks in the off-season. The place is almost eerie when all the crowds leave and everything is still. It's is a barrier island, subject to heavy erosion. What intrigues me the most about the island is that it's the one place I've seen in my lifetime where you can witness mother nature actually winning the battle with man--it's humbling in a way. What used to be dunes and houses just a few years ago is now ocean again. Every major storm that comes through, including last year's nor'easter, takes a few houses with it on its way out.
I'll be heading out again within the next month and a half, most likely early November, when the weather is still bearable. The Jack Dog will be in heaven--cool weather and a beach with no people means no leash. He's gonna be running huge circles in and out of the water.
I'll be sure to eat oysters and take pictures.
