Mini Trip - part 2

We couldn't quite shake our "arrival experience" and the weather on Sunday didn't help. We feel for all those involved especially the widower having lost his wife and daughters. But it always makes one think and be grateful for one's blessings.

Monday was a much better day. Like Saturday it was gorgeous. 

Soon we decided to have our walk on the beach. The tide was right and we wanted to go to the left. We had not been able to do that yet. There were so many anglers on the beach. Many, many. Everyone was friendly and you exchanged some words with them. Socially distancing of course. 

The first proudly showed off his catch. Seemed like everybody wanted to catch a red drum. There is a 1 a day limit and we witnessed an (adult) son just having caught his second. His father said "you caught one for me" but his son quickly released it. On our way back the father ran to us happily saying that he had caught one too. Of course we were very sure about the ones who did not release but quickly brought something to the car.

The walk to the left was very interesting too but we could not go too far because some of the houses were very close to the water. Very!

Just didn't feel like walking underneath balconies and battling the waves there. Can you see it in the distance?

So back we walked. 

And further along all the way to the beach behind the lighthouse this time. 

There was one stop were we HAD TO stand and watch for a while. You can not really see it in this photo but there were about 2 dozen surfers their black rubber suits. Some were really good and rode the waves. 

Too bad that in the blog the photo is not a LIVE shot. These birds were so cute. There were 2 bigger birds and lots of little ones. I thought it must be a family but there were too many little ones to be one brood. 

Getting hungry for lunch. Back to the e. house

We hopped into the car and continued on the road we came on to Hatteras Village. We had inquired at a tourist information and the NC Maritime Museum was suggested. It was also called "Graveyard of the Atlantic" and very interesting. 

And then we were hungry for lunch. We had asked about it earlier at the information center and were told that not much was there for outdoor lunching. But there was "Tavern on the 12". And it was very nice with picnic benches outdoors (not the most comfortable but o.k.) under a roof. 

Yes, we had an appetizer: oven roasted oysters on the half shell. Very nice. Afterwards we had crab cake sliders and shrimp po' boy sandwich, which we shared. The two plates came with a huge amount of french fries. There was no way we could finish those. 

I must have been really hungry though because this is the only photo I took the whole time.

This photo is actually the very last one I took of our mini vacation. Hard to believe. There was some more walking and some packing.

Tuesday we headed home. We were supposed to be out of the house at 10 am which was no problem. We had packed some sandwiches for lunch and took our time driving along. You drive a long time on a slow road on the Outer Banks but it is interesting too and we were not in a hurry. It was very good for us to get away for a few days.

Mini trip - part 1

Yes, a change of wallpaper was necessary. On the spur of the moment found a vacation house available to rent for the 4 nights we wanted. What would we do without the internet? So, on Friday we packed and were on our way to Hatteras in North Carolina. 

It was about a 4 hour drive. We had potato salad for our lunch break. Social distancing, oh yes. It had been a good and interesting drive in good weather. We arrived about 5 pm but wondered when we saw firetrucks and police just across the little community. 

We didn't lose much time to go to the beach. This picture was taken at 6 pm. Sundown was at 6:14 pm or so. It was very nice at the almost empty beach. Just a few anglers. 

We had been wondering though when from our front balcony we could still see the commotion with the firetrucks etc and also some smoke between two buildings which looked just like the duplex we were in. We thought it must be a brush fire.

We were not very hungry probably because we had been sitting in the car so much. We only feasted on things we had brought. Didn't need a cooked meal.

Wow, I didn't know that oceans are THAT noisy. I heard it the whole night. Not bad though, more like soothing white noise. A factor might be that neither the windows or the house seems very well insulated. All together we had a good rest. Slowly relaxing. 

Sarah had called me late in the evening on the way back from work and I had told her about the firetruck etc. 

I got a text from her Saturday at breakfast time (see screenshot below). Did this have something to do with what we had seen when we arrived? The Lighthouse is very close.

After searching the news we found out that two major events had taken place. One turned out ok, the other was a tragedy. Both dramatic.

From the news: On Thursday an unexploded World War II-era bomb washed up near the Cape Hatteras Light Station. First detonation was delayed because specialists from Norfolk had to come. Then due to a nearby residential structural fire it was delayed again. Rangers at the Cape Hatteras Nation Seashore say it won't happen until late Friday morning or early afternoon. 

They say visitors should expect closures of the lighthouse grounds and nearby parking and beach areas through Friday afternoon.

From the news: Four people died and two were taken to a hospital in a large fire that broke out at a condo early Friday morning in Buxton.The fire caused severe damage to neighboring homes on Cape Hatteras Lane which is on Hatteras Island. 

“Thoughts and prayers are with all who have been impacted by this tragic fire, especially those that lost loved ones,” said Drew Pearson, Dare County Emergency Management Director. “We thank all those that answered the call, from the 911 call takers to each and every first responder, numerous volunteers and the fire investigators for their tireless efforts.”

Fire crews responded to reports of visible flames coming from a residence located at 46110 Cape Hatteras Lane shortly after 4 a.m. on Friday. A second alarm was sounded and more crews came to assist later on.

Officials have not yet said what they believe caused the fire.

The screenshot above shows that this happened just across from our rented place. The photo below is from our front balcony. The house used to be right smack in the middle of the photo. There is now a hole. What is this? These two major things happened the day we arrived.

The weather is lovely and of course we could not wait to go for a walk. So at 9:30 am (late for us but we are on vacation) we are heading out.

Bless modern gadgets. Our phones showed us the way to the light house. 6 minutes driving, 24 minutes walking. Of course we walked. This is just outside our place and you can see the lighthouse on the right on the horizon.

Getting closer.

The gift shop at the station was open but we could not climb up to the top of the lighthouse. A sign said: Climbing the 248 spiral-step staircase is the equivalent of climbing the stairs of a 12-story building. The two-way traffic on the narrow staircase can be crowded.

The history of the lighthouse is interesting. The first one was built in 1803.

We went back a different way ... along the beach. When I turned around to take this photo, guess what we saw. A big stag ran across the field.

This is the cropped part of the above photo. It was a brief moment but very exciting. 

It was a really nice walk. The beach was empty. Waves were coming in strongly. Peaceful.

Lunch. Card game. Relaxing.

Afterwards we wanted to go for another walk. We thought walking around the community but it is very small. We were stopped soon and told that the recent widower of the burned house was looking through the remnants and of course didn't want people to come too close. So understandable. We chatted a little while with the two friendly gentleman and heard the whole story that he lost his wife and two daughters in the fire. He is a coast guard, had just left home on an assignment to bring a boat from somewhere to Guam. Seems there are a lot of coast guards and family living in this community. All so heartbreaking. 

So we turned around and went the other way. We scouted for a restaurant. I really would like one really nice seafood meal. The one very close does not have outdoor seating. But on the way back we could buy margarine since I forgot butter and ice cream which we enjoyed while walking.

Later we tried the beach again and this time we thought of going left. No way. The tide was high. Not possible. Going right again. We watched some surfers (too brave for my taste with those riptides). 

Ha-ha, I loved these "foot prints" coming out of the ocean. The surfers had just come out and still had their flippers on.

In the evening we tried again unsuccessfully to get the TV going. We are a bit disappointed with this place because there is upsolutely no information about anything to be found. You can turn the TV on but can't change the channel. It default on a Hallmark movie in progress. Sigh. But we are not bored anyway.

Sunday morning. Wow, did it rain heavily in the night. And as it turned out it rained most of this day. We had tea on the screened back porch. James almost sad down in yesterday's chair but it was very wet. 

Certainly there was no hurry. We had a very big cooked breakfast which we hardly ever have. We communicated with our girls. We went to (virtual) church. It's nice to see our priest leading the service but the parking lot service is way better. 

Of course we tried going for a walk again. The tide would have been right to go left. We had great hopes that we had found a hole in the rain but were not so lucky. We were chased back to the house. 

The table is at the front of the house and at the end of lunch I saw a car from the agency next door. James hastened to go down and was successful in getting a friendly and apologetic person to come and explain the TV. At least we can see some news and have some choice in entertainment. We are not big watchers but it irks you when you can't have it, ha-ha. You know we love playing cards but James doesn't want to do it too many times a day because I win mostly. I wished I was so lucky buying a lottery ticket. 

PS: In lieu of what happened in this community we checked whether this place had smoke detectors. There is also a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.

Change of wallpaper ... soon

Helen and William are gone again. The week went so fast. Now to pick up where we had left it. Sarah had texted whether we felt like sitting the boys. My answer: if the payment is hair cuts. Oh yes!

As a good-bye gift Helen had given the boys a "Haunted House Chocolate Kit". The boys were so eager. Was Omi up for it? Oh well. The construction didn't got so well in the beginning. Just holding it together for 1 minute after "gluing" it with the icing (as the directions said) didn't do it. Caleb is always very helpful. Just ask him to find a rubber band and cups in a certain size and he delivers. Can you see the rubber band? 

We did this before dinner.

After dinner we could do the decorating. They all had the same amount of the "decorations" to "glue" on but needless to say not all made it onto the house.

Thank you, Auntie Helen. The boys thoroughly enjoyed your gift. 

As a bedtime story they had selected a book which involved using a flashlight. Papa is the best story reader. They always love that time.

Time of the year where you don't really know what the weather is going to be. It's odd when you have to turn the heating on during the day and A/C for bedtime. But there is something to be appreciated in everything. One morning I saw this spiderweb on our front patio wrote iron. Mmhh, it looked probably better when seeing it in person. 

We had errands to do. We went to Lowe's for AC/Heating filters and came back with a new grill. The old one was so rusted and way too large. This is perfectly sufficient and much smaller. You can turn down the two side trays. Much better. James grilled the hamburgers to perfection. 

Having lunch outside with the view on beautiful flowers makes one very grateful and happy. We are so much happier with our yard now. The grass seeds are doing well. Everything is looking almost as it is supposed to. And there are the little things. The yellow mums was a leftover from last year. I had forgotten to take it out when it had died down at the beginning of winter. But when I wanted to throw them out in spring they started looking so good. They have flowered now already for a very long time. Very unexpected. The dahlia is a rescue from the now gone flowerbed in the corner which had never been a success and according to James an eyesore. James' dad had always the most gorgeous dahlias and I couldn't  just throw it out. I stuck it into an empty planter. Low and behold, it suddenly took off. For many weeks now it has given us one beautiful flower after the other. Sometimes rain made the blooms so heavy that they broke off but I could put them into a vase and enjoy them indoors. Yes, its the simple things.

Besides all that James and I felt very strongly that a change of wallpaper was important. So on the spur of the moment we found a place at a beach in North Carolina to rent for 4 nights. But more about that later.

Visitors from Nashville - part 2

When there is only so little time one has to pack as much adventure/experience as possible into it. Papa had read somewhere (he reads a lot!) that there was a Mars rover now on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. William loves going to museums. He loves space, science, weather ... and can tell you all about it ... so much like my father ... his great-grandfather. 

Anyway, James thought Wednesday would be a good day to check it out. He checked with Helen and she checked with his teacher because going there meant that he had to miss some school time. Papa also arranged with Sarah so we could take Caleb as well. Ha, all complicated on an official school day. 

We had tickets for 2 pm and it was a 2 hour drive. The traffic on I-95 to D.C. can be a problem but we were lucky. The museum was a treat. So much to see. There were not many people and we felt totally comfortable. We had to wear masks the whole time and the boys were excellent. No complaints. 

This is the Blackbird, the fastest plane. We also saw the Concord, once the fastest passenger plane and told the boys all about it ... how we could hear it in Windsor landing and taking off from Heathrow when we visited there. And that their great-grandfather and Aunt Jane flew twice in it.

We saw the Discovery which had flown to the moon and we were told when asked that it had flown 39 space missions. We learned a lot about the tiles on the outside on it and more. 

Here we are in front of the Mars rover. This is one exactly like the ones that went to Mars but it was used by NASA for trouble shooting when the one on Mars had problems. They would  find a solution to restart the troubled rover remotely.

This plane was most exciting for me. This is a Ju 52 (Junker).  In WWII my father was very young. He was trained to be a pilot and had talked a lot about this plane. He was shot down when he flew a reconnaissance plane in the south of France. I think it was a plane like this.

He was badly injured  and ended up being an underground miner for 13 years after the war and at the end of his life was in a wheelchair and housebound. I made him write his memoirs because I was already in the USA. Here is a translation of that part:

Heinz Herold wrote: Reconnaissance planes had observed large gatherings of ships and the embarkation of troops by the Allies and therefore expected an invasion from the Mediterranean. It can be assumed that the tiny naval units were extremely nervous. So it happened that we were shot at by a German coast guard boat at 7:30 am near Marseille on August 13, 1944, during a flight to check a machine that had just come from Germany, and we were hit immediately. The left engine was on fire. We were only 100 m high and above water. To get out with a parachute we would have had to be at least twice as high. The coast was in sight and so I wanted to do a belly landing on the beach (later we heard that it was mined). To do this, you have to throw off the roof beforehand so that you can get out of the plane. We did that when we flew over the coast. But this also made the air resistance so great that the machine with one motor could no longer hold up and immediately went nose down. With presence of mind I pulled the steering column to my stomach with all my might and probably because of this we didn't hit the ground, which would have been our certain death. At the last moment the machine came into normal position before the impact, but not slipped a meter. I passed out. When I woke up the other three of my crew were nowhere to be seen. I could not get out because I was badly hurt but one of my crew came back and brought me to safety.

I was astonished when I saw the plane how he could have been rescued not being able to use his legs with the plane being so tall. Here it is again looking down from the top level of the museum. William liked to read almost every sign. He is a good reader (fifth grade). Caleb of course is just starting to learn to read.

Papa told the boys that this Boeing plane is one just like the one he came to the USA for the first time.

After two hours we all had "information overload" and decided it was time to get back on the long drive home.

Sarah suggested that it would be best to keep Caleb for the night as long as we had him back home next morning in time for school. No problem. The boys loved the idea of course being happy about any minute being able to play together. 

Bedtime for Caleb. Papa is the best story reader. 

Thursday

It was a school day for all of course. But William had breaks here and there. Got to take advantage of it. Papa went with him in our community so William could ride his bike and get some exercise. Hardly any traffic because it is a gated community and the streets are very wide. Perfect. Made the boy happy.

We were invited to another cousins meet. When it was time to say "good night" it was also "good bye" because most likely we couldn't make a meet possible the next day. One has to always think about the bright sides of things. Better to see for a short time than not at all. Hugs in front of the garage!

On Friday Helen wished for a soft-boiled egg breakfast. In our family (even when Helen was a child) there was always the little game with the upside-down empty shell. 

Papa got beat twice this week by William playing this game.

Helen took this photo of William's "school" place ... just before she packed his things up. It worked well.

Tja, and that was it. So happy that we had this time. Saturday they drove back to Nashville. This time at least it didn't rain the whole way. 

James and I got a view into the virtual school situation. OMG. There are lots of issues. Here just one story: On Wednesday William could not sign on. He could have attended a couple of classes before we needed to leave for the museum. Helen found out later that his middle school account was hacked. Hacked! He is in 5th grade just starting middle school. His school email address was forwarded to an email address in France. Why? So he never got to see the last emails from his teachers ... besides not being able to sign on on Wednesday. I feel for Helen and understand her and William's frustration