We had a great time at the wine tasting at “Zillie’s Pantry” last night. Those events are always great fun. Then we began a new tradition by going back to our friends Lee and Michael’s cottage where Lee made us a great pasta dinner. So much better than calling out for pizza as in previous years…
Today, we had lunch at “Jason’s” then drove down to the Cape Hatteras ferry dock just to see if anything was new. It wasn’t. We did enjoy a walk through the dunes out to the beach and a great view of the sound. The scenery here really is breath-taking.
We still hope to make it to Springer’s Point later today when we take the bikes back. Then dinner at “The Flying Melon” one last time for this trip.
Then the ferry ride to Swan’s Quarter tomorrow and the drive back to reality.
Sometimes, the ferry rides are the most interesting parts of the trip. But the excitement is usually coming to, not leaving, Ocracoke.
Last year there were a group of drunk East Carolina University students on board. One young lady decided to spend the crossing in the cab of their truck with her boyfriend. The entire ferry had a show we used to only see at the porno drive in movies…
This year, we only had a bicycle club on the ferry with us coming out to Ocracoke. They just brought the entire contents of REI Sporting Goods with them. It wasn’t nearly as entertaining…
It’s been a great trip with great food, beautiful scenery, peace and quiet- and time to spend with friends and to read and relax. It’s been too short….
We had been looking forward to hearing Katy Mitchell sing at “Dajio’s” last night, but unfortunately, she canceled at the last minute. We still had an excellent meal that seals Dajio’s place, along with “Jason’s” and “The Flying Melon” as one of the top three restaurants on Ocracoke- and on the whole Outer Banks. I’ve never eaten anywhere else on the Outer Banks that could touch these three…
Hopefully, we’ll get to hear Katy Mitchell someday. Her CD is really excellent. This just give us something to continue to look forward to….
I just finished Michael Parker’s brand new book, “The Watery Part of the World.” Anyone who loves Ocracoke and the Outer Banks should read it. It is a work of fiction set on fictional Islands on the Outer Banks, but you will readily recognize Portsmouth Island, Ocracoke and their history as being an inspiration.
Speaking of history, there is a lot of it on Ocracoke. Blackbeard, the pirate, was killed here. There is a great historical museum on Ocracoke, run by the Ocracoke Preservation Society, that gives you a lot of other local history and a real feel for how life used to be on the Island.
For more history, visit Philip Howard at “The Village Craftsmen” and take one of his Ghost Walks. They may touch on the supernatural, but they really offer a great deal of fascinating local history. Philip also publishes a great blog at the Village Craftsmen’s Website. http://villagecraftsmen.blogspot.com/
Speaking of the Village Craftsman, this is one of several great shops on Ocracoke. A lot of the art in our house- and we have a lot of art- came from these shops and Orcracoke and Outer Banks artists and potters. Kathleen O’Neal’s shop- Island Artworks- is another stand out shop. Just take the time to roam through them all…
We had a great walk down the Ocracoke Nature Trail, across from the Campground, this morning. In all the years we’ve been coming to Ocracoke, we had never done that before.. It’s nice to know we still have more to discover here as we intend to keep coming back.
We also had another lovely walk on the beach…
Tonight it’s off to the wine tasting at “Zillie’s Pantry” with our friends Lee and Michael. Then we will try to pull together dinner at their cottage. But who knows? Anything can happen on Ocraoke and those wine tastings can always lead to a change in plans!
More to come…..
We are a little more than halfway through our vacation on Ocracoke and I can already tell it’s going to be too short.
I’m not blogging much due to a dicey internet connection. That also means I’m not really following the news….
It’s nice to take a bit of a break from it all and focus on simpler things that are more immediate and real…
We went for a walk on the beach yesterday. The beaches here are amazing. They are all protected National Seashore….No houses, condo’s, hotels, restaurants or bars are allowed. They are natural- just as they have always been.
I’m not much for actually sitting on the beach. That concept is, to me, much better than the reality. I hate sand getting into everything. I don’t like sticky smelly seawater and oily sunscreen makes my face break out…
When I first saw “From Here to Eternity” and the famous scene of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr kissing and embracing in the surf as the waves crashed over them, all I could think of was that they had to be getting sand all up their bathing suits and that they couldn’t possibly be comfortable. It seemed to me that they should have just checked into the Hilton like normal people in their, uh, situation…
But, still, I do love Ocracoke. I do enjoy these walks and being around such beautiful isolation.
It’s nice to be away from it all and I could definitely use another week. It’s been a stressful year and Ocracoke is the perfect place to de-stress and focus on the simple things in life. Like reading and deciding where to have dinner.
There are really some excellent restaurants on this island.
Our favorite restaurant is easily “The Flying Melon”. Imagine country French food made with local seafood only hours out of the water. And fabulous deserts. We eat there several times when we are here…
“Jason’s” is also a favorite. In this case, imagine a New York Italian Restaurant that does seafood. Great pizza’s and sandwiches and the best Pesto Pasta- with fresh shrimp or scallops- that I’ve ever had.
“The Back Porch is probably the most famous restaurant on the Island. We ate there last night. They are coasting on their reputation. We only go every few years to check it out and see if it’s improved. It hasn’t. It’s just okay. “The Flying Melon” has them beat in every conceivable way…
Tonight, it’s off to “Dajios.” This is a new restaurant in a very nice space that use to be
“The Pelican”. The food is much better than the former incarnation. It’s great place with an outdoor patio and live music. Tonight we are going to hear Katy Mitchell, a local artist who’s CD we bought a few years ago and greatly enjoyed. There are a lot of talented musicians on Ocracoke and good live music is often available here…
Tomorrow night is a wine tasting at “Zillies”. We always enjoy that, but usually end up too drunk to do anything but order pizza afterwards…
Our friend Michael, now from Portland, and his- now our-friend Jim were on Island Monday night. We celebrated Michael’s birthday with a very nice meal at “Cafe Atlantic” and stayed up til midnight having entirely too much wine.
Tonight and tomorrow, we’ll be enjoying the company of our friends Lee and Michael- fellow Greensboro residents and Ocracoke devotees who usually come the same week we do. It will be great, as always, to spend time with them here on the island.
The weather has been good, but questionable. Always seeming to be on the verge of rain…
As I said, it’s a great place to get away– but not from too much!
One of the joys of being on Ocracoke is getting away from it all.
That used to include the internet, cable television and, occasionally, electricity.
Things have changed a lot over the last 14 years that we’ve been making this trip.
As you can see, I can now even post on my blog from Ocracoke.
But that is still a challenge. The internet at our house is only available by using my phone as a hotspot, so my access is still somewhat limited.
Ocracoke still has the ability to take you away. Being on an Island off the North Carolina coast that is only accessible by ferry can’t help but change your perspective. With only about 800 year round residents, Ocracoke is a very special place. Fresh seafood for our meals- either bought from local fisherman at the community seafood market, or cooked from one of the local restaurants. There are no chain restaurants or stores on Ocracoke.
Yes, local food and local restaurants. If they can do this on an island why can’t we do this at home? It’s really quite wonderful.
Normally, the best way to get around on Ocracoke is to walk or ride a bicycle. I’m sure I must have ridden a bike as a child- I dimly remember it- but only until I discovered the cross town bus. It has been a challenge trying to get back in the bike mode. They say riding a bike comes back to you. It does. But stopping does not.
When I last tried riding a bike on Ocracoke a couple of years ago, I ended up in a muddy ditch half full of water. This time, I’ve already run into a fence and possibly sprained my hand. Much to the amusement of the folks getting drunk at McNally’s Saturday afternoon. Something about bike riding immediately seems to turn me into Eddy from an “Absolutely Fabulous” episode from the 1990’s….
Golf carts are becoming increasingly popular on the island. Maybe I should take the hint….
What else do we do?
Enjoy the beach and nature. Well, not too much…I still can’t spend much time in the sun due to my previous history with Melanoma, but it’s nice to spend short periods of time at a beach that is all protected natural seashore. No houses or condo’s blocking it. Just natural, as it’s been for thousands of years…
Read. Books and magazines mainly as the internet is a challenge.
I’ve already read one wonderful book on my Kindle. The Cranberry Hush by Ben Monopoli was just wonderful. He really captures what it was/is like the first couple of years out of college when one is still finding out who one is and what the world is about. It really took me back to how it was for me almost 30 years ago. It’s nice to know it hasn’t changed all that much. The characters where memorable and still with me a couple of days after I finished the book. I wish it were available in print format so I could more easily share it.
Now I’m on to The Paris Wife, a novel by Paula McLain about Earnest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley, and their years in Paris in the 1920’s. I’ve always been enthralled by that era- and by Paris- so I’m enthralled by the book. At least so far…
Watch Movies on DVD: We’ve also been watching some pre-code movies from the 1930’s. They really make me aware of how the movie production code manipulated public opinion and hid harsh reality from the American people. It explains a lot about the older folks who went to these movies and formed their life view based on these depictions. I’ve always said MGM screwed up generations of Americans….
Nothing this interesting ever happens when I travel…
And I’ve been on hundreds-if not thousands- of flights…
Talk about in-flight entertainment. Passengers on a Delta flight Saturday got a “show” when a woman stripped naked and began to make a scene during their flight.
Flight 6562, en route from Chicago to New York, was descending to Kennedy Airport when the “emotionally disturbed” woman removed her clothes, reports USA TODAY.
A Newsday manager who was also on the flight said flight attendants tried to cover the woman with a blanket, but she yelled “No! No! No!”
The woman, reportedly in her late 20s, was taken into custody by local law enforcement. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, she was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens.
Why do I have the sneaking suspicion this is to discourage International travel by US Citizens so they won’t realize how bad some things are here compared to the rest of the world….
Little things like Internet Service and Mass Transit that work much better in other countries than here….
And god forbid the travel on an airline like Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air France or Singapore Airlines that show how flying should be- not how the flying cattle cars that pass for US airlines do it….
Oh, and fresh food that isn’t full of additives and mass-produced on corporate farms….
Just little things….
From ConsumerTraveler.com:
The U.S. Department of State is proposing a new Biographical Questionnaire for some passport applicants: The proposed new Form DS-5513 asks for all addresses since birth; lifetime employment history including employers’ and supervisors names, addresses, and telephone numbers; personal details of all siblings; mother’s address one year prior to your birth; any “religious ceremony” around the time of birth; and a variety of other information. According to the proposed form, “failure to provide the information requested may result in … the denial of your U.S. passport application.”
The State Department estimated that the average respondent would be able to compile all this information in just 45 minutes, which is obviously absurd given the amount of research that is likely to be required to even attempt to complete the form.
Since I’m currently in the middle of business trip, this seemed appropriate to share…
I can’t believe USAirways didn’t take top dishonors in every category. They are truly a horrible airline in every conceivable way…
From the Gadling.com:
2011’s Airline Quality Report came out this month, which means that it’s time to distill out the industry leaders in a variety of categories, from on-time departures to lost bags to general happiness among passengers. Reporting on the best of the best is only half as fun as vilifying the worst though, so Yahoo and US News took the liberty of sorting out the worst performers in each category and hanging their decapitated bodies in the public square for everyone to shame. Among the losers this year:
Meanest major carrier: United Airlines
Meanest regional carrier: American Eagle
Most complained about airline: Delta Air Lines
Most likely to be unsafe: Jetblue
Most likely to overcharge for bags: Delta / US Airways / Continental
Most likely to bump you: American Eagle
Most likely to be late: Comair
Most likely to mishandle your bag: American Eagle
Daunting stuff, right? Maybe. Bear in mind, that the AQR samples a limited data set over a limited market, and that the term “worst” doesn’t necessarily mean that service is bad. American Eagle, for example, mishandles 7.15 bags for every thousand that go through its hands. The best carrier? Air Tran at 1.63 per thousand. That’s 1 drop in the bucket versus 1.0002 drops in the bucket.
Our suggestion? If you really want to figure out why each airline performed the worst in its own category then download the AQR yourself and flip through the data. It’s the only way you can get an accurate gauge of quality.
First of all, I’m amazed that I can blog from an airplane 37000 feet in the air while I’m traveling to Phoenix on a business trip. It’s so cool to be able to access the internet in flight, but I’m so thankful they still don’t let people use cell phones. This is as good as it gets while traveling….
I’m sitting here listening to Spencer Lewis on my iPod while I type this…I’ve flown cross-country and around the world with Spencer more times than I can count and he’s never known. Maybe he will now. His music makes it so easy to create my own peaceful, pleasant bubble while surrounded by travel madness.
And travel is madness now. There is no longer anything pleasant about it. Planes are packed solid and less comfortable than the old Greyhound Buses. The airlines are out to get every penny they can from you any way they can. Customer service is non-existent.
And my fellow travelers…
I frequently think of the old Noel Coward song: “Why Do the Wrong People Travel?”
So many of them complain constantly and I don’t know why. Sure, its miserable to travel, but why do people have to wallow in it? Why can’t they just make the best of it and muddle through.
I will offer them a few travel pointers:
Never argue with the airline. You will not win. They do not care and you will only raise your blood pressure.
When your flight is delayed and you originally only had 30 minutes to make your connection, do not complain loudly to anyone and everyone within ear shot. Yes, we realize you are going to miss your connection and we do not care. You should never have booked a flight with a connection that tight in the first place. We should all know better by now. I certainly do.
If it is cold enough for you to think you need to wear a sweat shirt, it is too cold to wear flip-flops, so don’t complain loudly about your feet being cold.
If you are a man over 40, and certainly over 50, you have no excuse for wearing shorts on a plane. No one wants to see your legs anymore. Where is your sense of dignity, man?
When you travel, you are on an airplane. They do now have the internet, but they do not yet have gyms. Dress accordingly. No need to wear your workout clothes…
It is beyond tacky to bring a whole box of Bojangles Chicken on the plane and eat it by yourself. Yes, someone is doing that a couple of rows behind me…
That’s it for now. I’m going to put up the laptop and go back to listening to Spencer Lewis on my iPod with my Bose noise reduction headphones and reading my Kindle.
I’ve learned these are all necessities for my frequent travel in today’s world. They help me pretend to be anywhere but where I am. This is one moment I do not need to be in….
I just had to take advantage of the moment and the access to all this new technology.
Fascinating data from another blog (Link at bottom)…
There is a great map on this site also as well as percentages for every state…
Why am I not surprised Mississippi is last?
This also seems to prove my theory that travel is the best education. Note the states with the highest number of travelers are generally the more liberal/progressive States. Alaska is the exception, but remember you now need a Passport to enter Canada from the US and Canada borders Alaska.
I’m just back from a trip, so I decided to revise and re-run one of my older posts. It’s still accurate, but I needed to add a couple of points. I’ve never seen an industry go downhill as fast as the airlines. They have used 9/11 as an excuse to avoid any attempts at Customer service. After our tax dollars bailed them out.
Think about that, those of you who don’t want to extend unemployment benefits. We bail out entire incompetently run businesses, then people complain if we try to help the average person…
One of the reasons I don’t post as often as I might like is that I travel on business about 50% of the time. I’ve been doing this for almost 15 years now and I’ve really seen first hand the decline in quality of life for airline travelers. A lot of it– most of it– is the fault of the airlines, but my fellow travelers are also contributing heavily to the unpleasantness of travel through their own behavior. Here are 10 suggestions I think would improve the process for all of us.
1.Weld all airline seats to a stationary position. I’m tired of some drunken businessman laying in my lap and blocking my reading light all the way across the country. I never recline my seat. Not only does this lead to poor posture, I find the seat is even more uncomfortable reclined than upright. Exceptions would be made for overnight flights only.
2. Allow pets in the cabin and put ill-behaved children in the cargo hold in pet carriers. Not only would it deter terrorists if we had numerous dogs loose in the cabin, it would be much more pleasant than having some kid kicking your seat from coast to coast, screaming and crying at the top of their lungs or whining unattractively.
3. Either increase the width of the seat or enforce the policy for severely over weight people to have to buy two seats. God knows I could lose a few pounds and I hate to say this, but it really makes for an uncomfortable flight if the person next to you taking half of your space. If you have spent 5 hours hanging halfway into the aisle or unable to move your shoulders because the person next to you takes up so much space, you will know what I mean.
4. Limit carry on bags and enforce the limits. I’m sick and tired of people practically dragging steamer trunks onto 30 seater planes, then seeming amazed that they don’t fit in the overhead.
5. Deliver checked luggage in a timely manner. We now have to pay the airlines to handle checked baggage, so they should handle it quickly. I’m tired of waiting up to 45 minutes after landing for my bags to arrive.
6. Ban carry on food. Either provide it or sell it, but don’t make me smell a meatball sub for hours in a confined, ill-ventilated space.
7. Define “weather” delays so the airlines don’t use it as a catch-all excuse not to staff or schedule appropriately or pay for hotel rooms for passengers they leave stranded. I’ve seen the airlines use this excuse too many times when they strand people for several days due to canceled flights when there either is no weather issue or it was several days previous to the delay or cancellation.
8. Don’t let airlines claim an “on time” departure from pushback from the gate. Require it to be when the plane actually is airborne. This would greatly reduce the time spent sitting on planes on the tarmac.
9. Start calling “Flight Attendants” Stewards and Stewardesses again. This might bring their attitudes down a notch and make them a little less uppity and mean.
10. Ban Flip Flops. If, god forbid, there were an emergency these fools would cause half the people on the plane to die because they don’t have appropriate footwear. Just think if there was a fire, crash landing, etc. Would you want to be crawling over hot, tangled metal shoeless or with little pieces of plastic melted to your feet? These people would delay the process and endanger everyone on the plane. This isn’t just a style preference, this is a safety issue.
11. Make people dress appropriately for travel in all other ways. If you wear shorts and a tank top on a plane, you should expect to be cold. Don’t make them turn down the air conditioning so those of us who are dressed appropriately for travel, burn up.
12. Nationalize the airlines and start over by reselling them to someone with a viable new business plan and customer focused strategy. We’ve gone so far downhill, this may be the only true fix….
13. Remove the requirement that the Airlines be majority US owned. I’m thinking Richard Branson. Virgin Atlantic is a wonderful airline. It seems only American’s no longer know how to run an airline. Other countries do this much better…either learn from them or let them go ahead and run ours.
14. Make them clean the damn planes. I actually found a used diaper in my seat back pocket once. When the stewards and stewardess come down the aisle to collect trash, I’m thinking we should all start keeping it and throwing it in the floor before we leave. That may be the only way to force them to clean the planes. Now, they expect us to do that ourselves, too.
More to come…I’ve got 3 more business trips over the next month or so…
Lost in the 21st Century 
Some Thoughts from 37000 Feet
First of all, I’m amazed that I can blog from an airplane 37000 feet in the air while I’m traveling to Phoenix on a business trip. It’s so cool to be able to access the internet in flight, but I’m so thankful they still don’t let people use cell phones. This is as good as it gets while traveling….
I’m sitting here listening to Spencer Lewis on my iPod while I type this…I’ve flown cross-country and around the world with Spencer more times than I can count and he’s never known. Maybe he will now. His music makes it so easy to create my own peaceful, pleasant bubble while surrounded by travel madness.
And travel is madness now. There is no longer anything pleasant about it. Planes are packed solid and less comfortable than the old Greyhound Buses. The airlines are out to get every penny they can from you any way they can. Customer service is non-existent.
And my fellow travelers…
I frequently think of the old Noel Coward song: “Why Do the Wrong People Travel?”
So many of them complain constantly and I don’t know why. Sure, its miserable to travel, but why do people have to wallow in it? Why can’t they just make the best of it and muddle through.
I will offer them a few travel pointers:
That’s it for now. I’m going to put up the laptop and go back to listening to Spencer Lewis on my iPod with my Bose noise reduction headphones and reading my Kindle.
I’ve learned these are all necessities for my frequent travel in today’s world. They help me pretend to be anywhere but where I am. This is one moment I do not need to be in….
I just had to take advantage of the moment and the access to all this new technology.
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