Beach

In a nice break from painting (painting over the mistake of Apricot Cream with Horizon Gray) and other household projects, went for a walk on the beach with Mark and Chris at Fort Macon State Park today, then had lunch at Spouter Inn in Beaufort.

The Bridge is Back

To the tune of the chorus of Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back”:


Yes the bridge, yes the bridge,
Yes the bridge is back.
No more detours, highway’s in the past.
Take the bridge, take the bridge
It’s the new direct route.
Just relax when it moves—
That’s what drawbridges do.

Whoa-oh-oh.

This drawbridge reopened yesterday after a few years of construction that interfered with getting from our neighborhood, and other by-ways and residential parts of Greater New Bern, to downtown. The trip required more time, with a short detour onto a busy highway. (This was nothing compared to yer average Northeastern commute.) As they sensed their customers migrating to other establishments reached more efficiently, retailers and restauranteurs felt that the limited access and prolonged building process was the bitter icing on the sagging cake of the national economy.
 
Now, however, "Everyone's celebrating," as the proprietor of Mitchell's Hardware said rapturously, his face aglow not only from the setting sun, during an evening stroll on the first day the bridge was open to traffic. Indeed, there was a festive, Renoir-ish feel to the scene, with a stream of cars (carrying happy spenders, one hopes) going into town, and a stream of pedestrians going the other way on the sidewalk hung with red and yellow banners. Parents pushed strollers ("Yes, Tanitha, you were on that bridge the very first day!") and young couples snapped commemorative photos of each other against the background of marina and sunset.
 
The governor will be here for the official dedication on Monday, they say.

Lucky day?

As of this moment, my flickr photostream has been viewed 7,777 times, which sounds like a lucky number to me.  According to a perhaps wacky web site I found by googling, "The octal number 7777 is significant, it represents the limit, two hexagrams. It is the 10,000 things, it is that which is more than we care to count. This is possibly similar to R. Buckminster Fuller's Wave Pulsation of Indigs."

Oh, ahhh!

Also, we are lucky to have a gorgeous weather here this weekend in "the Land of the Long Leaf Pine/The summer land where the sun doth shine."  It sure is a-shinin' today.  After yoga, I drove to Pollocksville just for the hell of it, took a couple of pictures, turned around, and headed back home (hadn't had my morning coffee yet and it was nigh onto noon).

We've enjoyed having Mark and Chris back in town.

We did the "pub crawl" on St. Patrick's Day night (a semi-organized civic function, with earnest, novice bagpipers from the NBFD that followed in the wake of the merry-makers. No trad, alas). We fondly recalled marching in the 3-mile Holyoke parade with spectators' lawn chairs perched on snow banks, and a wind chill of 20 degrees, followed by Susan and Steve's really fun annual party (where I once was thrilled to meet the Parade Marshall of the year). I toasted friends afar with a ceremonial green Harp at The Chelsea, while my comrades drank The Guinness, as Barry Maloney would call it.

Slainte.

Craven: Our County

Spring

Planted lettuce, broccoli, and arugula.  Boat will be delivered today.  Temps in the 70s this week.  Mockingbirds singing like crazy in the back yard. Can spring be far behind?

Path to freedom

Path to freedom

Thanks, T.L.

Yesterday, went to a high school tournament basketball game in nearby Greenville (Kinston 66, Northwood 43).

Then we discovered Ham's, a brewpub with some great crafted beers. Had a fun and interesting conversation at the bar with the brewmaster. We enjoyed pints of his Chiba and Peg Leg, and we got a sneak preview taste of his imperial porter, brewed with smoked cherries--it had a wonderful aroma, like a single-malt scotch. For some reason, we'd thought Ham's is like Denny's.  Instead, this was more like the brewery in Northampton.  Yay.
Cheers, T.L.!

Newcomers' mutual pet peeves

Through flickr, I discovered the Uprooted Photographer. He and his wife recently moved to New Bern when he was transferred here for work. Well, y'all could've buttered my buns and called me a biscuit when I saw that he'd posted on his blog our top three petty annoyances: weirdly soft water; no use of turn signals; and the DMV. Cracked me up.

Follow this link to see Zach's observations on Southern Super Bowl Snacks and scroll down to see "What Grinds Our Gears."

Ahoy, ye scurvy swamp rats!

We celebrated the onset of March--and, one hopes--spring, by purchasing a boat.

Tim found it on Craig's List, and it was almost eerily exactly what we'd had in mind, after much research and thought:  "2002 Four Winns Horizon 18'6" Volvo Penta V-8 Drive on Trailer. Included with this boat is a Bimini Top, Boarding Ladder, New Boat Cover, Compass, Depth Finder and Stereo. Boat is in excellent condition and would make a great family Ski boat." It was in the nearby town of Oriental.

So on a sunny morning we headed out to Powercraft Marine. We climbed all over the boat, and inspected the engine, the propeller, the snap-in carpet--as if we knew what we were doing. But, we had had guidance from longtime boaters, my sister Kathy and brother-in-law Gerry (former Commodore of the Scioto Boat Club), and advice from Knowledgeable Friends.

We made an offer, it was accepted, and then Jeff, the proprietor (from Long Island, improbably, and savior of an abandoned hound dog named, also improbably, Kona), said that his associate Donald would take it out on the water with us if we'd like. 

Donald is not from Long Island; he was born and raised right there, and he had a wonderful coastal accent and the face of a guy who's been out in the weather all his life. "This is a clean boat," he told us. When he was a kid, his uncle had made him a raft for fishing in the creeks, since they couldn't afford a boat. He'd had jobs on commercial vessels, and had worked at Powercraft for 20 years. He towed the boat to the public boat launch visible in the photo above: the open parking lot area beside the bridge. We cruised up Smith Creek, got a bit of a lesson about using the throttle and trim, then headed down Greens Creek and Tim and I each took a turn at the wheel.  Not another boat in sight, just pelicans floating about, who wisely took off at our approach. "My, she was yar." Discovering that it was more comfortable than expected in Feburary out on the water, Donald called himself a "wuss" for having suited up in extra coveralls and, not eager to get back to work in the shop on this fine day, took us out onto the "big river," the Neuse.  Then we returned to the launch, he single-handedly trailered the boat (!), and back we drove in his pick-up.  When the title comes from Raleigh, they'll deliver it, and we'll register it. We'll need to get our dock and lift inspected since it hasn't been used for some years. Then the adventure begins.

Come on down.  We've got a PFD with your name on it,

but y'all'll have to bring your own skis.