Tampa at Night

From the 20th floor of the Marriott Waterside. (Here for another SACS event.)

Shopping at the Community Store

After lunch at Howard's, we headed to the Community Store for some last-minute provisions. Ian, tired, found a spot to sit and relax.

View from Howard's

Taken from the roof of Howard's Pub, on the outskirts of Ocracoke village.

Cam and Libby

She seems quite taken with her oldest cousin.

Ian's Fish

The restaurant's kiddie menu said, "Draw a fish," so Ian did. We're not sure why it has a saddle, but it's still quite good for the work of a four-year-old, we think.

Ahoy, Matey!

Ian has worn this hat around all over Ocracoke and particularly enjoyed having it for this play area outside the Village Craftsmen shop on Howard Street. Cam got a hat too but doesn't seem to enjoy wearing his as much.

Snack Time

Ian and Elena share a snack on the beach.

Searching for Shells

While Cam and his Nana preferred the traditional standing-and-looking method of shell-hunting, I chose the rather unconventional floating-and-touching approach, which was singularly unsuccessful but helped soothe my sunburned shoulders. In the end we came away with a few sand dollars, a few more olive shells, several large cockle shells, and more scallop shells than anyone has a right to.

Ian in the Sand

Ian seemed to enjoy the beach almost as much as Cam, though he was generally more keen on digging in the sand than on splashing in the surf.

Cam Soaked

Though a bit hesitant about the waves the first day, Cam quickly got accustomed to them and by mid-week was playing in the surf like a trooper. He still would sometimes come in to dry his face on a towel but only so he could rush right back out to play in the water more.

Libby Sleeping

While the rest of us played in the surf or hunted for shells, Libby generally slept during our times at the beach.

Ocracoke Surf

We drove out onto the beach — thank goodness for all-wheel drive! — every morning for the first five days of our stay. Fortunately, aside from a brief thunderstorm Monday night, the weather was gorgeous throughout.

Great Egret Fishing

Birds are omnipresent on Ocracoke. We particularly enjoyed watching the egrets fishing in the canal behind our house.

Riding the Shark

Outside of Books to Be Red, the only bookstore on the island.

Pony Pen

The "Banker" ponies of Ocracoke are supposedly the descendents of horses shipwrecked on the Outer Banks in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Too bad there was nothing to do here but stare at them in the hot sun.

NC 12 (Irving Garrish Highway)

Ocracoke village is near the southern tip of a long barrier island, the rest of which is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and undeveloped. The highway that runs the length of the island is sometimes blocked by shifting sand, though sea oats and other plants help to stabilize the dunes.

Teach's Hole

Here in 1718, Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard, met his end.

Hermit Crab

I thought this was a neat shell to take home, until I realized it was already taken.

Live Oak at Springer's Point

Springer's Point is a nature preserve nestled in a small forest just southwest of Ocracoke village. I happened upon it during my Wednesday walk.

Ocracoke Lighthouse

The requisite photo of Ocracoke's landmark.

Bulldogs on Vacation

On my Wednesday morning walk, I came across these two lazing on Adirondacks outside the Island Inn.

Howard Street

Not all of the roads on Ocracoke are paved. Howard Street runs parallel behind the main highway, the gnarled old trees providing it with much more shade than can be found elsewhere on the island. I think back here is my favorite part of the village.

Watching the Sunset over Silver Lake

Joanna insisted that I start including more photos of myself on this blog — here I was thinking that if I held the camera I could avoid being in the photos! — so here's one from our date night on Tuesday, taken at the Jolly Roger, an open-air pub overlooking Silver Lake, Ocracoke's harbor.

Pirate Cyclops

Ian's been going through quite a pirate phase lately, and being on Ocracoke has only encouraged him. (Blackbeard was killed here, and other eighteenth-century pirates used the island as a base, so there are lots of pirate-themed trinkets on sale in the shops.) He hasn't quite figured out how to wear the eyepatch yet, though.

Cousins Entranced

Here they're all watching a Thomas video in the upstairs living room.

Playing in the Surf

Ocracoke has miles of pristine beaches, which you can drive out on with all-wheel drive. (The Suzuki has handled this marvelously, despite some initial worries.) We've already gone out there twice.

British Cemetery

Our house is on British Cemetery Road, just a few dozen yards from the cemetery itself, the last resting place of four sailors whose Royal Navy trawler was torpedoed by a U-boat in 1942. A plaque has lines from Rupert Brooke's 1915 poem "The Soldier":
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.