Sunday, February 15, 2015 |
Winter in South Nags Head |
Uncle Jack is happy to report that neither he nor Mrs. U.J. nor the Mini has been blown away by the serious winds of the past couple of days and they are continuing to enjoy their deep-winter sojourn in South Nags Head. They wandered around in the neighborhood with his ancient Sony Cyber-Shot and took more pictures of drifted sand which has become the new bete-noir of oceanfront property owners in Sonag. (And a new source of fulfillment for commercial front-loader owners). One day they satisfied a long-time itch by driving over to Mann's Harbor and exploring the length of Mashoes Road which traverses a strange and almost scary section of swamp just north of the village. The picture below does not do justice to the overall eeriness of the terrain. The road and the little cluster of houses at the end of it take their name from a man named Peter Mashoes who is said to have washed ashore a couple of hundred years ago and built a house there when the forest was still primeval. On their way home they stopped to visit the Welcome Center of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on northern Roanoke Island across from the Lost Colony entrance. Lots of interesting exhibits to look at and well worth an hour of their time. More to come when it warms up enough to go outside. |
 click for larger image | The Outer Banks Fishing Pier in South Nags Head is closed for the season which is probably a good thing considering the present difficulty in getting to it. |
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 click for larger image | Whimsical Mother Nature keeps robbing sand from under these Seagull Drive cottages to pile it up where it isn't wanted.
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 click for larger image | The northernmost house on Seagull keeps tilting a little more with each storm. Might be resting on the beach before the winter is over.
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 click for larger image | A few years ago the problem would have been to replace the walkway and stairs that washed away in a nor'easter. Never a dull moment for the oceanfront home owner. |
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 click for larger image | What a difference a day makes. Yesterday (Friday) the waves were rolling right up to the dunes. Today the ocean is calm and the beach is as wide as it gets. |
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 click for larger image | For an otherworldly experience just drive over the old bridge to Manns Harbor and turn right on Mashoes Road. It's only a few miles long but it looks like something Mother Nature might have produced on a bad day.
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 click for larger image | Uncle Jack's house in South Nags Head is dog friendly and ideally suited for senior citizens because all rooms are on the first floor only seven steps up from the ground. Google Uncle Jack's Beach Cottage for more info. |
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 click for larger image | One of the dozens of photos in Uncle Jack's Kindle book along with 100 funny stories about life on the Outer Banks. Google "Uncle Jack's Outer Banks" to find out how to order. A steal at only $4.99. |
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posted by Uncle Jack at 1:44 PM | Comments [7] |
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Thursday, February 12, 2015 |
Winter in South Nags Head |
Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. have fled Charm City ahead of a week in which three different snowfalls are predicted along with sub-freezing temperatures and strong winds. No matter what happens in Sonag weatherwise in the next couple of weeks it will be better than that. He got up to the beach with his camera today to see what Mother Nature has wrought since he was last here a few weeks ago. Needless to say she has moved a lot of sand around as the pictures below show. The beach renourishment sand seems to have provided her with a new plaything and she appears to be having a good time with it, flinging it around to places where it has never been seen before and creating some unusual problems for oceanfront home owners. He needs to charge up the battery on his ancient Sony Cybershot tonight so he can get out and take some more pictures tomorrow. Lucky for him he brought his longjohns from Baltimore because it's going to be cold out there. Stay tuned. |
 click for larger image | Must have been some strong winds from the southwest recently to cover this heat pump in back of this house. Unlike snow it's not going to melt away when the weather warms up. |
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 click for larger image | The dunes are in great shape in this area north of Whitecap Street but getting to the beach is a bit of a challenge these days. |
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 click for larger image | There's about a ten foot drop from the top of this dune to the walkway below but overwash is no longer a problem.
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 click for larger image | The storm that nearly destroyed the Rodanthe pier earlier this week has moved on but the surf is still formidable and at high tide the beach is almost completely under water. |
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 click for larger image | Looking north from the top of a dune toward Jennette's Pier which has a cleaner bottom after the huge waves of a couple of days ago. Not much beach to walk on today (Thursday 2/12) |
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 click for larger image | Uncle Jack's rental calendar is filling up fast but there are a few choice weeks in June and August (and off-season) still available at this moment. For further info Google "Uncle Jack's Beach Cottage".
Discover South Nags Head. |
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.jpg) click for larger image | Uncle Jack's Kindle book is selling like hotcakes. He raked in $3.72 in royalties last month. Google "Uncle Jack's Outer Banks" and find out how you, too, can supplement his meager Social Security check. |
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posted by Uncle Jack at 5:39 PM | Comments [3] |
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