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UNCLE JACK'S WEBLOG
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| Wednesday, April 18, 2012 | | April---- The New June? | Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. are nearing the end of a most enjoyable two-week stay in South Nags Head. Not even a nasty bout of pneumonia could prevent him from enjoying the spectacular weather that has prevailed ever since they arrived on Easter Sunday. Lucky are those visitors who scheduled their vacations and weddings in early April this year---a period usually thought of in real estate circles as the deep off-season. If this be global warming let us have more of it.
He made a number of discoveries during this visit, one of which is that South Nags Head is a great place to recover from pneumonia which basically involves about 18 hours of sleep a day for most of a week accompanied by daily doses of a powerful antibiotic. The competent staff at Nags Head Urgent Care promptly diagnosed his problem and prescribed the right medicine so his ordeal was far less aggravating than it might have been in Charm City where ambulances wail day and night bearing gunshot victims to nearby hospitals.
A post-recovery drive with friends to Hatteras Village brought a new discovery---an exciting place to eat lunch in Waves---on a Monday in April no less. It's a place on the sound side of Highway 12 called Real Watersports which appears to be a major center for windsurfing on Hatteras. One of the buildings contains a take-out restaurant called Mojo's which is fronted by a large veranda with picnic tables and rocking chairs overlooking the sound where windsurfers and kiteboarders race to and fro in entertaining fashion at all times. Uncle Jack's barbeque sandwich was a lot better than he had any right to expect under the circumstances and a draft beer from Hawaii (?) was almost as good as a Yuengling lager. Highly recommended for bored and hungry travelers passing through Waves, especially during the off-season.
Their second dinner at the Blue Moon restaurant in the Surfside Plaza shopping center in Nags Head confirmed that their first delightful experience there last month was not a fluke. Good food, excellent service, reasonable prices and a welcoming atmosphere are a rare combination anywhere.
It will be tough to leave on Saturday while this weather prevails but hopefully their house will not be solidly booked in May (the new July?) and they will be able to get back soon. Some prime time weeks are still available so if you're looking for a comfortable, modestly priced, close-to-the-beach small house in the best part of South Nags Head you might want to check it out by Googling "Uncle Jack's Beach Cottage".
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click for larger image | Nothing much going on at the marina next to the ferry docks in Hatteras Village. Nice place to sit in the sun, though. |
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click for larger image | A picture of people taking pictures of people at Hatteras Lighthouse---a scene to be repeated thousands of times during the next few months. |
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click for larger image | The view from the veranda at Real Watersports. Fun to watch, especially on a sunny, breezy day. |
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click for larger image | The temporary bridge over New New Inlet (made in Baltimore) is showing signs of wear but it's still doing its job of connecting Hatteras with the real world. |
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click for larger image | Uncle Jack's charming house in South Nags Head. Senior citizen friendly with all rooms on one floor only seven steps up from the ground. Three minute walk to the beach. |
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posted by Uncle Jack at 11:38 AM |
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| Friday, April 6, 2012 | | Baltimore in Bloom | It was with some trepidation that Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. packed up and moved to Baltimore three years ago after many years of living full time on the Outer Banks. Lucky for them they have learned that this was far from a fate worse than death. As the pictures below show, Charm City doth have charms---especially in the spring when zillions of trees, bushes and flowers burst into bloom.
Also lucky for them is the fact that they still have a place in Nags Head to which they can escape whenever renters are not in residence, as they did for two weeks at the end of last month and hope to do again very shortly. They look forward to getting back to the beach as much as they do returning to Baltimore which is a very fortunate state of affairs.
There is more to Bawlmer than just trees and flowers, of course. We also have birds---Orioles and Ravens in particular. Today is Opening Day for the Birds of Spring who haven't had a winning season since the last century but they did beat the Red Sox in their final game last year so there is hope. Every year there is hope.
Uncle Jack is happy to report that he was so encouraged by finishing the Brothers Karamazov in less than a month that he has taken the ultimate plunge and downloaded James Joyce's "Ulysses" into his Kindle. A lot of very smart people have said that this is the greatest novel every written and it is also one of the hardest to read so he thought he had better get started before it's too late. After all he is 82 and it could take him ten years to read it at the rate he is going. When you have to look up every other word in the dictionary it tends to slow you down a bit. He has learned a lot of interesting words already and he is only on page 5.
Happy Holidays to all. See you on the beach next week if all goes well. |
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click for larger image | Some of the thousands of tulips newly planted in Sherwood Gardens, a public park about a ten-minute walk from the condo. |
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posted by Uncle Jack at 9:48 AM |
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click picture for more | | After retiring in 2005 after 35 years as owner/operator of Yellowhouse Gallery and Annex on the Beach Road in Nags Head, Uncle Jack, accompanied by Mrs. Uncle Jack (a.k.a. Susan), commenced to travel extensively. This blog is a chronicle of their ramblings around the U.S. (in their redoubtable Mini Cooper convertible) as well as visits to England, Ireland, France, Italy, and Malta, interspersed with lengthy stays in South Nags Head and Baltimore between trips. He took a lot of pictures along the way, many of which are posted along with each blog entry. |
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