Rainy Day and Monday in the OBX

I didn't get up quite so early this morning.  Probably because I didn't get to bed very early the night before.  Also, it was windy and nasty outside (I left the sliding door open to the deck outside of my bedroom open), so I kept snuggling back under the blankets and hitting the snooze.

Instead of heading out to the beach, I headed upstairs to make coffee and breakfast.  Turkey bacon, eggs, sourbread toast and decent coffee with real milk.  Great start to the day...but the impending thunderstorms were not.  I decided to avoid the beach and head straight out.

As soon as I hit the road, it started pouring...a deluge from the sky. Once I got back on 12 signs began to appear stating that the road is prone to flooding. Total awesomeness.  Luckily, the speed limit through Duck goes to 35, then down to 25 so there was no rush getting through the big puddles.  I gave up once I hit the edge of Corolla and pulled over into a strip mall.

First place I checked out is Alice's Craft Gallery.  The woman working behind the counter asked me where I was visiting from.  When I told her I was from Bedford, VA I was surprised when she admitted to knowing exactly where that was.  Interestingly, she had recently moved to the Outer Banks from Roanoke.  Small world.

After a bit of shopping, it stopped raining and I hit the road.  My luck held out and I found Currituck Lighthouse.  I have to admit that I think it's the prettiest of the three I've seen so far.

I just found the natural red brick surrounded by the greenery to be lovely.  I took lots of pictures...LOL.

And closer...

There were a couple of buildings on the grounds.  The larger of the two is a private residence, but the smaller

with it's charming gingerbread trim and red roof is currently used as a shop.  I got my charm for my charm bracelet here (one of the two souvenirs I have to get every time I travel), a tiny lighthouse with an "OBX" tag attached and a replacement for my wheeled tote bag busted by Austrian Airlines when I went to Vienna. Wooohooo...I was so excited to see that tote!

I decided against climbing up the lighthouse.  If I climb one, I'm saving my energy for Hatteras. I walked the circular path around the grounds.  At one point, there was a very strong scent of pine in the damp air.  Gotta love those long needled Carolina Pines!

I wandered about a bit, planning to explore the old Corolla, and was distracted by a wooden walkway headed toward the sound.  Getting closer, I found a sign stating that this was a educational walk into the wetlands, so I decided to explore.

Luckily, it was too cold for mosquitoes or I'm sure I would have been eaten alive.  Most of the walk was over swamp with tall grasses growing on each side.  Finally, it resolved to a little observation deck looking out over the sound.

There were lots of birds, including this crane (that you can barely see in the distance!).

There were also a surprising number of ravens.  Their feathers were so black that they shimmered blue.  There is the lighthouse in the distance.

I headed back, and it began to rain again.  I had been planning to wander around a bit more, but I left my umbrella in the car.  I tried to find a parking spot closer to the old schoolhouse so I could check it out...but it was starting to pour again.  I gave up and headed back to Duck and the waterfront shopping area.

By then I was also starving.  There is a restaurant called The Blue Point that is supposed to be the best in the Outer Banks.  I was hoping to try it out for lunch.  Guess what?  It's closed Monday for lunch.

It's still a quaint little shopping area.  Not all of the shops were open, but it was pretty deserted, so no jostling for bargains.  Still starving, I headed to Duck's Cottage Coffee & Bookstore in the hopes of locating sustenance.   I found it in the form of a banana chocolate chip muffin and a large cup of hot chocolate.

Another interesting thing about Duck are the painted horses you see every once in awhile in front of shops and businesses.

This one was in front of the shops at the waterfront.  Actually, this one is a lot less colorful than most I saw.

I headed back and stopped a couple more times, once at Nags Head Hammocks.  Very cool stuff and I was very interested in the DuraWood swings.  Gotta love anything made with recycled milk cartons.

That pretty much finished up the day except for stopping at the local wallyworld for a couple of necessities I forgot. It was too late to find a local fishmonger, which I really need to do tomorrow.  Must have shrimp and fish.  I also need to visit some local eateries for lunches. While the muffin was yummy...it wasn't what I needed to find. Maybe I'll head back to Duck tomorrow?