More Wednesdayness

So, I found that my friendly neighborhood seafood market was still open (for another half hour) wooohooo!  I promptly purchased a half pound of large shrimp and two crab cakes.  Now, keep in mind this is all locally caught seafood and the shrimp is fresh off the boat today (crab cakes are made in store, and frozen)

So, tonight it was shrimp.  I stopped off at Food Lion and picked up some fresh garlic and brown rice.  I chopped up two large cloves of garlic and simmered it slowly in my organic Smart Balance (yeah, I know...Paula Dean would be horrified).  While that was getting all fragrant, I cleaned and de-veined the shrimpies, which was a gross job.  Luckily, the owner of the condo does stock a small, sharp knife.  I also busted out the fresh broccoli I got earlier this week and cleaned enough for a serving (cuz I gotta have my veggies!).

While the broccoli was steaming, I slowly simmered the shrimp in the garlic/buttery spread mixture to which I'd added a bit of extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.  Rice went in the microwave because I can be a lazy cook.

For once, my cooking timing was on-target, and it was all done at once.  Plated it up and served with a semi-dry white wine

The verdict? OMG...I've died and gone to Heaven!  The shrimp was delicate, tender, and perfectly cooked.  Even the broccoli was perfect.  I have enough left for another meal...maybe lunch tomorrow?

I've been thinking of Mom a lot during this trip as the last time I was here I was with her.  She and I felt the same way about the ocean...maybe she more strongly felt drawn to it than I.  She always insisted on having an ocean view and wanted to sleep with the window open so she could sleep to the sound of the surf.   This solo trip I also realized that we have the solo escape in common as well.  She would take vacations on her own to relax and escape the pressures of her life.

The BIG difference between she and I with our solo trips is that she would take the time to exercise and eat right.  I suppose I have gotten *some* exercise by default (shopping is exercise, right?) but I am enjoying letting the reins go in my diet.  I am totally planning to head out and get some ice cream in a few minutes...while I hit the cheezy tourist shops along the main drag.  

Tomorrow I plan to visit Shackleford Banks....and do the serious shelling that Mom and I loved to do.  This time Mom...I will remember the sunscreen!

Quick Weds Post

I spent most of today on the beach.  Did N-O-T-H-I-N-G at all.  Well, I read some and watched the birds, listened to the waves, moved my beach chair according to the shadow cast by the beach umbrella....basically, nothing.

The beach was deserted and the weather was perfect.  Sunny and bright with a cool, brisk breeze coming over the water.  I continue to recommend beach vacations after Labor Day, otherwise would you have a beach to yourself like this:

I spent several hours sitting under that umbrella reading Pride and Prejudice on my Nook.  My view was also awesome

The terns were amusing as they ran into and away from the surf.  A couple of times some brown pelicans flew past, skimming the surf, looking for lunch.  There were some surfers out too, so there was plenty to watch.  I didn't go into the water much myself due to the strong riptide warnings, but I did get my feet wet a couple of times.

Anyway...came back to the room and showered off the sand and sunscreen (happy to report no sunburn!) and I'll head out to see if the fish market is still open.  If not, it's eating out tonight.  Maybe that all you can eat seafood buffet down the street?

A Better Kind of Fish

I got up at a reasonable time today...not as early as I wanted to, but not slothlike.  So, after the morning oatmeal and coffee, I decided that today would be a good day to go to the aquarium.  North Carolina has 4 state aquariums, the closest one to where I am is the one at Pine Knoll Shores.

Let me just say that going on a beach vacation after Labor Day is da bomb!  Parking is easy, no lines for tickets, no screaming kiddies... So I decided to also pay the extra 3 bucks to see the bird show.  More on that later.

There are more than fishies at the aquarium.  There are turtles

Aren't they cute?  They had some sea turtles too, but I didn't get any good pictures of them :(.  We also had some snakes

These are corn snakes and I thought they were actually really pretty.  I skipped the scary poisonous ones.  Since we're on reptiles

A happy lil gator sunning on a rock. We also have the traditional ocean dwellers here

 Sharks and Lionfish and Seahorses, oh MY!  Poor lil seahorses, I think I blinded them with my flash. I put them into hiding.

They have a couple of touch tanks, one with rays, which was not lit very well, and one with Horseshoe crabs sharing space with Hermit crabs.  One hermit crab kept hitching a ride on his buddy, which I thought was funny.  Another horseshoe speeds by... Speaking of crabs

Oh come on...I had to!  One of my favorite photos I have of my mother, is her doing this same pose.

The bird show was pretty cool too and totally worth the extra 3 bucks.  Couple of highlights:

That's a great horned  owl

And a red tailed hawk. After, I went outside to the wetlands exhibit, which was cool...but not photo friendly.  I saw some herons and Ibis, but through telescopes.  I wanted to do the half mile nature hike, but got turned around by a swarm of giant mosquitoes.

I headed back to my condo as I had forgotten my camera card in the netbook (my camera does have some memory without the card...but I had to delete some less than awesome photos in the aquarium when I ran out of memory. It was WAY past lunchtime by that point and I was starving.  I started driving around and unwittingly ended up at The Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant.  I don't know why I was there...the last time I ate there the food was awful and overpriced.  I continue to be underwhelmed, but they did have Yuengling on tap and I had forgotten how awesome their hushpuppies were.  I had scallops in lobster sauce over linguini.  It wasn't bad...it just wasn't great.  Still, the atmosphere was neat and my waitress was awesome.  I walked off the overeating pasta bloat by wandering around the shops along the waterfront in Morehead City.

I had forgotten a couple of essentials (of course), so I stopped at the local Wallyworld and headed home.  I was getting a little tired, but I hadn't been to the beach yet today...so I pushed myself to go for a walk, and I was super glad I did.  There was a lovely breeze and the tide was coming in, so we had a bit of surf.

The beach was almost entirely deserted...there were a handful of surfers down near the decrepit fishing pier, so I headed the opposite direction.  It was perfect.

I walked about a half mile before it started to get pretty dark, so I had to head back. 

Last photo before it got too dark.  Sooooo pretty.  

I haven't really been hungry since that huge, late lunch so I've had some cheese and crackers with my wine.  I think tomorrow will be my beach day, maybe break in the afternoon and go to Ft. Fisher during the high sun time so I don't fry.  Thursday will be Shackleford Banks and I am determined to see horses this time!

Monday in Paradise

Well, things rarely go as I plan.  I did not get up early as I had intended, but it's my vacation and I can sleep late if I wanna.  I did put on my yoga capris, t-shirt, and big floppy hat to head out to the beach as soon as I was fully awake.  It was a pretty day, even if it was a bit hot. 

I had my camera and a mesh bag for seashells.  Not too many shells on the beach here, but I didn't really expect there to be...that's why I'm heading to Shackleford Banks later this week. The beach is really pretty at this end

 

There are a few signs of Irene around, the most obvious being the mostly missing fishing pier

After my walk on the beach I made myself some brunch (breakfast at lunchtime in this case) and decided to head over to Beaufort after my shower.  Beaufort is a lovely waterfront town just oozing with history.  I am proud of myself for not getting lost getting there.

Mostly, for me...Beaufort is shopping.  There are lots of neat little shops and eateries there, as well as the Maritime Museum and boats out to the barrier islands.  Of course, there are the houses, mostly along the waterfront

Aren't they quaint?  Many have been turned into businesses (like antique shops) or B&Bs, but some remain private homes.  Always wanted to live in a place like that?

This one's for sale.  Needs a little help, but it's still cute.   These houses have awesome views out across the sound, like this one

Of course I did some shopping too!  Highlights include a purple t-shirt that proclaims "I can't remember if I'm the good sister or the evil one" and a copy of  "The Outer Banks Cookbook" which came in handy later the same day. I got some butter pecan ice cream for lunch and walked around some more.  I walked all the way up and down the waterfront, then the main street.  I found the General Store, which was my favorite place to shop last time I was here, and almost bought a pirate hat at half price.  I got a root beer float instead. Guess it was a mucho ice cream kinda day.  Had to take a pic of this restaurant sign 

When they started rolling up the sidewalks, I headed back to Atlantic Beach. I had already decided that this trip would be seafood filled, so I stopped at a seafood market on the way back. I stopped at the Atlantic Beach Seafood Market and picked out a nice piece of grouper.  They had a sign saying that they'll be closed tomorrow, but I'm definitely going back on Wednesday!

When I got back to my room, I looked through my new cookbook and decided to try the recipe for Pan-Roasted Fish.  I headed over to Food Lion for the few things I'd need and it started to rain on my way back.  Oh well, at least I didn't have to rush through dinner to see if I could do another walk on the beach.

I didn't do too bad with the grouper, although I did set off the smoke detector 4 times.  Nothing burnt, the thing is just too darn close to the oven.  It looked pretty comin out of the oven though

I made some homemade cole slaw to go with it.  I'm not big on the store bought stuff and if I'm planning to cook a lot of seafood this week I'll eat a lot o cole slaw too!

Yummo! Nice glass of wine and I had a feast! There's a Marilyn Monroe film festivus on TMC so I have that on while I'm typing this. 

I also picked up a tourist map today and I'm thinking about heading to the aquarium and/or to New Bern tomorrow (there is a farmer's market there).  At some point I think I want to head out to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse too.  Gonna be a busy week.

Tired on arrival

Well, I'm here....trying to get used to typing on a netbook again.  If I only had tiny, delicate hands...but noooo.

Anyway, pretty uneventful drive.  5 hours of uneventful..oy.  Much of it was unsettlingly familiar as I didn't realize that I'd be driving through Durham, NC...home of Duke University Medical center.  Anyway, no good to dwell, I'm on vacation.

It wasn't an incredibly scenic drive...although I did enjoy the fields of cotton.  It's getting close to harvest time and I always find the sight of cotton balls on plants to be amusing somehow.  Of course, the cotton fields were interspersed with tobacco, less amusing but somehow fascinating as the plants are now in bloom. Yes, tobacco plants have blooms.

Anyway, as I said 5 hours with the only thing really amusing me are the cotton balls.  Still, as the ground got flatter and the soil sandier, I began to get more and more excited.  I don't know what it is about the sea that calls to me, but I always feel that same thrill as I get closer to it.  The road hypnosis disappeared as I crossed over the intercoastal waterway and began to catch glimpses of the familiar blue green horizon through the trees.

This year, I either have to update my Garmin or get a new one (it may be cheaper to replace it).  A couple of times the roads had changed a bit and Gremlin the Garmin was thrown into a tizzy...she also wanted me to drive past the condo, but I'm too smart for her.  I found the place without getting lost and got in with no problems.  Like London...it's tiny (actually tinier) but entirely adequate.  I'm a little bummed that I face the parking lot and not the ocean...but the window doesn't open anyway and I just won't open the blinds.  I believe this was probably once a motel that they converted. It's clean and the bed is comfy...so I'm good.

I haven't been out to the beach yet unfortunately.  I got here later than I planned, due to later departure than anticipated.  Unpacking took awhile, and I needed to get some groceries and cook dinner as I really hadn't had anything that counted as actual food all day (blue slushies and Keebler cheez crackers are not actually food).

I had a craving for barbeque chicken as I must have driven past a dozen or so BBQ joints on the way down. I need to find a better grocery store as I had bypassed the Food Lion for a Lowes but the variety of organics wasn't much improved.  I did get some organic chicken legs and cooked them in BBQ sauce on the stovetop...lil bit of corn and yummyyyy.  I got a couple of bottles of wine and am currently enjoying some cheese (Cabot's Seriously Sharp Cheddar) and crackers with my chardonnay.

I'm hoping to get up early for a walk on the beach...then maybe some yoga in the room (it's big enough for that) because I brought my mat and DVDs.  I have to check out the weather when I am done here to figure out what else I want to do.  I definitely want to hit the aquarium, but I'll save it for a rainy day.  Other plans include Shackleford Banks, downtown Beaufort, Fort Fisher...and the lighthouse...not to mention the Maritime Museum. Busy busy...need to clean the kitchen and sleep

Getting Ready to Go

This time, my travels will take me to somewhere far less exotic...Atlantic Beach, NC.  I love just hanging out at the beach, although I'm not one for sunbathing and tanning.  I'm more a "stroll along the edge of the water in the morning and evening looking for seashells" kinda gal.  When I lived in NJ, I drove to Sunset Beach in Cape May almost every other weekend.

I will be staying here:

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p363665

or...same property, different website:

http://www.vrbo.com/344581

Although it's likely the pool will be closed, I'm stoked to be at the beach.  Upcoming adventures will be Shackleford Banks, visiting the Maritime Museum in Beaufort on "Talk Like a Pirate Day," eating lots of seafood, and shopping (of course).

Until then...

Quick Epilogue

I cleaned up my photos and re-posted them on the blog pages.  I also uploaded all 180ish pics to a Picassa web album.  So, if you haven't seen enough of London, here are all my pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103071103509957656017/AGroovyChickSSoloAdventuresInLondon?authkey=Gv1sRgCIrpnsqQz8b8vQE&feat=directlink