Well its been another short lapse of time but for good reason. Our lab crew headed out on Wednesday for overnight sampling. It had already been a full week. Tuesday and Wednesday Jane and I were left on our own to take care of business. This meant checking out the truck and driving myself to Hoop Hole to do fiddler crab and plant sampling.
It was a change of pace to be in charge of things. Certainly a sense of moving up the chain of command. Our work with fiddler crabs has officially started. They are hilarious creatures. AT low tide they come out of their burrows and move around the mudflats similar to herds moving across the prairies. In order to catch them, we set plastic jars at different positions in the marsh. As the tide comes in and t
he crabs move back to land, some of them end up falling in the containers. They are much more enjoyable than blue crabs because they are only a few centimeters in length and have only one large claw (males). Right now we are just trying to identify which species live in our marshes.
In between the 9 hour work days we were trying to keep track of the World Cup games…tuning into radio in the lab and screaming when the US amazingly scored in 90’. Landon Donovan is the man.
So after a full work day on Wednesday, we packed up our Silverado truck with a Canoe and all of our gear. Repeat….Canoe, 4 people, nets, coolers, buckets, etc…….Oh yes! The drive took us through rural coastal North Carolina. It is a unique region but has
plenty of character and natural beauty. I spent an hour staring at the window across marsh fields, at old cottages, run down houses, and southern
Americana. I always wonder what those people do for a living…..farming, fishing? It is such a different world than what I
live in each day. THe landscape is gorgeous though. Very similar to what you envision from Nicholas Sparks novels. Well that’s because this is where he based his books.
We reached Cedar Island at the tip of land before the Outer Banks. The main method of transportation is via ferry. The NC ferry system is fabulous and in most places free. The ride was 2 hours across the Pamilco Sound where pirates once lurked and civil war battles occurred. It is said that Blackbeard, and infamous pirate, was beheaded in these waters. At the very center of the trek you could not see any land. I looked off the railing into a horizon of sea and was drawn into a sense of infin
ite existence and tranquility. The sun was slowly setting on the horizon and the sun’s rays were beaming on the water. It was a picture perfect moment that I will hold forever as one of my favorites.
The ferry arrived in Ocracoke, a lovely seaside village comprising of small stores, local food, a lighthouse, and cottages (we stopped at Howard’s) The drive across the island is similar to what the Pensacola beach road looked like before Hurricane Ivan. At the end of the Island is another ferry. Waiting for departure, we walked along the beach and enjoyed a rising full moon.
The final ferry took us across another treacherous pass that, due to its shifting sandunes, was labeled the graveyard of the atlantic. The OBX are littered with shipwrecks of every sort. Our journey was a short
ride to Hatteras Inlet, the tip on the northern OBX. The IMS lab purchased a house on Hatteras for summer research. In general Hatteras is a popular destination for wealthy families to summer. The beach cottages are ENORMOUS. And most people also have large fishing yachts that they keep in the Hatteras marinas. Well as nice as it would have been to stay in the mansions, our property was a one story unfurnished house on the main road. It did the trick.
In the morning, we met up with a local who had agreed to take our equipment to our site via his skiff boat. Irony, we loaded the boat next to the Citation yacht which had won the Big Rock Fishing tournament in Morehead last week until they lost their 1 million dollar prize because of a license violation. Anyways, we road the boat to a small piece of land between the marina and the sound. Our job was to sein and set fyke nets like we had in all of our other sites. A sill is going to be added to the sound soon because it is failing victim to erosion. This was evident as Prafka and I found very little species in our nets.
After a sunny, hot, and buggy day on the job, we got to relax on the beach. Hatteras is also similar to Pensacola Beach but has MAJOR dunes. It is also a very windy area that is known for its surf and kiteboarding. Sure enough the kites were out. Something I would like to try sometime in my life. Looks like a blast. The waves were really intense today, as were the currents. And to my surprise, the water was much much colder than Atlantic Beach.
The evening involved another trip our to the site at 7pm. This time we launched a canoe and paddled across on
our own. The process was repeated at 2am but this time we had to retrieve the nets and then ID all of the species on the spot. Exhaustion quickly set in.
After a few hours of sleep we were up again to retreieve all of our gear and head back to the mainland. THe journey back took all day due to missed ferries. We spent 2 hours in Ocracoke walking around the shops. I was totally drained of energy and the 100 degree temperature only added to the fatigue. I thought I was going to fall over. But I couldn’t help looking in these stores an once again envisioning what I want to have in my own house someday. Note to self: go to ocracoke to purchase décor!
THe ferry ride involved lots of napping and eavesdropping on Mennonite women from Holland and a German couple on vacation in the OBX. That’s a first. We finally made it back home. I had a great time and certainly reminded myself of the beauty of the NC OBX. Someday I’d love to go on a really nice vacation to the area.
All I wanted to do was shower, eat, and sleep when I got back to my beach house. I was about the open the main door when……..the lock wouldn’t open. I tried and tried for 10 minutes, nothing. Seriously? I was so drained at this point. The door didn’t budge. Inevitably I ended up in a condo unit next door trying to call locksmiths. No one was open. No one else could get the door to open. Wonderful. I was so thankful when the people helping me offered me to join them for dinner. But I was so tense, tired, anxious, etc….that I probably was not the best company. I owe a HUGE thank you to Christina’s family for offering me a place to stay in their house. I gave up on my house for the night and drove through an intense lightening storm to Swansboro. Best shower I’ve had in awhile and an amazing place to literally crash. I slept so well and woke up to a beautiful sunrise. I really love their house. Once again the Kohlmann’s provided for me. I couldn’t stay for long because the locksmith was going to meet me at the house.
And the inevitable happened…..the door opened perfectly. Really? How embarrassing. I cant really explain what happened but I think the humidity from the storm last night caused the door to seal.
Home finally. (Only to be depressed again after the US lost the soccer game)
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