Well, Hurricane Earl has come and gone with no damage to Ocracoke other than to the first part of our Labor Day weekend business (which, of course, is nothing to sneeze at). It could have been much, much worse. The storm served as a drill opportunity for the inevitable "Big One." It gave us a chance to put our new schooner into hurricane prep mode (see photo). The family was originally planning to ride it out at home, but when school was cancelled until after the holiday, we began to see it as a chance to have a last bit of summer fun somewhere else.
We ended up driving to Raleigh, checking into a hotel for 3 nights and taking the kids to the museums. On Friday evening we went over to Chapel Hill where we had dinner with other Ocracoke refugee friends and my old UNC roommate and his wife. Then we all took in a great puppet show at the Forrest Theatre. It was called Islands Unknown by a talented group known as Paperhand Puppet Intervention. Four-year-old Mariah loved it even though the social commentary was a bit over her head.
We returned Saturday afternoon via Cedar Island and had a full sunset cruise Sunday evening.
It's great to be back under sail!
