OBX day 4
Another awesome day in North Carolina. Perry and I got up early for a beach walk. He found every jellyfish on the beach. We also met a pair of Brittany spaniels who were expert ghost crab hunters, and a man who was flying a kite for his dogs. He made it dive and zigzag, and the dogs went nuts chasing it back and forth until it crashed down into the waves. Then the golden retriever stood there staring and pacing anxiously, getting tangled in the lines. I told the guy he ought to train her to bring it back to him. Some retriever she was.
Late breakfast for me and Jay was leftovers from last night. We both made fried egg sandwiches on the soft sweet rolls the chef had made, and we had scalloped potatoes fried up in the leftover bacon grease. Perry made nice to Grandma Cookie and got a scone. Lunch was small, mainly some very good local corn.
In the afternoon Jay, Perry and I went out to play in the ocean. It had been overcast all morning, but in the afternoon it broke up and we started to get sun. Perry is getting better and better, and more confident in the water. He also just loves the ocean. That's my boy. We played around with some kicking techniques, and some jumping with the waves (to keep them from smacking you full in the face), and Perry even started belly bashing the waves, getting the timing right for huge splashes that got everyone in the face. For the biggest waves and powerful crashes, Perry would scream "That was totally WICKED!" I also spent some time with him shoegazing peering at the surf clams and watching them extend siphons and feet to feed, then dig themselves into the fine sand when the waves receded.
When Perry's lips turned blue, Jay took him back to the house for some hot tub time, and I ran out to play in the waves. While I was boogie boarding I found myself singing "We're gonna boogie-oogie-oogie til we just can't boogie no more." Oh yes, I am a geeky geek with embarrassing love of bad music puns. I actually like to play in the biggest waves without a body board, so I left it on the beach and just played and swam for a while. While I was out past the breakers, I noticed an osprey hunting over the ocean. It kept flying around the area I was in, so I got to watch it for maybe 15 minutes. Once it dived for a fish very close to shore, but a swell hid it from me as it flew back up, so I don't know if it got the fish or not. I thought it looked like it was a couple of feet across, but it must have been farther away than I thought, because I looked up ospreys when I got home, and the smaller males have around a 150-160 cm (5 feet or so) wingspan.
When I got back to the house, I had time for a banana (remember my tiny lunch?) and a shower before a giant box of 5 dozen steamed crabs showed up. Yum! There were some people at the table who ate more than 10, but I contented myself with 4 and came away with only one tiny cut on my thumb. Usually in my enthusiasm for disassembling crabs I get a few cuts, and I know immediately because of the Old Bay spice. Blue crabs are smaller than my Dungenesses, but I think they're sweeter and a little more tender. They are also more sensitive to overcooking, and can get mushy. Fortunately our 5 dozen were almost all good (maybe 3 "bad" ones). Along with the crabs we also got 2 pounds of shrimp, and Perry ate two. I didn't end up with any. I love shrimp, but there were crabs on the table calling my name.
Jay found a Wii game in the stack that he immediately needed to play: Iron Chef America. He's playing it now, while we wait for our laundry. It's funny to listen to, and when I'm done with this entry, I'll go play against him.
Late breakfast for me and Jay was leftovers from last night. We both made fried egg sandwiches on the soft sweet rolls the chef had made, and we had scalloped potatoes fried up in the leftover bacon grease. Perry made nice to Grandma Cookie and got a scone. Lunch was small, mainly some very good local corn.
In the afternoon Jay, Perry and I went out to play in the ocean. It had been overcast all morning, but in the afternoon it broke up and we started to get sun. Perry is getting better and better, and more confident in the water. He also just loves the ocean. That's my boy. We played around with some kicking techniques, and some jumping with the waves (to keep them from smacking you full in the face), and Perry even started belly bashing the waves, getting the timing right for huge splashes that got everyone in the face. For the biggest waves and powerful crashes, Perry would scream "That was totally WICKED!" I also spent some time with him shoegazing peering at the surf clams and watching them extend siphons and feet to feed, then dig themselves into the fine sand when the waves receded.
When Perry's lips turned blue, Jay took him back to the house for some hot tub time, and I ran out to play in the waves. While I was boogie boarding I found myself singing "We're gonna boogie-oogie-oogie til we just can't boogie no more." Oh yes, I am a geeky geek with embarrassing love of bad music puns. I actually like to play in the biggest waves without a body board, so I left it on the beach and just played and swam for a while. While I was out past the breakers, I noticed an osprey hunting over the ocean. It kept flying around the area I was in, so I got to watch it for maybe 15 minutes. Once it dived for a fish very close to shore, but a swell hid it from me as it flew back up, so I don't know if it got the fish or not. I thought it looked like it was a couple of feet across, but it must have been farther away than I thought, because I looked up ospreys when I got home, and the smaller males have around a 150-160 cm (5 feet or so) wingspan.
When I got back to the house, I had time for a banana (remember my tiny lunch?) and a shower before a giant box of 5 dozen steamed crabs showed up. Yum! There were some people at the table who ate more than 10, but I contented myself with 4 and came away with only one tiny cut on my thumb. Usually in my enthusiasm for disassembling crabs I get a few cuts, and I know immediately because of the Old Bay spice. Blue crabs are smaller than my Dungenesses, but I think they're sweeter and a little more tender. They are also more sensitive to overcooking, and can get mushy. Fortunately our 5 dozen were almost all good (maybe 3 "bad" ones). Along with the crabs we also got 2 pounds of shrimp, and Perry ate two. I didn't end up with any. I love shrimp, but there were crabs on the table calling my name.
Jay found a Wii game in the stack that he immediately needed to play: Iron Chef America. He's playing it now, while we wait for our laundry. It's funny to listen to, and when I'm done with this entry, I'll go play against him.