On the fifth day of Christmas
23 December, 2020
Distanced. A little more than socially.
I've been coming out here for well over 50 years. Hatteras has always felt like a wild place to me, with so much wildlife, wild horses, a constantly pounding surf. While many structures are built here, these structures exist only as nature allows them. Nature still rules here and the island is always changing, always moving. The margins of the island, where it actually is, change every day. We leave tracks as we travel the beach, only to find them gone tomorrow. Sometimes nature decides to wipe the slate.
A shrimp boat works the ocean
People are here and have been for hundreds of years, but they have a healthy respect for the island and the changes nature makes. They're also a tough lot. If you see a luxury car here, it probably belongs to a tourist. People from here drive pickups and other functional vehicles. Hatteras isn't about luxury. It's still working class, it's about getting the job done. Coming in winter makes this so much more obvious with tourists down to a trickle and what the place is actually made of shines through.
While there are luxurious places on the island, it isn't the norm. If you want it to last, if it's your home and not just a vacation retreat, you build in the middle. The Food Lion, houses (most at least), businesses, and roads are wisely built in the middle, far from the ever changing rough edges. I've always liked rough edges wherever we've traveled. The rough edges of Scotland, Iceland, and the Azores......and the rough edges of Hatteras. I lived at the beach for nearly 15 years, fighting storms and the weather. Hatteras is on an entirely different level.
While there are luxurious places on the island, it isn't the norm. If you want it to last, if it's your home and not just a vacation retreat, you build in the middle. The Food Lion, houses (most at least), businesses, and roads are wisely built in the middle, far from the ever changing rough edges. I've always liked rough edges wherever we've traveled. The rough edges of Scotland, Iceland, and the Azores......and the rough edges of Hatteras. I lived at the beach for nearly 15 years, fighting storms and the weather. Hatteras is on an entirely different level.
Minding the rods
It was sunny and bright today. The wind laid down and it was a great day to be on the beach. There were, however, no fish. I had one hook up on a Hopkins spoon (lure) and lost it in the surf. No sharks, no skates, and it wasn’t just us. It seems no one was catching anything. No fish may be due to the big weather moving in tomorrow.
It’s supposed to get pretty fierce out here with winds over 50 mph, 8 to 12 foot surf, flooding of low lying areas 2-4 feet, and warnings of route 12 getting flooded or overwashed. This is business as usual out here and the locals are used to it. We’ve been out here before when this has happened and you just deal. With all the hurricanes I have rode…..this is minor. Hopefully it’s just overblown like it often is. I plan to take lots of photos as nature rearranges the rough edges once again.
It’s supposed to get pretty fierce out here with winds over 50 mph, 8 to 12 foot surf, flooding of low lying areas 2-4 feet, and warnings of route 12 getting flooded or overwashed. This is business as usual out here and the locals are used to it. We’ve been out here before when this has happened and you just deal. With all the hurricanes I have rode…..this is minor. Hopefully it’s just overblown like it often is. I plan to take lots of photos as nature rearranges the rough edges once again.
Yoga on the beach
What do we do when there are no fish biting? I left my kites back in the beach house, but I did bring my camera gear. I took photos of the things we saw on the beach. Laurie did yoga on the beach. We had a sandwich lunch and sat in our lawn chairs. We soaked up the sun and the good weather while it’s still here, knowing well that there are worse places to be.
We drove the truck up and down the beach. The truck goes very well in four wheel drive high just scooting along the beach. We have to be careful of driving too close to the cutaways, shelves cut into the beach by waves. You just don’t get too close and things will go well. I expect them to be 6 feet high on Christmas day, after all this weather.
We drove the truck up and down the beach. The truck goes very well in four wheel drive high just scooting along the beach. We have to be careful of driving too close to the cutaways, shelves cut into the beach by waves. You just don’t get too close and things will go well. I expect them to be 6 feet high on Christmas day, after all this weather.
A small cutaway on the beach
We watched a surfer in the cold water, somewhere around 66 degrees. Surfing this time of year requires special gear and he was apparently wearing a dry suit. After watching a while, it appears he was surfing on some kind of parafoil surfboard. While I understand the concepts behind it, this is not how we normally see surfers around here. It's interesting....and kind of brisk for the guy on the board. He's most definitely a hard core.
Not much to report today. Hatteras is an island of calm amid the chaos currently going on in the world. We are blessed to have this refuge. Tomorrow may be different.
Goodnight everyone. Be safe and stay well.
Not much to report today. Hatteras is an island of calm amid the chaos currently going on in the world. We are blessed to have this refuge. Tomorrow may be different.
Goodnight everyone. Be safe and stay well.
Ghost of Christmas past
Lutcher and New Orleans, Louisiana
Christmas 2013
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