Dec 4, 2012 - Guess what we saw today????

Hey – guess what we did today?? We visited . . . two FORTS!! I think this will be it for forts for awhile (maybe)! There are more that I would like to see, including the most famous Civil War fort – Sumter. But those will have to wait. First, we drove south to Fort Fisher. This Fort (I should say the Battle at this Fort) needs no introduction or recap for my Civil War friends. It was a massive and important engagement. Fisher was the largest earthen fort in the US and guarded the entrances to the Cape Fear River which leads to the Port of...

Nov 10, 2012 - Ancient Mariner part 2

Today we went to Southport, NC. As we arrived on Saturday afternoon there was a gaggle/slew/mob/confusion of boats in the harbor--it was their pirate days celebration. Originally scheduled for the weekend when Hurricane Sandy arrived, it was postponed to Nov. 10. Mostly an excuse to get on a boat, put on silly pirate hats, drink, and cavort. Happily, it was a nice warm day--people didn't need jackets. And the sunset portended a nice day tomorrow.

Jan 26, 2011 - Public Safety on Bald Head Island

This is for my Law Enforcement, EMS, & Fire Service and everyone else who may be interested. "The Hammocks" area was 1st built in the 1999 era and there continues to be construction of new units/homes and reconditioning of the 1st homes built in this area. I think we already discussed the divided ownership 1/13 of the deeded property, lediscusssuss the yearly maintenance fees. The 1/13 cost of deeded property is down. Why just recently a 2 bedroom 1/13 purchase for went for about $65,000.00. I asked the yearly fee and for a 2 bedroom it is...

Jan 22, 2011 - Life at #43 Seascape - Bald Head Island

We are settled in with only Virginia missing. Fear not she will be arriving today (Saturday via US Air from Pittsburgh to Charlotte to Wilmington). I took Cindy to the ferry terminal this morning where she bought a round-trip ticket for $14.00. She is going to the Wilmington Airport to pick up her mother for arrival time about 2 PM. It is snowing as I type and I hope the roads will be OK for Cindy's trip to and from Wilmington. My tasks today include keeping the house warm and picking up the ferry passengers about 4:30 or so. Someone had to...

Jan 20, 2011 - On to Bald Head Island, NC

OK, how do you move all of your wares for a 7 day stay from an RV to a ferry to an Island? Planning, eliminating, going without. Well, as it turns out we are not going without too much. We arrived at the Bald Head Island ferry terminal about 12:30 PM which is located in Southport, NC. The GPS had us going in relative circles for a while because the ferry terminal had moved to a newer, modern all inclusive water transportation terminal that services Bald Head Island. After finding a suitable parking spot for Lucy, making sure John C would be...

Dec 7, 2009 - Pelicans and Dolphins

We have begun to think that North Carolina is bigger than Texas. But then when you are plodding along at seven knots and taking lots of diagonals across the straight line run, one tends to lose track of the big picture. On departing Morehead City we were tempted to head out to sea and cut off the arc of Onslow Bay to the entrance at Wrightsville Beach. The wind was just a little too stout and our 1000 departure left little choice but to dive into Bogue Sound, the ICW and the expansive Marine Corps training area ahead. It was at this...

Nov 13, 2008 - Talk Radio

Current location: Southport, NC Weather: After several days of FREEZING (again) we are basking in waking to a morning of 66 degrees, expecting a high today in the low 70s with lots of rain (but another cold front is due on Sat and they are predicting lows in the 30s – oh my!) Correction to previous posting: Wendy’s dad was a navigator on a B29 in WW2, NOT a B17. Warwick, when will you get that straight??!! For those of you who have been waiting for the results of our decision I’ll put your minds immediately to rest. After much debate, we...

Nov 18, 2007 - Pilgrimage to Southport

November 17-18, Wilmington and Southport NC, Robert Ruark From 1953 until 1961, Field and Stream Magazine published a monthly series of articles called The Old Man and the Boy, written by Robert Ruark. Ruark was best known as an iconoclastic, nationally-syndicated columnist for the Washington Post as well as for 'Something of Value', and 'Uhuru" which were highly successful novels about the Mau-Mau uprisings in Kenya published in the middle 1950s. The "Old Man and the Boy" series was published when I was between 8 and 16 years old, and I...