#1934 looking south

This is another post about the Outer Banks, and it is full of photos of the ocean plus some commentary.

Every day, Lizzie and I would go out for a walk on the beach in the morning and in the late afternoon. We'd go out some other times during the day, too, but we fell into the morning and evening routine and it was good. Sometimes other people would come with us, but lots of times we just went by ourselves. Sometimes we would go left (north) at the bottom of the stairs. Other times we would go right (south). Tonight my plan was to post photos of the ocean from each day and I'm going to do that, and all of these photos are taken looking right (south) down the beach.

Sunday

This photo was taken on our first evening there, on Sunday. It is high tide. You can see the waves wash all the way up close to the dunes on the right side of the photo. Hurricane Jose is coming up the coast, well off-shore, but we are seeing what we came to call "angry ocean". There were good sized waves, a very strong rip-tide that manifested itself on the beach in the form of gullies in the sand. The water didn't gently pull back into the ocean; it found its way to these gullies and roared back into the ocean. The water in some of the gullies was nearly knee-high and the pull was strong. I nearly got knocked down a couple of times and I was far from where the waves broke. From this photo, all cloudy and gray, you would think that the temperature was chilly and that the water was cold, but neither of those things are true. The air was warm and the water was warmer. It felt cold when it first touched my toes, but I quickly got accustomed to it and didn't feel a chill at all.

Monday

I took this photo from the top of the dune at the end of the boardwalk of the house. Again the tide is pretty high but it's not quite covering the road. The ocean is still angry. There were not many people out on the beach these first few days. The weather was gloomy, but it was still warm. Super windy though. Hurricane Jose is moving right along.

Tuesday

Tuesday was the worst weather day. It was very windy and rainy for most of the day. Again, here I'm on the top of the dune. It looks like the clouds are right down on top of us and the ocean wants to take over the land. What this photo doesn't really show is that the waves are white caps all the way. There was not a lot of traffic going in or out of the neighborhood. Everyone was pretty much staying put that day.

Wednesday

Finally, Jose moved on and the ocean became calm and the skies became blue. This photo is taken at sunrise. What I remember most about this moment was that all along the beach at the top of the dune, people were out watching the sun rise. You can even see a few people out on the beach.

Thursday

On Thursday morning we saw these horses fishing. No, not really. Horses don't fish, but they apparently like to stand near fishing poles. There was a dude sitting under that umbrella there on the right. There were PVC pipes stuck in the sand to hold the poles. I don't know if he caught anything.

Friday

Friday afternoon was the best weather day. Lizzie and I hung out at the pool with some adult beverages, but then we wandered down the boardwalk to check out the beach scene. There were cars parked all along the beach as people came to hang out. In the previous days there had been a few cars here and there, but it was pretty packed on Friday afternoon. This photo doesn't really do it justice. You'll have to trust me.

Saturday

When the ocean is calm and the tide is low, the beach is very wide. The sand is firm and perfect for taking long walks. One of my favorite things about walking on this beach was watching little birds (Sandpipers? Plovers? We never figured it out.) These little birds would follow the water as it retreated back into the ocean, pecking at invisible little sea critters in the sand. When the waves broke, the birds would scurry away from the water always staying just a step ahead, then turning back toward the ocean to follow the water and get their grub. It was adorable and hypnotizing. I didn't tire of watching them and commenting on it ever. I tried to get photos of them but they were very small and very quick and would move away from us when we got close.

Sunday

I took this photo just before sunrise on Sunday morning, our last day in Corolla. It is low tide so the beach was tremendously wide. It was so quiet and so impossibly beautiful that morning. I haven't done any editing to this photo. The clouds really were that pink. The reflection of the clouds on the beach was mesmerizing. Those thirty minutes or so that I walked on the beach that morning were truly magical. 

I believe being near the ocean is good for the soul. I live far from the ocean, so any time I get to spend by the water is precious to me. I treasure the memories of walking on this beach with my sister and other family members during that wonderful week in September.