Election day

I was reviewing the sample ballot in the newspaper today. I know, I should have been paying attention much earlier in the political season, but I finally got around to it, and was actually surprised to learn that there is only one contested county commission race in Dare County this time around. In my opinion it is a slam dunk for the incumbent, so that means no change at all in the board for next season with the exception of Mac coming back on representing Hatteras. I guess you could say that means "Politics as usual". I was reading the profiles of the two candidates running against each other, and I could not tell a whole lot of difference in either. What did strike me is that they both are FOR everything! Sometimes that means being on both sides of the fence. Not a very good way to get anything accomplished in my opinion.
There will be some tough issues coming up in the next couple of years. Beach nourishment, population increases, re-evaluation of property values for taxation, "affordable" housing, new schools, traffic concerns. It should be interesting to watch this board at work and see if they can indeed stay on both sides of the fence. There is no making everyone happy!

Kitty Hawk Road overwash

We rode up to Kitty Hawk yesterday afternoon to check out the overwash situation. When we were there about 5 pm, the road was scraped clean and passable, but the tide was not high. By the time we left the tide was rolling back in, and overwashing the road once again. The surfers were out in mass. A few pix at:

Surfers and Beach Road

Where's the sun?

Boy am I ready to see the sun again! The weather is windy, cool, and cloudy, and the ocean is very rough. The massive low pressure system sitting off the east coast just seems to not want to move. The beach is taking a beating. There are many places where the high tide comes right up to the base of the dune and you can't walk on the beach. From what I saw on the weather sites this am, this will hang around thru Wednesday. I am definitely looking forward to the return of the calm warm fall weather.

Dreary day here today

The weather is dreary and I stayed home today. No news from the Outer Banks to report today. I think the whole world is consumed with baseball, and I just don't see the attraction. So I can't join in the major discussions happening out there right now.
Even the Coastland Times was boring today. No intriguing headlines caught my eye. The most interesting thing was continued arguing over the Slash Creek Condos having received some significant state approval to move ahead.
Oh well, tomorrow's Friday, and another day. Maybe with more news!

Baum House is gone!

Yesterday we turned down Baum Street in Kill Devil Hills, and were shocked to see the old Baum estate home on the oceanfront just about reduced to a pile of rubble! That happened quickly! The property just closed its sale to its new owners on October 14th. They are a local builder and someone from Pennsylvania. According to the story in the Coastland Times, the buyers had been denied a permit to demolish the structure four times. The article also said that the buyers were interested in trying to work something out with the town to preserve the structure, but eventually decided that the tone the town had taken was hostile and sought only to delay them. Payback for the town's attitude was mentioned as the reason for going ahead with the teardown.
While a great deal of our income is derived from the real estate and building industry, I was appalled at this situation. I believe both parties to be seriously at fault, and the worse part is that this injustice is totally irreversable now. History is gone.

Rain today, Manteo busy!

Today is raining and dreary here on the Outer Banks, but we do need the rain actually. It has been very dry for several weeks. The dogwood trees in my yard are getting colorful with their leaves and berries turning red. The days have been just slightly nippy and the nights a little cool but nothing to complain about. Manteo was SO crowded today! I guess even in the off season, rainy, cloudy weather brings the touring public over to shop and site see away from the beach. It appears to be a very good year for the merchants of the downtown Manteo area. There are more neat little shops there now than ever. One night in the late summer we went downtown in the evening after dinner just to walk around, and were amazed at the number of people there just milling around. There were two musical groups playing at eating establishments close to each other. It was interesting just to sit on the bench in front of the courthouse and people watch. What a different time it is in my little town!

Rental season is over

Well, our rental season is over, and so now we get to rest some. I must say again I've been amazed at the amount of traffic still here on the roads. I'm coming to realize that more and more this is a product of an increasing year round population. That is evident by the lines in the grocery stores even in the winter, by the traffic on the bypass, by the unbearable line at the DMV, by the long, long court news columns in the newpaper! Not all those moving here are "desirable" upstanding citizens. It is evident in the increasing tax burden residents face for building more schools to educate the new residents. It is evident in the search for vacant land. We must face the fact that we no longer live in a small town.

Today is a beautiful day on the Outer Banks...

It is classic fall weather here today with the temp about 75-78 degrees and mostly bright blue sky. The leaves are just getting a hit of color. I have been surprised by the amount of traffic still here for this late in the season. I guess it goes to show how long I've been watching the population here grow, and the touring public added to that. We no longer live in a small town. In some ways that's good, some ways bad.