I honestly think the Outer Banks in North Carolina is one of the most enjoyable places for a week of R&R. We have been going at least once a year and sometimes twice a year for the past twenty years. It is a great week to do nothing. I do check my email but otherwise I’m doing just the things I want to do. I read several books which I’ll talk about at the end of the blog…did a little sewing…walked on the beach with Joe and the girls (my dogs) …..and vegged. My kind of vacation. Here are some of the things I saw this week.
Wild horses on the beach.
Doesn’t this look relaxing?
The lighthouse in Corolla.
Several years ago while were where in the Outer Banks area I yelled at Joe to stop the car, on a lightly traveled 2 lane road, and I jumped out and saved a turtle that was trying to get across the road. I think one of these turtles is one of the ones I saved years ago! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Joe took this photo while sitting on the beach in front of the house we rented. We always see the dolphins but this year we never saw them until the last day. ” Catch a wave and I’m sittin’ on the top of the world” is not just a human sentiment.
Thanks for allowing me to share a small portion of my week with you. I feel so relaxed. Hope that feeling lasts….because this week I have to drive to Long Island and I have to be honest, I love the people there, but I hate the drive. There are some rather aggressive drivers as you get close to New York City. Now, if they all took a vacation at the Outer Banks this week I’ll be in good shape because we’ll all be relaxed.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
OK, here are some book reviews from books I read while at the beach.
The first book I dove into was “Charley’s Web” by Joy Fielding. Charlotte Charley Webb is a columnist for the Palm Beach Post. She is a single mother with two children. Her columns in the paper are sometimes controversial. She is strong willed and has recently reconnected with her mother who left her with her father when she was eight. Jill Rohmner, a convicted child killer lures Charley into writing her biography. The story has some good twists and kept me wanting to see how it all ended. A great beach read.
Then I read “Summers Child” by Diane Chamberlain.
This is kind of a romance novel of sorts with some interesting characters. Daria Cato finds a baby abandoned on the beach in Kill Devil Hills, NC. (Just down the road from where I am sitting on the beach!) Daria’s family adopts this baby. Twenty years later Daria is the guardian, after both of her parents pass away, for her sister Shelly who is slightly mentally handicapped. One of the people who lived in the cul du sac where the Cato’s live is Rory. He lived in California for the past many years and is the host of a TV show called “True Life Stories”. Rory was contacted by Shelly to see if he can find her mother who deserted her on the beach. Rory has his son for the summer and decides it would be fun to bring his teenage son and see if there is the possibility of a TV show based on Shelly’s story. Rory finds out much more than he ever anticipated. Another good beach read.
My final book review was my favorite book of the week, “Singing With the Top Down” by Debrah Williamson. I really liked this book. One of my favorite books so far this year. Thirteen year old Pauly Mahoney is the main character. Pauly and her brother, Buddy, who is eight years old and a polio survivor lose their parents in a freak carnival accident in 1955. At the funeral services Pauly and her brother overhear family talking about who will be taking them. They think their grandma will take care of them but soon find out she does not want them but their Aunt Nora does. Aunt Nora, Pauly and Buddy head out in Aunt Nora’s 1953 Buick Skylark to drive from Oklahoma to California, where Aunt Nora lives. To safe money and for the adventure of it all Aunt Nora decides they will camp their way across the country, even though she has not camped before. I loved all of the characters in this book and wished it would keep going. I was not ready for it to end. I would highly recommend reading this book. I know you will love Pauly as much as I did. Deborah Williamson gives her a voice that will captivate you.