Entry for January 3, 2011

 

Sunset at the Whalehead Club, Currituck Sound, Corolla, NC

Sunset on the Albemarle Sound, Nags Head, NC

Gin and I enjoyed our week plus a few days of time together. For the past seven months I have been working in Chattanooga as most of you already know. We had a lot of fun with Nolan and Dean, as well as with both of our families and our children. We loaded up a minivan for our trip to Nags Head. Good thing for the stow-n-go storage pockets and the roof top canvas bag. We were loaded down with luggage, gifts, coolers, babies and adults. Patrick, Jessica, Nolan and Dean joined our trek east for the 400+ mile journey east.

Our first stop was Rocky Mount for a light dinner and a sleep over at Mom and Dad's. Caris and Thomas arrived a little later in the evening and helped make it a full house. Although our visit was short, we had plenty of laughs, hugs and love for all. We were packed up again and on the road by mid morning to complete the voyage to the beach.

We arrived in Nags Head by mid afternoon. The weather was a little chilly and the house was as big as the previous six Christmas rentals. After unloading the van and settling items in the house, I was changed and hitting the road for a three mile jog. NC-12 is a boring run on the island. It is straight, flat and offers very little scenery. After running and cleaning up, the majority of Gin's family arrived at the house. It's a good thing I ran each day, because the consumption of cakes, cookies, pies and candies was plentiful.

We made a brief trip Friday afternoon to the Bodie Island lighthouse. Unfortunately the structure was in a renovation stage with scaffolding erected on all sides. We still managed to get some pretty pictures of the inlet and marsh on the east side of the lighthouse.

This year was our seventh Sloan family Christmas at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The family shares a large beach house for the gathering. The first four years was in the town of Corolla just north of Kill Devil Hills. The past three years, including this year, have been on Nags Head. One of my favorite parts of the trip has been photographing sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean or sunset on the Albemarle Sound or Currituck Sound. The winter sky at sunset is so fiery and alive. The best display of color is with light cloud cover on the western horizon. The Whalehead Club is my favorite location because of the foot bridge and the small lagoon. The reflection of the skyline along with the shadows of the live oaks and bridge gives this location so much character and beauty. I find it odd that more people walk to the bridge to photograph the sunset. They don't know what they're missing when they're standing on the canvas.

 New Year Resolution? No big promises that will fail. I'll enjoy life's little surprises and welcome whatever is waiting for me around the corner. Family and friends are tops on my list of treasures. I'll not let the economy, politics or news of the world take that away from me.

Happy New Year!!!
P@