Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Brief Blog from Vacationland

So, we arrived Saturday at "A Place at the Beach" at the Outer Banks.   The Outer Banks has a romantic sound to it -- wild and oceanic -- but Atlantic Beach is the southernmost part of the Outer Banks, named the Crystal Banks because it is more built up and touristy. 

At least during the summertime.  This time of year, things are kind of slow here.

A Place at the Beach

Mostly I shoot in RAW which I can't work with until I get back to the Butler and Bagman Studio where my Adobe is located.  But I shot this in JPEG to  illustrate where we are.  Instead of A Place at the Beach, they should have named it Metropolis at the Beach.   This is only one of four tiers of condos that radiate out in 45 degree angles.  Walking inside is like a maze of wooden beams -- sort of like a a huge cedar prison or the inside of an anthill. 

There must be well over a thousand small condos.  And if you check out the number of cars in the parking lot, you can tell that we almost have it to ourselves.  Although we did run into one elderly couple the other day.  They were trying to find their roon and had been lost for weeks.  We gave them some of our water and a couple of candy bars and told them we would send back help if we got out ourselves.

However, joking aside, we are having a good time.  The hot tub and indoor pool are operational and the restaurants that aren't closed for the season are the restaurants that the locals frequent -- which means better food at cheaper prices. 

This afternoon we are taking a ferry over to Shackleford Banks which is uninhabited except for wild horses.  It is one of three islands where ferral Spanish horses run wild.  So perhaps I might get a shot or two to publish later. 

Unless, of course, the horses have also closed their attraction because it is off season. 

The afternoons are in the high sixties which makes bicycle riding enjoyable. 

I'm going to get ready now for our wild horse expedition.   But I'll close with some good news.  I just saw a helicopter and a team of rescue personnel.   They were leaving with the elderly couple we had last seen on Sunday.   They were still walking under their own power.  But rumor has it that there is another family that is still lost in the catacomb hallways of  A Place at the Beach.  They have been lost for over two weeks although rescuers report finding a trail of breadcrumbs so are hopeful they will be successful in finding them. 


5 comments:

  1. Wild Horses!! Cool! I hope they aren't vacationing in South Carolina this week. Regarding the missing persons--maybe you should invest in a rescue flare? ;-)

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  2. Oh my, that condo complex looks horrifying. In the 'season' it must be a tourist hell. The rest of the Banks sound like a great place to poke around and relax. Enjoy!

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  3. Wow, I hope you get the opportunity to capture the wild horses in your camera. That sounds like an awesome experience.

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  4. Oh, boy. I can hardly wait for the photos. It sounds heavenly to me. No tourists and 60 degree weather. I hate the way they take a lovely area and fill it with catacombs.

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  5. Love the area. A number of years ago, you could go over to Shackleford and see the remnants of many vehicles that had been abandoned through the years by local fishermen who ferried them over and then used them to move about the island. All were in some stage of burial in the sand by the action of wind and waves. They would just leave the keys in them and whoever needed a "ride" was free to hop aboard. I remember several 1930's era cars/trucks with sand up even with the top of the engine. My understanding is that they were dug out and hauled off several years ago.

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