{"id":1589,"date":"2019-10-06T10:38:06","date_gmt":"2019-10-06T10:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/?p=1589"},"modified":"2019-10-06T10:38:06","modified_gmt":"2019-10-06T10:38:06","slug":"september-salt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/?p=1589","title":{"rendered":"September Salt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\nwere 30 miles or so from our coastal destination when we began to smell a hint\nof salt air drifting in our windows. Just a trace at first, growing stronger\nwith each passing mile.  Although we have\nvisited the beach many times before, we were still excited, still eager to walk\nin the sand and hear the power of the crashing waves once again!  Big Blue knew it too, as he pulled us along\nlike a giant magnet. Before reaching our mini beach holiday, we made a couple\nstops, including a delicious pulled pork BBQ sandwich for lunch, as well as\nstopping to learn about the local, but booming, peanut and cotton industry in\nSE Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The cotton fields of SE Virginia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A trailer full of recently harvested peanuts awaits processing at the Wakefield Peanut Company in Wakefield, VA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The sea, sand and salt air calms the soul.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Theresa watches the sunrise in the Outer Banks of NC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Except\nfor birding trips with my dad, I did not grow up a \u201cbeach person.\u201d But my wife\nlived closer to the shore than I did and took summer vacations to Delaware with\nher family. However, we have many relatives and friends that did (and do) spend\ntheir summers and\/or weekends \u201cdown at the Jersey Shore,\u201d or relaxing in one\nthe coastal towns of Maryland, Virginia or North Carolina. The one thing\nthey\u2019ve all shared with me, is that sense of relaxation they feel as they\napproach their favorite beach spot. Some may refer to it as stress relief, but\nit really does calm your soul as you take that first barefoot stroll along the\nshoreline, warm sun on your back, wet sand gently oozing between your toes and\nthe cool ocean water splashing against your legs. Some of us even test the\nmighty ocean waves on our first walk, trying to dodge the larger ones, and\ntelling yourself that one won\u2019t reach me. Then, seemingly without warning, it\nsneaks up and crashes into you, wetting the bottom of your shorts before you\u2019ve\neven unpacked your bags! Even after 40 years of doing the same thing, I still\nfoolishly shout out, \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting that,\u201d as I quickly check to make sure\nmy cell phone that was hiding in my pocket, hadn\u2019t been temporarily submerged\nin the Atlantic Ocean!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rough surf can sneak up on you quickly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Theresa\nand I experience that same feeling of serenity when we venture to the coast. But\nfor us, it\u2019s also about re-visiting the variety of coastal wildlife we normally\ndon\u2019t see where we live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Maybe it\u2019s the\npods of dolphins playing in the surf, or the many crabs that slowly crawl along\nthe sand, but dash like Olympic sprinters into their holes as you approach\nthem.  But more than any other critters,\nit\u2019s the \u201cbeach birds\u201d we enjoy seeing the most. We pause to admire the flying\nskills of a large Brown Pelican gliding effortlessly inches over the surface of\nthe water, disappearing behind each cresting wave, then suddenly re-appearing\nas if it was there the entire time. We laugh as we watch small, delicate flocks\nof Sanderlings hurriedly running toward the mighty ocean on each outgoing wave\nsearching for sand crabs, then hastily retreating toward land from the next\nincoming wave-like the opening theme song from the old TV show the Monkees!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With a backdrop of sea foam, a crab sprints for his hole.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Brown Pelicans fly just above the surface of the water, looking for fish to eat. If they find a school they will circle higher then suddenly plunge head first, scooping them up with their large beaks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sanderlings, sporting their winter plumage, search for food on the edge of an outgoing wave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Laughing Gull attempts to swallow a large fish. It took several tries, and some re-positioning of its catch, but finally managed to get it down.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nwas late September and our annual fall adventure had us headed to Nags Head, on\nthe Outer Banks of North Carolina. We were a bit hesitant about going since\nparts of these barrier islands had sustained some serious damage from Hurricane\nDorian, which grazed the area with 100+ mph winds and strong storm surge just a\ncouple weeks earlier. Fortunately for us, they were spared the harshest part of\nthe storm where we were staying. However, in our travels to the southern end of\nHatteras Island the damage was very obvious, with many large piles of tree\nbranches and dozens of salt water-damaged appliances (from storm surge) stacked\nup along the road, waiting to be picked up. We had heard the damage on Ocracoke\nIsland and points further south was even worse. We hope they recover quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We also took some time to visit, explore and have some fun at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We were also treated to a behind the scene look at the aquarium’s Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation (STAR) Center. Here, a volunteer shows visitors a young Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle, an endangered species throughout its range.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Bodie Island Lighthouse casts a long shadow on a beautiful September morning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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While walking near the lighthouse, we had to keep a sharp lookout for Water Moccasins (Cottonmouths) that inhabit the area-unfortunately, we didn’t see any!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although\nwe talked about taking a couple of days to just relax and \u201csleep in\u201d on this\ntrip, of course that didn\u2019t happen. We awoke each morning by 6:00 am, grabbed\nour coffee, and headed down to the beach to welcome the sunrise with a few\ndozen photos.  As far as landscape\nphotography goes, it\u2019s hard to top the beauty of a rising sun over the ocean,\nwith its canvas of pink and orange colors and rolling surf. In addition to our\nmany beach walks, we also took advantage of the warm, sunny weather and booked\na guided kayak tour in the waters of Pamlico Sound, within Pea Island National\nWildlife Refuge. As we paddled we saw pelicans, terns, gulls, cormorants and a\nfew egrets. Gazing down in the clear water, we were lucky enough to catch sight\nof a few sting rays and Blue crabs that passed under our quiet boats. Kayaking\nis a great way to see wildlife up close!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pausing for a selfie while kayaking in Pamlico Sound. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Pelicans, terns and cormorants resting on old pilings watch us paddle by.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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American Avocet-winter plumage-Pea Island NWR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Along with many other visitors, we hiked up to the top of the sand dunes in Jockey’s Ridge State Park one evening to watch the sunset over Roanoke Sound. This is the tallest living sand dune on the Atlantic Coast, and a popular spot for hang gliding.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A cool sunset over Roanoke Sound, from the top of Jockey’s Ridge SP.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\nbeach can be a special place. Maybe it\u2019s the salt, the sand, the sun, the waves\nor the wildlife-maybe it\u2019s a combination of all of them. For many people it\u2019s a\nplace to kick back, slow down and absorb what nature has to offer. You can feel\nit as you inch closer and closer to the coast. One famous quote sums it nicely,\n\u201cAh, the smell of salt and sand. There is no elixir on this blessed earth like\nit.\u201d  Get Out and About!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We were 30 miles or so from our coastal destination when we began to smell a hint of salt air drifting in our windows. Just a trace at first, growing stronger with each passing mile.  Although we have visited the beach many times before, we were still excited, still eager to walk in the sand … Continue reading September Salt<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1589"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1589"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1599,"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1589\/revisions\/1599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}