OBX Monday - The Day Begins in a Fog

 

            No, it's not "the morning after" when I say our day began in a fog.  A thick fog hung over the ocean so that the waves were visible only as far as the second line of breakers.  Though we stayed up later than usual, I awoke well before dawn and got up to enjoy the quiet.  Only as the day began did I realize that the sun could not penetrate the fog all around us.

           

There is an ethereal quality to fog that can be both moody and magical.  It creates a sense of mystery as it blankets the world around us, softening edges, changing our perspectives as it cloaks dunes, houses, streets and vegetation in its gray shroud.  One of the first things I looked to see when I woke was the lighthouse, but the fog was too thick, so the lighthouse I saw just before bedtime last night had disappeared from view this morning.

            Before venturing out in the car, we went up the boardwalk adjacent to our house to the gazebo on the dunes above the shore.  There were pelicans in the misty air, but very few birds on the beach where the tracks left by a vehicle, probably someone going to a construction site, marked the sand.  The gazebo itself, as well as the vegetation on the dunes, create opportunities for pictures that will remind us of this experience.

           

Corolla is on a barrier island that lies between the Atlanta Ocean and Currituck Sound.  Our house is on the oceanfront, so we wanted to explore the other side of the area, searching for one of the piers that extends out into the sound.  This is the time of year when swans and other migratory birds settle there after their long trip south. 

            We found a pier, but the fog was so thick that visibility was too limited to allow much of a view.  The trees along the water were shrouded in the cloud of fog, appearing almost ghostly, their shapes outlined against the gray mist.

            As we wandered further afield, we found a small street that parallels the shore of the sound and Mike saw a egret fishing there, so went down the path to attempt to photograph it.  Though it took off before he could get a shot,  he saw swans swimming near the shore, yet more ghostly images.  Their muted calls were barely audible in the foggy atmosphere that not only occludes vision but dampens sound.

 

           

We drove south to the village of Duck to find lunch at a little cafe where we first ate in the early 80s, the Duck Deli.  It's still there and we enjoyed the welcome warmth that a dry and heated space provides on such a damp day.

            After lunch we ventured into the few shops open in the picturesque shopping area named Scarborough Faire.  The wooden buildings are connected by boardwalk under the trees.  We found fun gifts that will find their way into stockings in a couple of weeks and enjoyed, as always, the wonderful book store there.

            As we drove back north, we stopped to take more pictures, some of Christmas decorations and some of wildlife, both in nature and on cleverly designed signs.  In the process we explored the Kellogg Hardware Store with its amazing blend of products one would normally expect to find in a hardware plus an array of home goods, toys, decorations, etc.  As we've found in most places here, the people there were friendly and helpful, happy to see customers  coming through their doors in this quiet time of year.

            Home again, we nestled in to enjoy the fire inside and the occasional glimpses of birds along the shore outside.  The early arrival of old friends from Atlanta was an unexpected pleasure just after supper, a day ahead of schedule.  The day ended with our continuing the laughter and  conversation that has gone on as long as we've been friends, interrupted by our absences from each other, but as comfortable and pleasurable as always.

            So another day began and ended with weather conditions not necessarily conducive to full enjoyment of this beautiful place, but special just because we love being here under any circumstances.  Rain is forecast for Tuesday, but we anticipate another opportunity  to make memories, this time with friends.

All photos by Mike Lumpkin, adventure companion and lenient editor