Outer Banks 2009: Qnarf's Photos

Zoom

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:12:29 GMT

Natalie went to Holiday World while we were gone. Apparently she was more interested in watching rides than in actually riding them.

Water Play

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:12:30 GMT

The water park at Holiday World, though, was more of a hit. Word is that Natalie and Grandpa had a wonderful time chasing each other around, playing in the wave pool, etc.

At the Fish Fry

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:12:32 GMT

Natalie also got to meet her new cousin (of some degree) Lorelai (not pictured) at Lorelai's baby shower and play on and around fire trucks at Great-Grandpa's 80th birthday party (at the titular fish fry).

Sandbox

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:12:33 GMT

Grandma and Grandpa got a new baby pool and sandbox for Natalie. Here, she's playing in the sandbox with Uncle Andrew while Aunt Tina looks on.

They're Back!

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:12:34 GMT

Grandma was ready with the camera to capture Natalie's expression when she first saw us upon our return.

Tower in the Clouds

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:42:14 GMT

Bodie Island Lighthouse, with interesting cloud formations. This was a case of Nature actually cooperating with photography, which was rare on this trip.

Arc

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:42:15 GMT

Close-up of the underside of the top of Bodie Island Lighthouse.

Doorway

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:42:16 GMT

Inside Bodie Island Lighthouse, looking out of the base.

Keeper's Quarters

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:44:51 GMT

The keeper's quarters at Bodie Island Lighthouse, now a combination museum and gift shop.

Bodie

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:44:54 GMT

One of Tim's successful attempts to get a different angle on something we've photographed a bazillion times before, in this case Bodie Island Lighthouse.

Diamond View

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:44:55 GMT

The interior of Bodie Island Lighthouse, seen looking up through one of the diamond-shaped holes in the stair treads.

Fair Winds

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:00:44 GMT

The deck off the master bedroom at our beach house, complete with chairs for lounging around on and ocean within easy sight/sound.

On Deck

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:08:09 GMT

The lower deck of our beach house, with a big picnic table ideal for eating breakfast at. ...If the weather happens to be not so hot and muggy, that is.

To the Beach

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:11:23 GMT

A view of the beach access across the street from our house, near sunset.

Sara

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:30:33 GMT

Sara photographing the fountain in the Shakespearean Herb Garden at the Elizabethan Gardens.

Blossoms

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:30:35 GMT

Unidentified little white flowers in a pot near the fountain in the Shakespearean Herb Garden at the Elizabethan Gardens. (Was that enough prepositions for you?)

Splash of Orange

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:30:36 GMT

Oriental Lily on the Fragrance Walk in the Elizabethan Gardens.

Rosy

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:30:38 GMT

A Queen Elizabeth Rose in the Queen's Rose Garden at the Elizabethan Gardens. The Queen Elizabeth Rose was a gift to the Gardens by Queen Elizabeth II, from the gardens at Windsor Castle.

Lily White

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:38:55 GMT

An Asiatic Lily on the Fragrance Walk at the Elizabethan Gardens.

Overflow

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:38:51 GMT

One of the photos Sara was taking in the previous picture. Fountain in the Shakespearean Herb Garden at the Elizabethan Gardens.

Virginia

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:38:57 GMT

The Virginia Dare statue, Maria Louisa Lander's vision of how the first English child born on American soil might have looked in adulthood (after her disappearance with the rest of the Roanoke colony).

Tim

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:38:58 GMT

Tim, standing in an arch of the pleached allee (i.e. enclosed walkway lined with groomed shrubbery) of clipped yaupon that surrounds the Sunken Garden at the Elizabethan Gardens.

Branch

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:30:42 GMT

A small tree in the Sunken Garden at the Elizabethan Gardens.

Currituck

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:45:35 GMT

Another in Tim's series of lighthouses shot from ground level.

Dark Twist

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:45:27 GMT

Inside Currituck Lighthouse.

Knob

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:45:28 GMT

Looking out from the top of Currituck Lighthouse.

Another Keeper

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:45:31 GMT

The keeper's quarters at Currituck Lighthouse, now a private residence.

The Shoppe

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:49:58 GMT

The smaller keeper's quarters at Currituck Lighthouse, now a gift shop.

Entance

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:49:59 GMT

Detail of the larger keeper's quarters at Currituck Lighthouse.

Base

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:50:02 GMT

The base and entrance of Currituck Lighthouse.

Sunset on the Beach

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:53:46 GMT

Sunset. On the beach. At Rodanthe.

Hatteras Grounds

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:00:37 GMT

The entrance to the grounds of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, with the lighthouse itself looming in the distance.

Hatteras

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:00:39 GMT

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, from ground level.

The Old and the New

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:05:45 GMT

The memorial at the old site of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, with the lighthouse at its new site in the distance.

Buried

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:05:47 GMT

The stones in the ring at the old site of the Cape Hatteras light are inscribed in memory of the lighthouse keepers at Hatteras between 1803 and 1939. On the seaward side, the sand is quickly piling up and almost covering the stones, thus beginning to obliterate names like these.

There's a cliché "sands of time" reference to be made here. I'll just let you fill in your own.

Fort Raleigh Grounds

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:23:10 GMT

The entrance to the grounds at Fort Raleigh, with the visitor center to the right and the fort and nature trail down the path.

Fort Raleigh

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:20:52 GMT

Looking into the earthworks that are all that remains of Ft. Raleigh.

Waving the Flag

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:20:56 GMT

Flag waving over the earthworks at Fort Raleigh. The breeze was most uncooperative, though at least it didn't taunt me the way the squirrels did.

Rough Wave

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:23:12 GMT

Looking up a tree on the nature trail at Fort Raleigh.

Forest Couch

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:23:14 GMT

The nature trail at Fort Raleigh had lots of interesting twisty trees, such as this one.

The Empty Pier

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:27:46 GMT

Hatteras Island Fishing Pier at night. (It's actually only empty looking this direction; there were still plenty of people out fishing on the other end of it.)

Fortress of Sand

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:33:45 GMT

"Sandcastle" somehow seems a little inadequate. By the time this picture was taken, the structure had already survived at least two days of rain--light rain, admittedly, and you can see it's suffered some damage, but it's still standing. We spotted this on the side of Jockey's Ridge, right up next to the road.

Washing In

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:37:36 GMT

Waves washing in on the beach near our house.

Jump Up

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:37:39 GMT

This is Sara thinking, approximately, "oh, crap, that wave was bigger than I thought and I'm holding a $2K camera," and reacting appropriately while Tim catches the whole thing with the smaller (and less expensive) camera.

Footprints

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:44:25 GMT

Depending on how well you know me, you may be expecting me to quote a certain inspirational poem here. I'm not going to; I've never particularly liked that poem. Instead, I'll quote October Project:

Let the wind and ocean water
Wash across your hands
Wash away a thousand footsteps
Wash us all away
Like sand
--"Ariel"

Which still doesn't make a great deal of sense in the context of vacation or the walk on the beach or anything, but I like it better. So there.

Wash Away

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:44:30 GMT

The two of us standing in the waves.

Perfekte Welle

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:44:31 GMT

It's... a wave.

Reflection on a Pier

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:37:54 GMT

Looking back at the beginning of the Hatteras Island Fishing Pier over what looks like the shallows of the ocean but is actually just a puddle.

Snap

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:37:41 GMT

Sara trying to get the perfect shot of water hitting the base of the pier.

Crash

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:44:32 GMT

It might not be the perfect shot, but it'll do. This is the end result of the photography depicted in the previous photo. Waves hitting the supports of the Hatteras Island Fishing Pier.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish... Green Fish?

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:53:32 GMT

Fish in the wetlands exhibit at the aquarium.

Turtle, Turtle

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:51:42 GMT

A majestic specimen of turtlehood at the aquarium.

Spill

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:51:48 GMT

There were two of these in the turtle tank, clear pots with plants growing in them and water spilling out over the side. They appeared to be serving as natural filters.

Woah

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:51:50 GMT

I had Finding Nemo surfer-dude turtle dialog running through my head for half the aquarium after seeing this guy.

Wall of Info

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:51:53 GMT

An information-laden wall in the hurricane room with, coincidentally, Tim reading some of said info.

Hamfish

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:51:55 GMT

I swear this one posed for me. He was darting all around, looked straight at me, and stopped dead still. After I'd taken the shot and stood back up again, he went back to running around madly.

Earth

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:52:00 GMT

This is not a globe lit from inside; it's actually a spherical screen, with projectors all around it to create the image. The image itself changes to display things like the surface of the Moon, wind and ocean current patterns on Earth, etc. It was really freaking cool.

Earth II

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:53:35 GMT

Another view of the spherical projection screen.

Beach Road

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:06:07 GMT

Typical residential area on the ocean side of Beach Road, aka Old Highway 12 through Nags Head and points north. This is a much less commercial-touristy-feeling route than the Bypass (Highway 158), just a block away. I note that most of the houses are unpainted, presumably because the salt air would start to strip the paint pretty quickly.

First Flight

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:14:10 GMT

The site of the first powered flight, as achieved by the Wright Brothers, at the Wright Brothers Memorial. The stone in the foreground is their start point. You can see a cluster of pale markers not far away, marking the first three flights, and then the marker for the fourth one way back in the distance.

Memorial

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:14:11 GMT

The Wright Brothers Memorial. Which, btw, has the best admission prices I've seen in a long time. People under 15 years old are free, adults are only $4 each, and your admission is good all week. Wow.

Orville and Wilbur

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:14:12 GMT

A closer shot of the Wright Brothers Memorial.

On the Hill

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:14:14 GMT

A wide shot of the Wright Brothers Memorial and the hill it sits on.

Curve

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:14:16 GMT

An exhibit inside the Centennial Pavilion at the Wright Brothers Memorial, depicting a timeline of the history of flight.