Wecome to Duck, NC

Welcome to the Beach

Sunday 9-28-08

What a wonderful wedding we attended yesterday. Ryan and Adam pledged the vows of husband and wife. It was at the Cross Keys Inn, in Andover N.J. It took us about 2 hours to get there, but ended up driving through some beautiful country. The wedding was outside in a beautiful garden with a stone playhouse in the background. Soft violin being played as the happy couple and wedding party walked from out of a tree line to the alter. The reception was started in a large tent draped inside with lights and chandeliers. Appetizers were served and delicious they were. Some pretty exotic tasty little morsels of joy. Mmmmmm Mmmmm. The wedding reception continued inside and even larger tent. Music, dancing and the clanging of glasses continued into the night. God bless you both. I hope your life is as wonderful as your wedding ceremony.

We woke up early and tried to get everything together for our 8 hour trip to the outer banks. Way back in March we had this wonderful idea of making this trip. Sharon always wanted to go to Duck so we decided to turn dreams into reality. We went online and found an incredible deal on a condo right on the beach. So anyway, we found out that we had more to do the get ready than we anticipated, but made it out the house by 8:45 AM. We headed down the Turnpike and got off at exit 4 to meet Liz and Mark to drop off Marks laptop to him. We met at a Luke Oil gas station. We arrived first so Sharon decided to go inside and use the bathroom. She came back out only seconds later. I asked her what happened. She told me that there was a bus load of Orientals all in line for the bathroom and she got freaked out. We went back inside and the line moved pretty quickly. I often heard it said that Oriental pee pretty quickly… or was it they do something else pretty quickly…. I forget. But anyway, Liz and Mark met us inside we passed of the laptop and got back on the road.

It was a pleasant drive down, we laughed and joked about Chicken Georges Chicken Chokin’ Church. We drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and arrived in North Carolina around 5:00. We stopped at a Hardee’s for Chili Hot Dogs and a Discount Cigarette store for taxless cigarettes. Something unheard of in New Jersey. We crossed the bridge and arrived in the Outerbanks, got lost a little but found the rental agency and was soon in the condo. We were both pleased with the condo. We could see the ocean like it was right in our backyard. We opened up the back door and went out on the deck and there it was, and the roar of those waves crashing on the shore. Yes! 

Monday 9-29-08

Sharon woke up right before the sunrise and got me up. We sat on the back deck and watched the sun come up. It was glorious. We had breakfast, showered and headed out to Food Lion to get some food shopping done. Sharon got a bit flustered in the food store and I didn’t help by stepping on her foot in the check out isle. We both despise shopping pretty much the same. And it particularly sucks when your on vacation. But we made it through and got back to the condo and we put the groceries away and had lunch. We headed out to the beach to scavenge shells. Later on we came back to the beach to lay in the sun and do some reading. Sharon fell asleep for a bit. We came back and made Salmon for dinner and a nice salad. We headed off to see the sun set and this great little place called the Sunset Grill. The sunset was spectacular. I took some pictures and we had drinks and headed back to catch the Big Bang.

Tuesday 9-30-08

Again we arose to see the sunrise. This time we headed down to the beach to experience it. It took pictures and managed to capture the Angels on the beach in the form of orbs. I didn’t realize this until I saw a few of the pictures I took right before sunrise. They say that at sunrise angels gather on the beaches around the world and all sing as the sun rises. I don’t know if this is true, but if the orbs I captured on my camera are angels it send chills up my spine. I suppose that it would be perfectly acceptable to me that these energy fields are in a round form. Makes me wonder if our own souls are in the same form. Ah, just a thought.

We ate breakfast and headed out to check out the local shops on bike. We spotted a couple good sales. We will come back later with the truck. We found a park and drove through. We stopped for a bowl of clam chowder at Fishbones, stopped at a bakery for bread and canolies and headed back for a nap. Sharon cooked a chicken and we headed down to the park to see the sunset. Back to the condo, watched the movie Grumpy Old Men then to sleep.

Wednesday 10-1-08

Captured another glorious sunrise. Went shopping. Ate lunch at the Sunset Grille. The Sunset Grille is a pretty nice place. It is on a pier on the Bay, or rather a Sound. Went down to the beach just in time for a storm to come in. Hung on the deck, did some reading, took a nap. Got up, drank wine, ate dinner – Portobello Mushrooms.

Thursday 10-2-08

Woke up to yet another beautiful sunrise on the beach. We took a nice 12 mile bike ride, had soup at the Sunset Grille and picked up food for the next couple of days. We spent the afternoon on the beach, went back to the condo, showered and drank wine. We headed back to the Sunset Grille to watch the sun set and have a drink. I got a Pirate Mug with mine. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr. We were in bed by 8:30 attempting to watch Pirates of the Caribean but ended up falling asleep.

Friday 10-3-08

Today was our lazy day. We got up for the sunrise. Did a lot of reading. Layed by the pool. Did a little food shopping.

Saturday 10-4-08

Wow. Last day in Duck North Carolina and yet another amazing sunrise. We rode our bikes this morning and stopped at a few places along the way. A quaint little book store where Sharon pick up a book about legendary ghosts on the Outer Banks. We stopped for lunch at the Roadside Café where we split a burger and portobello mushroom sandwich that was out of this world. We spent some more time on the beach in the afternoon and took naps and got up to see the sunset at our favorite park. Wow. Last one until we come back again some day. Sharon cooked grilled shrimp on skewers with zukini and squash and tomatoes. Mmmmmm.

Sunday 10-5-08

The very last day of this sweet vacation. Got up early to see the last sunrise here in Duck North Carolina. Again it was glorious. We were both ready to blaze a trail back to New Jersey. I went out to get bagels for breakfast, but came back with nothing. One of the hardest things to find in Duck is fresh bread, rolls and bagels. They simply don't exist or are very limited to the public. We packed up, cleaned up and got on the road at 8:00. We couldn't find our way back to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and ended up heading towards Route 95. The drive back was tough. Too much traffic and too many crazy people on the road. We made it home a little after 6:00. 10 hours. Wow. 

Even with the long drive we are both are very thankful for incredible peace we both experienced together on this vacation and the opportunity to become even closer to each other and with nature. 

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Wake-Forest-vs-Clemson

Demon Deacons -2 1/2 vs. Tigers

ESPN's traditional Thursday game looked to be quite an interesting matchup before the season and it is living up to its billing, however for not the reason many people thought. Both teams roll into Winston-Salem, North Carolina licking their wounds of disappointing losses. With that said, this game may still go along way in determining a clear-cut favorite for the ACC Atlantic Division title.

Number 21 Wake Forest (3-1, 1-0) suffered their first defeat at the hands of Navy two weeks ago. While that was a disappointing loss, it is nothing compared to the two losses suffered by Clemson (3-2, 1-1) in a disappointing first half for the Tigers. Clemson, once the ninth team in the nation, got dismantled by a barely ranked Alabama Crimson Tide team at Memorial Stadium in the Tigers' home and season opener.

After seemingly getting back on track with three straight victories, Clemson was upset by Maryland 20-17 on September 27. Nearly two weeks later, the game still grates on some of the Tigers' minds.

"Ten days of hearing how terrible we are and how we can't win," Junior running back C.J. Spiller said during his time off. "But we'll come together."Spiller and his teammates are not the only ones dwelling on the past.

"Any time you lose, it's pretty frustrating," Demon Deacons’ nose guard Boo Robinson said. "Any time you lose, you're going to be down on yourself. One thing about football is you've always got next week."

Wake Forest’s loss was nowhere near as tough as Clemson’s. The Tigers lost a conference game while Wake lost to an independent school. The Deacons are the only team without a loss in conference play. All is not rosy for Wake Forest because they will be losing more games if they continue to turn the ball over. In the loss to Navy, the Deacons’ had their most turnovers since 2005 and five of their six turnovers were at the hands of Junior quarterback Riley Skinner, this coming after a streak of 133 passes without an interception.

Clemson holds a comfortable lead in the all-time series, 56-16-1. The last time the teams met was November 10th of last year and the Deacons barely showed up, being routed by the Tigers 44-10.

InSpin.com

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Wake-Forest-vs-Clemson

Demon Deacons -2 1/2 vs. Tigers

ESPN's traditional Thursday game looked to be quite an interesting matchup before the season and it is living up to its billing, however for not the reason many people thought. Both teams roll into Winston-Salem, North Carolina licking their wounds of disappointing losses. With that said, this game may still go along way in determining a clear-cut favorite for the ACC Atlantic Division title.

Number 21 Wake Forest (3-1, 1-0) suffered their first defeat at the hands of Navy two weeks ago. While that was a disappointing loss, it is nothing compared to the two losses suffered by Clemson (3-2, 1-1) in a disappointing first half for the Tigers. Clemson, once the ninth team in the nation, got dismantled by a barely ranked Alabama Crimson Tide team at Memorial Stadium in the Tigers' home and season opener.

After seemingly getting back on track with three straight victories, Clemson was upset by Maryland 20-17 on September 27. Nearly two weeks later, the game still grates on some of the Tigers' minds.

"Ten days of hearing how terrible we are and how we can't win," Junior running back C.J. Spiller said during his time off. "But we'll come together."Spiller and his teammates are not the only ones dwelling on the past.

"Any time you lose, it's pretty frustrating," Demon Deacons’ nose guard Boo Robinson said. "Any time you lose, you're going to be down on yourself. One thing about football is you've always got next week."

Wake Forest’s loss was nowhere near as tough as Clemson’s. The Tigers lost a conference game while Wake lost to an independent school. The Deacons are the only team without a loss in conference play. All is not rosy for Wake Forest because they will be losing more games if they continue to turn the ball over. In the loss to Navy, the Deacons’ had their most turnovers since 2005 and five of their six turnovers were at the hands of Junior quarterback Riley Skinner, this coming after a streak of 133 passes without an interception.

Clemson holds a comfortable lead in the all-time series, 56-16-1. The last time the teams met was November 10th of last year and the Deacons barely showed up, being routed by the Tigers 44-10.

InSpin.com

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just read this article in the new york times about tens of thousands of people being ILLEGALLY removed from voting rolls. if you live in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada or North Carolina then you *NEED* to call up your state Office of the Registrar to verify that you will be able to vote on Election Day. even if you don't live in these states, its a good idea to double-check your status so you don't get cheated out of your vote.

"Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times.

The actions do not seem to be coordinated by one party or the other, nor do they appear to be the result of election officials intentionally breaking rules, but are apparently the result of mistakes in the handling of the registrations and voter files as the states tried to comply with a 2002 federal law, intended to overhaul the way elections are run.

Still, because Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, any heightened screening of new applications may affect their party’s supporters disproportionately. The screening or trimming of voter registration lists in the six states — Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina — could also result in problems at the polls on Election Day: people who have been removed from the rolls are likely to show up only to be challenged by political party officials or election workers, resulting in confusion, long lines and heated tempers.

Some states allow such voters to cast provisional ballots. But they are often not counted because they require added verification.

Although much attention this year has been focused on the millions of new voters being added to the rolls by the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama, there has been far less notice given to the number of voters being dropped from those same rolls.

States have been trying to follow the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and remove the names of voters who should no longer be listed; but for every voter added to the rolls in the past two months in some states, election officials have removed two, a review of the records shows.

The six swing states seem to be in violation of federal law in two ways. Michigan and Colorado are removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state, or have been declared unfit to vote.

Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio seem to be improperly using Social Security data to verify registration applications for new voters.

In addition to the six swing states, three more states appear to be violating federal law. Alabama and Georgia seem to be improperly using Social Security information to screen registration applications from new voters. And Louisiana appears to have removed thousands of voters after the federal deadline for taking such action.

Under federal law, election officials are supposed to use the Social Security database to check a registration application only as a last resort, if no record of the applicant is found on state databases, like those for driver’s licenses or identification cards.

The requirement exists because using the federal database is less reliable than the state lists, and is more likely to incorrectly flag applications as invalid. Many state officials seem to be using the Social Security lists first.

In the year ending Sept. 30, election officials in Nevada, for example, used the Social Security database more than 740,000 times to check voter files or registration applications and found more than 715,000 nonmatches, federal records show. Election officials in Georgia ran more than 1.9 million checks on voter files or voter registration applications and found more than 260,000 nonmatches.

Officials of the Social Security Administration, presented with those numbers, said they were far too high to be cases where names were not in state databases. They said the data seem to represent a violation of federal law and the contract the states signed with the agency to use the database.

Last week, after the inquiry by The Times, Michael J. Astrue, the commissioner of the Social Security Administration, alerted the Justice Department to the problem and sent letters to election officials in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio. The letters ask the officials to ensure that they are complying with federal law.

“It is absolutely essential that people entitled to register to vote are allowed to do so,” Mr. Astrue said in a press release.

In three states — Colorado, Louisiana and Michigan — the number of people purged from the election rolls since Aug. 1 far exceeds the number who may have died or relocated during that period.

States may be improperly removing voters who have moved within the state, election experts said, or who are considered inactive because they have failed to vote in two consecutive federal elections. For example, major voter registration drives have been held this year in Colorado, which has also had a significant population increase since the last presidential election, but the state has recorded a net loss of nearly 100,000 voters from its rolls since 2004.

Asked about the appearance of voter law violations, Rosemary E. Rodriguez, the chairwoman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, which oversees elections, said they could present “extremely serious problems.”

“The law is pretty clear about how states can use Social Security information to screen registrations and when states can purge their rolls,” Ms. Rodriguez said.

Nevada officials said the large number of Social Security checks had resulted from county clerks entering Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers in the wrong fields before records were sent to the state. They could not estimate how many records might have been affected by the problem, but they said it was corrected several weeks ago.

Other states described similar problems in entering data.

Under the Help America Vote Act, all states were required to build statewide electronic voter registration lists to standardize and centralize voter records that had been kept on the local level. To prevent ineligible voters from casting a ballot, states were also required to clear the electronic lists of duplicates, people who had died or moved out of state, or who had become ineligible for other reasons.

Voting rights groups and federal election officials have raised concerns that the methods used to add or remove names vary by state and are conducted with little oversight or transparency. Many states are purging their lists for the first time and appear to be unfamiliar with the 2002 federal law.

“Just as voting machines were the major issue that came out of the 2000 presidential election and provisional ballots were the big issue from 2004, voter registration and these statewide lists will be the top concern this year,” said Daniel P. Tokaji, a law professor at Ohio State University.

Voting rights groups have urged voters to check their registrations with local officials.

In Michigan, some 33,000 voters were removed from the rolls in August, a figure that is far higher than the number of deaths in the state during the same period — about 7,100 — or the number of people who moved out of the state — about 4,400, according to data from the Postal Service.

In Colorado, some 37,000 people were removed from the rolls in the three weeks after July 21. During that time, about 5,100 people moved out of the state and about 2,400 died, according to postal data and death records.

In Louisiana, at least 18,000 people were dropped from the rolls in the five weeks after July 23. Over the same period, at least 1,600 people moved out of state and at least 3,300 died.

The secretaries of state in Michigan and Colorado did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the Louisiana secretary of state said that about half of the numbers of the voters removed from the rolls were people who moved within the state or who died. The remaining 11,000 or so people seem to have been removed by local officials for other reasons that were not clear, the spokesman said.

The purge estimates were calculated using data from state election officials, who produce a snapshot every month or so of the voter rolls with details about each registered voter on record, making it possible to determine how many have been removed.

The Times’s methodology for calculating the purge estimates was reviewed by two voting experts, Kimball Brace, the director of Election Data Services, a Washington consulting firm that tracks voting trends, and R. Michael Alvarez, a political science professor at the California Institute of Technology.

By using the Social Security database so extensively, states are flagging extra registrations and creating extra work for local officials who are already struggling to process all the registration applications by Election Day.

“I simply don’t have the staff to keep up,” said Ann McFall, the supervisor of elections in Volusia County, Fla.

It takes 10 minutes to process a normal registration and up to a week to deal with a flagged one, said Ms. McFall, a Republican, adding that she was receiving 100 or so flagged registrations a week.

Usually, when state election officials check a registration and find that it does not match a database entry, they alert local election officials to contact the voter and request further proof of identification. If that is not possible, most states flag the voter file and require identification from the voter at the polling place.

In Florida, Iowa, Louisiana and South Dakota, the problem is more serious because voters are not added to the rolls until the states remove the flags.

Ms. McFall said she was angry to learn from the state recently that it was her responsibility to contact each flagged voter to clear up the discrepancies before Election Day. “This situation with voter registrations is going to land us in court,” she said.

In fact, it already has.

In Michigan and Florida, rights groups are suing state officials, accusing them of being too aggressive in purging voter rolls and of preventing people from registering.

In Georgia, the Justice Department is considering legal action against the state because officials in Cobb and Cherokee Counties sent letters to hundreds of voters stating that their voter registrations had been flagged and telling them they cannot vote until they clear up the discrepancy.

On Monday, the Ohio Republican Party filed a motion in federal court against the secretary of state to get the list of all names that have been flagged by the Social Security database since Jan. 1. The motion seeks to require that any voter who does not clear up a discrepancy be required to vote using a provisional ballot.

Republicans said in the motion that it is central to American democracy that nonqualified voters be forbidden from voting.

The Ohio secretary of state, Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, said in court papers that she believes the Republicans are seeking grounds to challenge voters and get them removed from the rolls.

Considering that in the past year the state received nearly 290,000 nonmatches, such a plan could have significant impact at the polls."

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After spending a day in our Piscataway office I could not wait to go out and doing some caching. The only obstacle was the impending rain that decided to show up the same time I started out. But hey I was only going to be in New Jersey another day and then I was on my way to Boston. So I hoped for the best and took the rented cachemobile out for a little spin.

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I just had a day at work today and was in a mood that stated, "Must Get Out" or maybe it was my wife giving me a loving suggestion to go geocaching for an hour or so. It was late in the evening and I only had about an hour before the sun was completely gone. So with no particular place to go I decided to head over to Fuquay Varina, NC. As I approached a likely caching zone I remembered about a particular DNF I had from a few months ago. Why not, it was in a particularly wooded spot and with the sun fading fast I would have to look quickly. Boy what a difference that little amount of time makes. The area was now extremely overgrown and there was a ton of places for bad things to happen. A slightly steep but climbable downgrade, rusting metal, leg eating holes, spots for snakes to ambush and I personally saw four different types of spiders I had never seen before. Pity it was so dark out cuz I would have loved to have taken some nice closeup photos. Anyways, I finally made it down to what was left of the trail and looked at a very familiar spot. Shook my head and walked right up to ground zero and chose a likely spot. Sure enough there was the cache. Now in the photo I took out the actual cache for others who may recognize the background can enjoy the hunt as well. It is an area where an old mill once stood. Very peaceful with the sounds of the woods and water flowing over rocks which once powered a huge wheel.

It felt good being out in the fresh fall air and as I climbed out of the greenery my phone rang; it was Mrs. HeadHardHat wanting to go out for dinner. With the pangs of the day now subsided it just goes to show how geocaching can be such a stress relief. So the grand total of caches today was exactly one but that was more than good enough to help me find a little inner tranquility. Ahhhhhhh.

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My little blue feathered party animal Pete the Parrot is on the move again. Seems a very good willed soul knew the winters of Oppland, Norway can be pretty brutal and so Pete is now heading for warmer climates.

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I have said on many an occasion that North Carolina Geocachers are some of the friendliest and giving people I know. This last Saturday I had the privilege to contribute some of my time along side these caring people for a special gathering. The UNC Jaycee Burn Center hosted a World Burn Congress Event. Where a little over a dozen geocachers of the NGCO took about 20 young adults who came from all over the United States geocaching for their first time in Pullen Park (Raleigh, NC).

We all met up at our designated place just as the sun was starting to shine. I could tell already that it was going to be a sparkling day just as so many down here are. The mist was slowly burning off and you could smell the aroma of coffee from my fellow geocacher's liquid breakfast of choice. Once everyone was accounted for we started our first task of the day. Hiding eight special caches around Pullen Park for our young adventurers to find. Within each cache held a log book (of course) and a special activity to be done as each cache was found. Once assigned we then broke up into groups and fired up our GPS units to record each cache's coordinates. Within no time the caches were hid, we finished our coffees and the bus full of future cachers pulled up.

This event was orchestrated by our very own Jessica and Dave who started the event off by having everyone introduce themselves followed by some fun ice breaker activities and an explanation of what geocaching actually is. This was a great way to begin because by the time we were ready to start caching everyone was stretched, relaxed and joking with each other. We divided into three groups of around 11 people each all starting with a different cache to find. Our group called ourselves The Tail Chasers which ironically is a great depiction of what a geocacher looks like when they are close to a cache. That wonderful little dance we do as we circle in to ground zero.

Tally Ho! The hunt was on and as the experienced geocachers explained how a GPS worked the younger set watched intently. Within a few short minutes they were following the electronic arrow to our first geocache. It was obvious that a lot of thought went into each of the eight caches. The cache itself was a medium sized Tupperware container that held a logbook that had to have the group name signed in each and a special activity. Each geared for fun, team building and smoothing personal barriers by giving all involved the feeling of unhindered camaraderie. For example one of our puzzles to figure out was the human knot. We gathered in a circle and everyone held hands creating the knot itself. The idea was to untangle the knot without letting go. We giggled and laughed as the twister like game unfolded ending with all in a large circle.

Pullen Park is a very scenic place filled with the sounds of a fully running carousel and a working railroad. It has a huge picnic area surrounded by lush trees and glistening ponds. As we went from cache to cache within the park we were rewarded by having a ride on the railroad and the carousel as well. We learned history about the park itself and found out that it is the oldest park in North Carolina among other interesting facts. We had a blast with the bean bag toss and learned that hiding a cache in a giant holly bush takes special care but the hunt for the find is a powerful draw.

You could see the enthusiasm in each of our young friends eyes as the morning progressed. Everyone waited anxiously as each of the initial seven caches were opened anticipating what awaited for us next. Then after the seventh activity was completed there was a bonus eighth and final cache to find. Who ever of the three groups that found the eight cache first could claim the golden ticket and would receive first prize for the day. You would think with the incentive of claiming first prize everybody would be hustling to find the golden ticket but instead we enjoyed each others company so much nobody was in a hurry to have the event end. So we all just gabbed and soaked up the North Carolina sunshine enroute to our final destination.

Now with the final cache found it was time to bring this fun filled event to a close. What awaited our newest geocaching friends was a well deserved pizza party and for the rest of us to meet up at a local watering hole to partake in liquid libations and more conversation. As we gave our final hugs and handshakes to each other it was obvious to us that some of these young adventurers will continue in their own personal pursuits of geocaching. Yet more importantly we hoped in some small way to show them that whatever difficulties life has bestowed upon them that there are people who will ignore the superficial and embrace the person within. We wish them all the very best.

If you would like to see all the photos that I had taken at this event please enjoy the slideshow below. If you would like to see them up close just click on the slide show itself. Enjoy.

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Well, I've been in the mountains of North Carolina, staying at a fabulous aery called the A.E. Deville House on Whiteside Mountain.  Here are a couple of pictures of our view:

Whitesidevillaleft

Whitesidevillaview

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The power bill increase is the result of a 20 percent rate hike passed down from the Tennessee Valley Authority, which supplies power to parts of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

That's right! now that we are conserving our gas and staying home, we get a double digit increase in our electric bills.  It looks like our bill will increase anywhere from $20 - $45 a month depending on the season.

Higher electricity bills start today

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.d