Dare Days

Last Saturday Patty, an intern named Emily and I went into Manteo for the Virginia Dare Festival. Virginia Dare was the first European baby born in the new world and she was born very near Manteo on Roanoke Island. The festival is laid out around the harbor and neat little downtown area. Like most small town festivals, there were numerous food booths and people selling everything from photographs to crafts.
No festival is complete without local talent being showcased and Dare Days is no different. There were little kids dancing proudly and of course older singers and dancers.
We walked around checking out all of the displays and talking to a number of vendors. One young woman had a display of photographs depicting the beach and many other nautical themes as well as flora and fauna that are indicative of the outer banks. While I was checking out her work, a friend of hers came in and asked her about her photos. She told her friend "I was bored this winter and just went out and took some pictures and decided to display them here. She had a really good eye and her work looked extremely professional so much so that I'm convinced she could become another Stiglitz or Adams. I hope she learned something about herself and will continue with her photography.
One guy had a 1926 model John Deere engine running a homemade ice cream contraption using belts and pulleys. It was worth going to the festival just to see antique machinery in operation. The pretty young lady in the hat is Emily one of the interns here at Pea Island.

After walking around the festival, we decided to take the ferry to Ocracoke and have lunch so being the gamey bunch that we are, we headed for Ocracoke.



The waterways around the Outer Banks are crowded with boat traffic. One guy even raced the ferry we were on to a channel marker and made the turn around it with about a minute to spare.


If you click on the picture, you will get a better idea of the boat traffic.








If the Coast Guard had boats like these when I was younger, I would probably have joined the Coast Guard instead of the Navy. These are some really neat looking fast boats.







I wouldn't mind having one of these to run around in. Note the three huge engines on the stern. I bet this baby will almost fly.

Emily at the rail of the ferry. She is one super young woman willing to tackle any task assigned to her and very intelligent. Pat and I often discuss how great the three interns Emily, Will and James are. They are all hard working, intelligent, personable and a delight to be near. We are sure that each has a bright future and much happiness ahead of them.

The ferry passed a guy playing with two dogs and a young boy along the shoreline.


The "Wild" Horses of Ocracoke don't appear so "wild" when they are in a corral, but they are pretty and interesting to watch.
This pelican was interesting since we initially thought it was a statue placed on a pileing by the owners of the restaurant where we were eating. We noticed feathers blowing in a light breeze which gave the dozing bird away. He sat motionless for about fifteen minutes before Pat snapped his picture.
A fitting end to a good day playing tourist around an area that we love. Having Emily along was a real plus since we enjoy her company and love her inquisitive mind. It is going to be difficult to see the three interns depart in August. My guess is that there will probably be a few tears shed.
A last photo of the Ocracoke Lighthouse seems like a good way to close this post.