Our Trip to Ocracoke
Ocracoke hasn't changed all that much since the last time we were here. Sure, there have been a few businesses going out, a few more coming in, but overall the island's character is pretty much the same.
I had thought that flying down Friday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend would have been insane with air traffic, and wrought with delays. Thankfully, I was quite wrong. Things went very well on the way down, with many instances of the coveted phrase "go direct..." being uttered by cheerful air traffic controllers. Upon landing we found a lot fewer aircraft than expected, and many choices of tie down spots.
Ocracoke is a strange blend of cultures, with the classic rednecks complete with pick up trucks, gun racks and a six pack of Bud, along with advertisements for Reiki treatments and board certified acupuncturists. The graduating class of 2004 consists of 4 people, three male, one female, two of whom have been on the island their entire academic careers. Three are going to community college on the mainland next year, and one is going up to the "big city" at George Mason in Fairfax, VA.
The odd mixture of people at Howard's Pub reflects the typical holiday weekend crowd, most of whom arrived on the ferry, since many of whom would not fit into the small aircraft dotting Ocracoke's airport. Many of them would not be able to pass the written test to become a pilot either. Perhaps that is why they smoke so much, out of the despair that surely will follow their vacation, as they are trapped in the ferry lines trying to get back to the mainland. The very idea of a non smoking section at most of the island's restaurants caused the staff to gaze at me in utter confusion, as if I'd sprouted a third eye.
This was the child's first trip to Ocracoke, and she had a wonderful time, playing with the child of our pals Paul and Mary (it's Paul's fault that we flew down in an airplane rather than being in a ferry line :-)), and gazing at the wild ponies. She didn't like the beach all that much, since there were waves and sand and stuff, but she did enjoy the shopping (even though she hardly bought anything) and very much liked being out and about.
We stayed at Pelican Lodge, as usual, with our friends Phil and Nancy. Unfortunately for us but not for them, this will be their last year running a bed and breakfast. They are retiring. We will miss their island hospitality. We again had a wonderful time.
On the way home, we had an interesting (in the Chinese sense) flight with multiple cells we were routed around by a great group at Norfolk Approach. Almost like magic, Gaithersburg cleared itself as we were arriving, allowing all of the traffic in line before us to land and cancel IFR so that we could come in without holds or delays.
And a great weekend was had by all.