Finally made it to the beach

I had a split day of work today to make things a little more interesting.  I was scheduled to work the Gateway VC for the morning.

The first order of business was driving the five miles to the maintenance area to drop off my car and pick up a refuge vehicle.  The radio tower next to the parking area was just covered with purple martins.  It’s a sure sign of fall approaching when all the martins and swallows begin to flock up.  It won’t be long before they all leave on their migration south for the winter.

Shortly after noon, I finished up at Gateway and headed for Pea Island.  This afternoon would be the last Sound Side Presentation of the season.  Just about all of the programs and tours finished up this week since kids will be heading back to school if they haven’t already.

I got to the Pea Island VC a little early so I decided to try climbing up and over the sand dunes to get to the beach.  This is the first I’ve felt able to tackle the dunes since I got here.  You can bet I took my cane, and began the trudge uphill.

Here was my reward as I crested the dune.  A beautiful sand beach on the Atlantic with hardly anyone around.  This is a far cry from the crowds that pack the National Seashore and the beaches surrounding the towns on the Outer Banks.

                   I wasn’t alone though.  This gull was standing guard on a slight rise in the sand.

A little closer to the water, several willets were searching for food.  It was sure a lot easier to walk down by the wet hard packed sand.

I was hoping to find some nice shells as I made my way.  It was just about low tide, but there sure weren’t any shells worth collecting today.

I spent about an hour walking along the shore and enjoying the birds and sounds of the crashing waves.  I do appreciate the relaxing sounds of the surf.  After being here for six weeks already, it’s about time I finally made it to the beach.  For sure I’ll be going again.

All too soon it was time to bid goodbye to the waves and the sunken vessel the Orient.  It’s smoke stack is still visible at the top middle of the photo even though this ship sank during the Civil War.  This area along the Outer Banks is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic because of all the ships that have met their end in these treacherous waters.

It turned out that no kids showed up for the Sound Side Presentation, so we got to go home a little early.  My guess is that just about everyone was out on the beaches on this beautiful end of summer day.  I’m getting pretty excited about my excursion tomorrow morning to feed the wolves.  I sure hope it lives up to my expectations.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy