Checking In

A catch-all, catch-up post

There are 1,126 posts filed in Checking In (this is page 26 of 113).

A stop for Garner Crimestoppers

I know that for years I’ve been telling people that I served as the president of Garner Crimestoppers for two years. Well, it’s actually not true. It turns out I’m still serving as president of Garner Crimestoppers and no one told me about it.

Apparently, the paperwork didn’t get updated when I resigned back in 2003 and I’ve been listed as president on the state forms ever since. The Garner Police department eventually decided that Crimestoppers wasn’t really needed anymore and decided to close it down. In order to dissolve the corporation they recently contacted me to get my signature.

While I’m sorry to see the organization go, I’m happy to see it’s run its course and is no longer needed!

My local urban woods to become subdivision

Urban deer


I received confirmation yesterday that the Weatherford property, the beautiful 10+ acre woods beside my neighborhood, is under contract by KB Homes. I believe their plans call for a 40-home subdivision with upscale homes similar to the ones in my neighborhood.

Checking KB Homes’s map of its other subdivisions in the Triangle area, this will be the first to be positioned so close to a downtown. That makes me wonder if we’ll see smaller, fancier, less car-centric homes to appeal to the new generation of homebuyers.

I will miss the nearby woods, though. I’ve grown used to mornings quiet enough to hear the call of barred owls, and the occasional encounter with urban deer grazing near my yard. I’m also expecting increased traffic as the dead-end street I live on gets extended to the new neighborhood, bringing more traffic through my neighborhood.
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Outer Banks Thursday

Nags Head sunrise


We began our Thursday morning with the promised “dolphin hunt” and I surprised myself with being willing to leap out of bed around 6 AM. The family trudged down the road to the beach as the eastern sky was brightening.

Though it was early, it was wonderful having the beach practically all to ourselves. We sat on the “sand wall” built by the high tide and studied the awakening ocean before us. Numerous sorties of pelicans swooped low across the water, occasionally nabbing a fish breakfast for their trouble. I snapped pictures as the kids cheerfully smiled and yawned in the pre-dawn light. Though we didn’t see any dolphins that morning, we did see an amazingly beautiful sunrise.

The Turners at Nags Head, August 2012.

There’s something about seeing the sun rise over the ocean, something that’s just not the same on the West Coast. That sense of promise of a new day, the feeling of being one of the very first to greet that day, was missing during my time in California. Sure, I’ve seen some great sunrises at California beaches, but by the time the sun reaches California America’s morning is already old news.

We took some time to enjoy breakfast before returning to the beach for more boogie boarding and playing in the sand. Hallie, Kelly, and I rode waves together while Travis spent most of his time digging around in the sand. A dad next to us had dug a hole about knee deep. Travis volunteered to help dig and soon had a hole dug up to his chest.

After getting cleaned up, we headed to the Outer Banks Brewing Station in Kill Devil Hills for lunch (and a few double IPAs). It was an excellent meal with excellent beer. It being America’s first wind-powered brewery was a plus, too. I’d definitely go back again!

Following our late lunch, we moved down the beach to revisit the Wright Brothers Memorial (well, the kids had never seen it but Kelly and I have). We arrived as one ranger was finishing up his talk in front of the replica flyers, but we were just in time for a special “behind the ropes” opportunity to get up close to the flyers. With gloves and special permission from the ranger, Kelly and Hallie got to touch the airplane. I was impressed just seeing how well the brothers Wright had thought everything out.

We then wandered the path the first flights took before visiting the new pavilions erected for the centennial celebration in 2003. Many of the displays inside had misattributed quotes but other than that few were memorable. We did enjoy watching the short film in the auditorium.

At Wright Memorial


With only an hour left, we then wandered up to the First Flight sculpture and took some pictures of (and climbed on) this wonderful work of art. Then it was up the hill to the monument itself. With five minutes to spare, we rolled out of the lot and said goodbye to this park.

On the way back to Nags Head we stopped by the First Colony Inn, which was the site of Kelly’s and my short honeymoon in September 1999. Neither one of us has any great memories of the place: we had only planned to stay three nights there but got chased away after only two by the mandatory evacuation preceding Hurricane Floyd. Of course, Hurricane Dennis had rolled through two weeks prior, so the one thing I remember most about the First Colony was all the mosquitoes that plagued us during that short trip.

The First Colony Inn, Nags Head.


Anyhow, the family and I were disappointed to see that no staff person was around. We browsed the library for a moment or two before taking a stroll around the upper level, trying to remember where our room was. Striking out, we returned to our rental house.

With the sun setting, it was time to head out again to take family pictures on the beach. Usually this becomes a big pain in the ass as I try to get everyone to work together. Instead it became a lot of fun! I had to do a bit of MacGuyvering, though, as it’s hard to take a group photo without a tripod. While Kelly snapped shots of the kids on the beach, I scoured the dunes for a spot with not only a decent background but some sort of makeshift, rudimentary tripod that could be used.

I found just the spot, with a weathered two-by-four providing my tripod. My photo trickery also brought its own smiles to our session when we watched in surprise as my camera took an unexpected short dive into the soft sand below! A little dusting off and it was good as new.

Sunrise to sunset, it was a fun-filled day. I think out of all our vacation days this one captured most of what we like to do at the beach.

Enjoying the Outer Banks

We’re halfway through our vacation to Nags Head and the Outer Banks and have had a load of fun so far. If you asked the kids they would say that simply riding the waves has been their most favorite activity but we’ve done far more than that.

Sunday night upon arriving, we unpacked, made dinner, fixed our beds, and settled in for the night.

We spent Monday morning on the beach, riding waves, building sandcastles, and simply relaxing. In the afternoon Kelly went for a 4+ mile run and I went for a 17 mile bike ride. We had hauled our bicycles down with us to the detriment of our gas mileage. So far I’m the only one who’s ridden one. We hope to get the family out on a bike ride tomorrow, weather permitting.

Monday afternoon the kids took a nap in preparation to see the play The Lost Colony. When they awoke, we made dinner and drove to Manteo for the show. It was the first time I’d seen it and I enjoyed it, though the kids were fading as it ran a bit long.
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Nags Head

We spent the day yesterday packing for a week at Nags Head and got here around 5 PM yesterday. We’re staying at the “Serenity” beach house in shouth Nags Head, specifically at 10113 S. Colony South Drive. It’s a huge beachhouse. We’re not even using half of the bedrooms in it.

We brought our bikes on this trip, to the detriment of our minivan’s gas mileage. It was worth it, though, as there’s a long sidewalk/walkway just outside the house that runs for miles in either direction.
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Minivan still has some uses

I’ve been griping about our Honda Odyssey minivan lately: the lousy transmissions, the poor gas mileage, and the difficulty parking it, among others. I’ve been suggesting to Kelly that we could get by with something smaller and more environmentally friendly but she’s reluctant to part with it. She says we need it for trips but I contend we can rent a minivan for trips if we need one. I challenged her to drive it for a month and see if she still felt that way and Kelly took me up on it.

Yesterday the minivan’s value proved itself in an unexpected way when I got to play hero. On the way home from the kids’ pool party, Travis and I drove past my local bus stop. Standing there by the side of the road was a couple and five elementary school age kids. Clouds were gathering, thunder rumbled in the distance, and the first few drops of rain were beginning to fall. The father desperately waved at me as I drove by, trying to get a ride. I couldn’t stop for him then because I was driving our smaller Honda CR-V and only had one empty seat to share.

I quickly dropped Travis off at home, hopped into the Odyssey, and returned to pick up the stranded family. Two kids had to share one bucket seat but everyone got safely delivered to the local motel where they were staying! I was glad I could help and glad we still had a vehicle that was big enough to come through for some strangers in a pinch.

Rejuvenated

Last night I went to bed with some weighty questions on my mind, like how people could gleefully embrace discrimination the way they did yesterday. It seriously bummed me out. As I fell asleep I pondered what kind of world I was living in, and whether it made sense to hitch a ride with the next passing spaceship if there were no intelligent life left on Earth.

The Universe must have been listening because when my eyes popped open today I felt fantastic. I had an inspired morning, full of laughter and joking. It was just what I needed.

I don’t recall any particular dream or message from overnight, but I did get the reassurance I needed. I just need to keep doing what I’m doing and everything will work out. Message received.

Mad Cow Disease

My neighbor knocked on the door a few weeks ago and gave me some very disturbing news. She had come to tell me she would be out of town because one of her relatives was sick. She said one of her in-laws (I forget the exact relation) was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or the human form of Mad Cow Disease.

She said this man had visited her in Raleigh for June’s Race For The Cure and complained about losing the feeling in his arm. Very soon afterward, he lost the ability to move his entire side. Doctors initially thought he had had a stroke but my neighbor’s daughter is a veterinarian and wasn’t convinced with that diagnosis. She urged that he get a second opinion and as such they found a doctor who willing to consider the CJD diagnosis.

According to the news reports, only one in a million Americans will succumb to this devastating disease each year. It’s a shame my neighbor’s relative appears to be one of them, and it all happened so terrifyingly fast.

I wasn’t aware that this disease was still afflicting Americans as I hadn’t heard much news about it. Looks like I was wrong.

Dragonflies

It makes me glad to see a lot more dragonflies flying around my yard. I’m not sure what has brought them to our little abode but I’m happy they’re around. In addition to other insects, Dragonflies eat mosquitoes, of which my yard has plenty. I hope these dragonflies get fat and happy on all the ‘skeeter snacks they pluck from my yard.