A DREAM FULFILLED

If my cousin Shirlee hadn't decided to move from Southern California to a tiny town in North Carolina, I probably would never had one of my dreams fulfilled. Somehow the Outer Banks had always drawn my attention -- mostly, I think, because of what happens when a hurricane takes aim at them, but also because they had a certain mystique, as well as a most interesting history. If I'd had to make a list of what I wanted to see most of all in the United States, the Outer Banks would have been right up at the top.

Shirlee made my dream come true. Once she got settled in her new home, she invited me for a visit. Today I'll share a few photos with you - some mine, some hers - of what she showed me of that part of her world.

Here is the charming little town of Okracoke in the early evening

The Okracoke lighthouse is not as dramatic as some of them are, but the setting is lovely. Shirlee and I snagged another tourist to take a photo of us here.

From this same walkway if you can take your eyes off the lighthouse and look across the field, you can see a weathered green house on stilts looking out over the Atlantic.


We did a little shell-collecting down along the water's edge and saw this house, dramatic in its starkness.




When I look at these photos (and many, many more that we took and shared) I am reminded of what a fascinating place this is and how different it is from what I have seen all my life along the shoreline of Southern California.

But the beauty isn't only along the Outer Banks. My cousin's house backs up to a forest and she has cardinals and bluebirds, deer and racoons around her property. Just this week she sent me a picture taken from her back porch. This painted bunting was so close she had to lean backwards over a rail to even get him into the picture. Can you imagine a bird like this? It's colored like something one of my little grandkids would do to a bird in a coloring book. For my money, it would be worth another trip to North Carolina, even in the humid summertime, to see such a a thing!

I just hated to have my cuz move so far from me, but I do believe she, a native Californian like I am, made a really good decision. There will be no end to all the new and different places and things she can see and enjoy. She's a lucky lady, I think.