Great Beach week - Over? Over!

That was a great week at the beach (Sat 5 to Sat 12 June 2010).  Pretty good weather, warmish water, Shirley visiting, seafood, thrift shops, great rental house with good wi-fi, beaches at Nags Head, Coquina, Mile Post 28, Pea Island, and Ocracoke - sun, salty water, beaches, gulls and pelicans.

Beach 2010 Day 3

Monday, 7 June 2010, South Nags Head, NC. Third day at the beach.  Wild life around the Sea Hawk rental - big bunny out back, tiny humming bird on its nest in the front yard's pine tree, and little green frog hiding on the front porch.  Today the weather is perfect - blue skies after very early morning showers, temperature in the 70s, compared to to 90s yesterday with its high winds blowing stinging sand onto our legs at the beach; today has calm winds, with cold but not freezing water at this morning's beach when we dipped into the waves for 5 minutes.

Saturday. So we planned to leave by 10 Saturday morning, but then I saw an email from Marilyn that the Class of 1975 group was indeed in town for the reunion weekend, staying over at Jefferson Park Circle.  I was mostly packed by 9:45 am, so went over to see them.  Susan's Richard met me at the door and we cleared up the confusion of who he was and who I was and then joined Susan and Lisa on the back porch, with Lisa going off to get Marilyn, after we talked briefly of where she is and what not.  Nice talk with Susan, with her restoration project almost done - kids, etc. Marilyn came down and we had a nice catching up conversation for about 20 minutes - her involvement with her dad's large number of books, etc.  Got a couple photos, before Marilyn walked me out - good to see her and others even briefly, after these 15-20 years.

Back home and packing up the car and getting on the road by 11 - stopped beyond Richmond for Subway lunch, with slowed, stand-still traffic beyond Williamsburg because of an accident, and then again, another 20 minute delay trying to go over the bridge to the Outer Banks, also because of an accident.  We also stopped to get cheap gas just inside NC, but it was even cheaper ($2.43) beyond Grandy; also stopped at Powells for blackberry juice, peaches, strawberries, etc. Remarkably made it about 4:25 pm to pick up our key at 4.75 mile post from Wrights.  Then got groceries at Harris Teeters (beers and shrimp, etc), after ABC Store in Kitty Hawk, and on to Food Lion in Nags Head - cereal and mango juice, before getting to South Nags Head Sea Hawk rental (#426) around 5:40.  Almost immediately we had a small shower - and a beautiful rainbow. Unloading, settling in, firing up dsl, and cooking a great supper of shrimp, potatoes, corn on the cob, and strawberries with whipped cream.  Oh, yes, drove to the public beach and walked around for about 30 minutes after we unpacked.  Somewhat windy - lots of seaweed on the beaches, some jelly fish.  Calm water.

Sunday - mainly relaxed and did not go to the beach until around 4 pm, since it was very windy, very hot - blowing sand stung our legs - hardly any one else on the beach either.  Drove to Grits for a fine breakfast around 9:30 and got a couple more grocery items (sandwich bags, paper towels), and some stuff at the Dollar Store.  Then back 'home'  Went north to 'town' again around 1 for lunch at Sooey's BBQ, splitting a normal, but very, very good bbq poke sandwich; went to Radio Shack and bought a wireless router on sale for $39.99.  Stopped at a SeaSurf shop finding nothing, and a the fish shop and got 1 lb. mahi mahi. The hook up at home was easy and nice - works well with two computers (the Compaq HP and the mini or Chota Dell) - even the streaming live webcams work fine on both of them.  Put up the self-portrait photo of us at the beach and the rainbow photo on Facebook - which brought several comments. Watched the bunny outside in the late afternoon with Deej's prepared gin and vodka tonics, when we got back from the beach.  Again a good evening meal - broiled mahi mahi (seemed nicely fresh), vegs, and strawberry desert.  We were both strangely very tired, dissatisfied with the rotten TV programs. And went to be around 11 or so (very early for me).

So, this is the 3rd day at the beach - Deej is off getting fish sandwiches for lunch, while I enjoy a blackberry coke.

India - looking back to the 2009 trip

One of the things which made the India trip a pleasant one was a cell phone.  I had bought an Indian cell phone back in July 2007 when I went there with my grandson, Mark.  And then I lent it to my Woodstock classmate Robert B and he used it when he took a group of college students to India in January 2008.  Then I again used it in October 2009, during this last trip to India.

The one thing I forgot was to carry extra passport photos with me, which is a good thing to do on any trip abroad, India or otherwise.  Of course, now, there are good and cheap photography shops in India, even in Landour, Mussoorie, which will take the photos and give you copies, often times within 4 or 5 hours, or less.

It also means having the name of an Indian resident who will vouch for you, and my hotel landlord was very willing to do that, and to send one of his assistants with me to the office where I could apply and register for my use of my cell phone.  The office was about a 20 minute walk away, in Landour.  It actually took 3 visits over 2 days to set every thing up, but it could have happened in just one visit.  The second visit was to give my passport photos, and the third was to sign the FRONT of the photos (I has signed the back which were pasted on the application).  But the cell phone was activated the first day, in spite of the further actions needed. I think the registration and one month fees totaled around Rs. 500-600 ($13?), but my memory could be far off. I'll try to check with Robert for around how much he had to pay.

It was easy to communicate with Woodstock School people, at the alumni office, from our Landour hotel, also with travel agents in Dehra Dun, Delhi, Jhansi, Datia, Orccha, etc, and persons and offices in Delhi

It's an old (2007) Nokia phone - no bells and whistles or picture taking, etc., which I'll be glad to lend to others.

Back in the USA

Back in the USA - Wednesday 4 November 2009

Continental Flight CO 83 for 14.5 dark hours. Newark arrival, long baggage pickup, customs, re-checkin. Wait 4 hours.  Contiental 8:25 am flight to Richmond. Parking lot C, Hardee's biscuits, gas, drive back to Charlottesville.  Phone ringing as open door, meet touring Woodstock school mate Phil W and his wife Mariilyn (photo below) for lunch.  Groceries, unpacking. Rest. Making bread and supper. Back to email and TV.


Continental Flight CO 83 for 14.5 dark hours. 

Newark arrival, long baggage pickup, customs, re-checkin. 

Wait 4 hours.  

Contiental 8:25 am flight to Richmond. 

Parking lot C, Hardee's biscuits, gas, drive back to Charlottesville.  

Phone ringing as open door, meet touring Woodstock school mate Phil W and his wife Marilyn for lunch.  

Groceries, unpacking. Rest. Making bread and supper. Back to email and TV.

Last Day Cottage shopping

Last Day Cottage shopping – Tuesday 2 November 2009

[Details and more later] 

Breakfast. Packing. Tuk-tuk scamed to false Cottage Industries store.  Walk to real Central Cottage Industries Emporium. Shopping and Shopping and Café Lunch. Suitcase and shoeshines (photo below) on Janpat. Tuk Tuk back to Hotel. Relax and repack. Check out at 6. Out for Aangan dinner. Stop for beer at Spicy by Nature.  Uday ride waiting at 7:50.  To the Airport.  Checkin, but no water, and can’t take Nag Tibba staff. Waiting. Continental 14 hour flight from Delhi to Newark.

Breakfast. Still breakfast only at top restaurant – ate inside since crows swooping down on left food plates outside. Puris again cold, water not hot, eggs all cracked.

Packing.

tuk-tuk scamed to false Cottage Industries store.  

Walk to real Central Cottage Industries Emporium.

Shopping and Shopping and Café Lunch.

Suitcase and shoeshines on Janpat.

\

Tuk Tuk back to Hotel.

Relax and repack.

Check out at 6.

Out for Aangan dinner.

Stop for beer at Spicy by Nature. 

Uday ride waiting at 7:50. 

To the Airport.  Uday’s Kailash P.

Checkin, but no water, and can’t take Nag Tibba staff.

Waiting.

Continental 14 hour flight from Delhi to Newark.

Dilli and Kailash

Dilli Haat and Greater Kailash Market - 2 November 2009 Monday.  Guru Nanak's holiday, full moon.

[Details and more later]

Breakfast buffet again (holiday).  Taxi (same driver as yesterday) to Dilli Haat - a collection of 80 or so state and specialty Indian carft shops and 10 or so different state food restaurants - shopping.  Over to Greater Kailash and three FabIndia stores and Anokhi. Back to Grand Peepal Hotel.  Walk to Aangan veg restaurant, with another surprise - the open walking shopping mall along 5 or 6 vehicle-free roads, with street shops and stalls, crowds of strollers and many hawkers calling out their wares and prices.  Marvelous buzz of activity.  Great thali and Hyderabadi chaap.  To Peepal rooftop to view and hear fireworks in the distance celebrating Guru Nanak's day.

Khan and Lodi

Khan Market and Lodi Gardens - 1 November 2009 Sunday

[Details and more later]

Breakfast surprise - no room service, buffet on the roof. Taxi to Khan Market with lunch at Latitude, shoping and small FabIndia shop.  All bookstores closed. Lodi Gardens - lots of couples cuddling by the pond, families picinicing, girl scouts and boys playing games, badminton, sun, delightful screams. Hotel and walk to Suruchi supper with Rajasthani and Gujarati thalis.