Coastal NC Blog

This morning and early afternoon we got the soaking rain that we need for our yards and woods. I am not sure that what the local strawberries need, but that is the way weather works. It has pluses and minuses. We just have to live with it. It was pretty impressive for a while today. Still it was warm all today until the bottom fell out of the thermometer some time after 7 pm. By eleven PM it had dropped 20 degrees to 50 Fahrenheit.

We have had lots of wind today and this is the highest I have seen the water on our dock in a while, but a day like today is one that you just have to curl up with your favorite entertainment and enjoy. I spent more time reading newspapers than I usually do and even took a nap which is a nice Sunday afternoon kind of thing to do.

I did manage to stir myself to take advantage of the setting sun. I even wrote a post on my View from the Mountain blog contrasting the storm on the coast and in the Virginia mountains where some places saw some light snow this evening.

It looks like this weeks weather is going to be pretty nice. By the weekend we will be back in the mid-seventies.

This shot was taken at Hidden Bay this evening. We've spent most of the week wandering Emerald Isle. I have been surprised at how windy it has been over on the beach, but I guess that is just me being new to the area. Last week it seemed ten degrees on more cooler over on the island compared to Cape Carteret. This has been a good week to hope for a bridge without delays. There have been plenty. Maybe they are almost done with whatever they are doing.

We have been over on the island so much that we have managed to eat lunch twice at Mike's Place. There aren't many places to get inexpensive lunch food in this area, and Mike's is one of them except I am guessing that during the summer you probably can't get near it. I've tried one of their Greek specials and enjoyed their very tasty vegetable beef soup.

As long as you can get your lunch in before 2 pm, Mike's is a good spot to hit.

Carteret County is truly an amazing place. I actually don't know how I get anywhere on time. I am always stopping to take pictures. When I go around a curve there is always a new vista where I think I might snap the next great shot. This is the perfect time of the year for photography. The air is clear with no haze, and there are just enough people around to add some interest to the pictures. The pelicans also seem especially cooperative right now. If they can find a sunny spot, they aren't going to give it up just because someone is taking their picture. This shot which I call Clyde's Birds was taken over between the bridges near Clyde Philip's Seafood on Friday night. I took two others that I really like at the same time and spot. One I call Pelican on Fire and the other simply Gull and Pelican.

My new camera, which I got for taking wide angle shots in houses, is also great for landscapes like this picture from the point at Emerald Isle that I call Beach Light. The new camera is the reason I cannot seem to go around a curve without stopping to take a few pictures. It also does a great job on houses.

This Bluewater Cove house is still under construction and has not been cleaned up yet, but you still can see how well the wide lens shows off the house if you visit my website dedicated to 126 White Heron Lane.

The warm weather has disappeared from the Crystal Coast this past week. Since those long ago sixties that we saw on Monday and Tuesday, we have struggled to even get into the fifties.

I felt sorry for the folks working on the Emerald Isle bridge yesterday. It was definitely cool in the wind. We got a chance to view a number of houses on Emerald Isle yesterday and the day before.

It amazes me how nice homes that there are in the area. One home turned out to be a real surprise. The people selling their home had just bought a home just up the street from us at Bluewater Cove.

We did take the time to stop and hike the wonderful trail at Emerald Woods. I'll try to get up a site with some pictures of that this evening. By the time we hiked down to the sound at around 5pm, the temperature had dropped to 39 degrees Fahrenheit. I had hoped to catch the sunset there, but my wife disappeared on me. She headed back into the woods to get out of the constant wind.

I convinced her to ride over to the Point at Emerald Isle which is where I snapped this shot. It was 36 degrees when I got back in the car. It felt great to warm my hands up a little.

It was good practice for this morning when the temperature got down to 20 degrees.

We have had some really warm weather recently. Monday and Tuesday, the temperatures were in the mid to upper sixties. With those temperatures in mid-February, the Crystal Coast was an even nicer spot than usual.

I snapped the picture to the left of the Swansboro bridge disappearing into the fog on Tuesday afternoon. I think the air was so warm that fog was forming just a few feet above the surface of the water. It made for an interesting picture. Earlier in the morning the sky had been a beautiful Carolina blue. The surface of the water leading to the White Oak River was also dead calm.

Later in the afternoon, we headed over to Emerald Isle to preview homes which are listed by Bluewater GMAC, the firm where I am a new Broker. We have some great houses listed over on the beach. This is the view from the upper deck of one of our listings over by the point at Emerald Isle. Now is a great time to be looking at beach property. Mortgage rates are low and many people are still waiting to jump back in the market. There is also plenty of inventory to view. The best properties always go first so don't wait if you're interested.

I have been surprised by my how many homes are rented this time of year. I think it is a great time to be at the beach, but I guess I thought I was the only one with that thought. I have had to wait to view a number of homes because they were occupied with renters.

I love all the small restaurants here which typically have far better food than your average chain restaurants. Tonight my wife and I had a special Valentine's dinner at Floyd's 1921 on Bridges Street in Morehead City. It's only 20-25 minutes from Cape Carteret. I had the Prime Rib, and Glenda, my wife, had the baked stuffed Salmon. Everything we ate was delicious. The service was excellent. We'll be going back, and I'll write a review once I've been a few times.

The weather will cool off over the next two days. We may even struggle to get few degrees about forty Fahrenheit on Friday. Still, we can't complain very much since the Valentine's Day Blizzard of 2007 was just some nighttime rain here on the coast. Some rain is a lot better than twelve feet of snow.

When I got up this morning, it didn't take long to figure out that the temperature had dipped below freezing. There was ice on Raymond's Gut which leads out to the White Oak River. Still it didn't take long to warm up. We decided to do another visit to T&W's Oyster Bar for their Sunday brunch. It was well worth the trip. The food was great, and there were a number of people there so business is good.

With warmer temperatures of fifty predicted for the afternoon, we decided to head out for some more hiking in Croatan National Forest. We had done part of the Tideland trail on Saturday, but we started so late it was a little cool to contemplate finishing the bigger loop. Today we got to the park in plenty of time to enjoy the warmth of the early afternoon sun.

We had a nice leisurely hike around the larger trail loop which takes you through the maritime woods and along the shore marshes. We stopped several times to take pictures and to say hello to a few new canine friends. In addition to the website with pictures from yesterday, I put up another website with some additional trail shots from today including one of the not so rare black-backed swimming cheetos eater. Lots of people were hiking today, but there was still plenty of room on the trail.

Tomorrow the temperatures are supposed to get into the sixties. I guess that will mean going for a hike on the beach.

It may come as a shock, but you only have to travel a few hours to find some significant snow that is the result of the recent east coast cool down. While it got to 54 degrees Fahrenheit in Cape Carteret today, just a little over five hours away in Roanoke, Virginia the temperature only managed to make it to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. That coupled with roads that had been chilled by temperatures as low as 8 degrees Fahrenheit mean that the snow stuck to the roads. Roanoke is just far enough south that a good snow is a treat. Unfortunately the town is also in the mountains and as any experienced winter driver will tell you, it is not going up an icy hill that is a challenge. What separates those who are crazy from those who are only slightly foolish is going down an icy hill. Once you have broken loose on ice there is nothing to do but try to enjoy the ride and hope that where land is a soft spot instead of a metal guard rail or in someone's living room.

The February 6, 2007 snow was a fairly small one, but it has created some treacherous roads. The snowfalls on February 12, 2006 and February 28, 2005 were both more impressive. The larger snows actually keep people at home and off the roads. A small storm like the one on the six is ignored by the thousands of four wheel drive vehicles in Roanoke. The storm finished just before people headed off to work so the roads were not plowed. The morning traffic actually packed the snow into ice.

On our 17% slope hill which has a vertical drop of over 160 feet is a popular spot for kids whose parents haven't figured out the dangers of sledding on a road. Our kids who were used to playing in the woods which surround us had some great sledding spots which weren't on the road. Today's kids whom are a little less adventurous in trying the woods. They are crazy enough to think that is okay to be sledding on an icy road and competing for space with SUVs weighing over two tons. I actually saw a parent sledding with some this morning. On an icy 17% slope hill, the last thing you need to be doing is dodging people on sleds. The sleds also pack the snow so the plows can't clean the roads. It ends being some short term fun for the kids and a lot of headaches for the people who actually use the road. It also can lead to serious injuries and even death.

I'm actually looking forward to getting off the icy hill and walking on the beach once again. I should be there tomorrow.

Based on this picture I shot yesterday, it doesn't look winter could be in the forecast, but this morning before the clouds rolled in there was a hint of red in the sky. Now we have a cold rain with temperatures in the mid-thirties here in Cape Carteret.

In Kinston, at a little after nine am this morning, there are reports of 1.5 inches of snow. Fortunately it all goes as planned, temperatures will warm up for a couple of days and then we might be seeing the coldest weather of the season early next week.

One forecast is calling for the high temperature next Tuesday to be 37 degrees Fahrenheit. That's a pretty cold high. Actually we are getting off pretty light considering the Accuweather people are saying that the cold air surge this weekend and early next week will be the coldest for this time of year in nearly thirty years. Next Monday and Tuesday the high temperatures in Chicago will be 4 and 8 degrees Fahrenheit respectively.

If you head almost 1,100 miles north from Cape Carteret to Quebec City, Quebec, you will find a high temperature of 1 degree Fahrenheit on next Tuesday, February 6. I guess it would be a good time for a winter carnival which is exactly which is happening in Quebec from January 26 to February 11. It's time for the Carnaval de Québec. According to the website, it is the largest winter carnival in the world. I'm glad someone has figured out what to do with the cold weather.

It is interesting to have a look at the impact of next weeks cold air attack.

Below is a table of high temperatures that I put together for a friend who lives in Forked River, NJ. Forked River is about 500 miles, mostly north and a little east of us. They are actually close to the coast similar to our area.

This cold air scheduled for early next week will certainly impact all of us, but I think we will be spared the worst of it. If you go a little more inland and not so far north, you can still see the impact of the arctic air. Reston, Virginia which is between the Dulles Airport and Tyson's Corner nearly 370 miles north of Cape Carteret, will see low temperatures early next week in the single digits.

Tuesday night of next week our low temperature is forecast to be twenty degrees Fahrenheit. Even we have to pay the price for living on the edge of what can be a very cold continent. Still we should see high temperatures in the mid-forties except for that cold snap which will last from Monday through Wednesday and keep highs in the low forties on all days but Monday when we won't break out of the thirties.

I guess it is time to throw another log on the fire and be thankful that we don't have to suffer through the ice and snow that is hitting the areas to the west of us.

Yesterday, Monday January 8, it looked like we were going to have a wonderful sunset about 4pm. Then the clouds rolled in. I had pretty well given up on the sunset until I just happened to glance up at about 4:45 to see the sun sneaking out from the clouds which seemed to be quickly disappearing. We hopped in the car and headed down the Croatan National Park launch area on the White Oak River which happens to be a great spot to catch sunsets.

We made it just in time to capture some wonderful sunset shots. It seems the weather is going to cool down on us a little for the next few days. I even heard the weatherman talking about snow in the mountains of North Carolina. I've always had the theory that it's better to take your snow in January than in March. Unfortunately mother nature does whatever she wants to do, and at least in Roanoke, Va some of our biggest storms have arrived in late February and in March.

My thoughts are turning to planting tomatoes when March rolls around. I've never lived anywhere that I could plant a tomato at that time of the year. I'm interested in finding out just how early the tomatoes can go in the ground in Carteret County. I hope the Carteret deer are a little more respectful of my gardening efforts. Last year was tough year for tomatoes in Roanoke.

If you're interested in technical and computer things, I posted an article today about Business Email Services.

We headed down to Morehead City yesterday (Thurs) to look for that last lamp for our new house. As we pulled out of the driveway, we grabbed the mail, and I was pleased to see that my new Saltwater Fishing License was already here. I have to give the state credit, that was really quick. I only ordered it Tuesday. Now if they could just deliver some fish to the end of my line that fast, I would be a very happy fisherman.

I'm always amazed how far the drive to Morehead seems even though it is only seventeen miles. It doesn't take but a few minutes, but it just seems longer.

We pulled into the parking lot at Shore Decor and spent a few minutes hunting down every lamp that they had. They had lots of furniture and plenty of lamps but none that really excited us enough to take home. I did snap a picture to show Tommy, the designer at Mills and Thomas Furniture who has been so helpful in getting all of our furniture to coordinate. We were just getting ready to pull out of the parking lot and go in search of bagels when my wife told me to back up. She had seen an attached lighting store. We repeated the lamp hunt and found one that we both liked. The folks at Creative Lighting, Kitchen, and Bath were nice enough to let us take the lamp home for twenty-four hours to see if worked. We got it home, took a picture of it and sent it to Tommy who told us the shade was too big for the table. It being a stained glass shade, there was no way to replace it, so this afternoon we headed back to Morehead City.

Fortunately I got out of the Friday afternoon lamp hunt. Thursday except for the trip to Morehead I spent the day answering feedback from an article of mine, "What Jobs told me on the iPhone," that the Guardian in London, England had published. There were about 20,000 people who once they read the article clicked on a link to one of my blogs. Many sent email comments and a couple of people that I had known years ago surfaced. After we got to the lamp store and unloaded, I had a couple of cell phone calls to make. It got so warm in the car with the sunshine and blue skies that I had to roll down the windows. Just as my last call was winding down, my wife showed up with a sales person carrying another lamp. I hope this one is a keeper.

Still we had not managed to get to Morehead City before the three o'clock daily closing of Bountiful Bagel so we thought about getting some from Dunkin Donuts, but the late Friday afternoon traffic on Arendell Street convinced me that a bagel wasn't worth a left turn out of the Shore Decor parking lot.

As we headed west along Highway 24, the clouds seemed to roll in well before we got to Cape Carteret. Late this evening we got some brief but heavy rain and then saw the announcement that we had a tornado watch. So far we seemed to have survived our first watch without any problems. It isn't set to expire until 1 am tomorrow morning, but hopefully we won't have get more experienced on this.

Tomorrow the temperatures are predicted to hit 74 degrees Fahrenheit before an early week cool down. Maybe I can finally get in a bike ride and use that new fishing license.

There's nothing like coastal or mountain weather. If you don't like it just wait a few minutes. Tuesday we went for a drive over to Emerald Isle. This shot was taken from the sound side of Emerald Isle looking towards the mainland. We even stopped and went for a walk on the beach. It's a little hard for an ex-Canadian to fathom walking on the beach with a warm sun beaming down on your back on January 3, but I am trying hard to adjust. Wednesday I even wore short sleeves to a business meeting. As far as I am concerned I would vote for this as our year round climate.

As we were driving around, it dawned on me that many Emerald Isle neighborhoods get down to very few souls in the winter time. I know it is better than many coastal area, but still compared to our spot in Bluewater Cove, things are a little deserted for my taste. Of course some people thrive on the extra privacy. However, it hit me that the best way to tell is to show up just before trash collection and see how many cans are waiting at the curb.

Wednesday was an even a nicer day, so I keep wondering when the weather gods are going to demand their pound of flesh. I know people all along the east coast are enjoying higher than normal temperatures so just maybe we won't be singled out when the time is near to pay for this wonderful winter weather.

Thursday I have promised myself that I will save some time for fishing and bike riding. Why live in paradise if you can't enjoy it some?

It was a strange New Year's Eve. The weather was so warm that we went out on our deck and watched the local fireworks while no even wearing a coat. It was a beautiful night, much more like a spring night, that a mid-winter night. We ended up sleeping with the windows open once again. I think last night's low temperature was 65 degrees. This morning, it was sunny at first and the temperature quickly rose above 72 degrees. When I checked the Weatherunderground site tonight, it looks like the 72 degrees Fahrenheit is a new record for Cape Carteret.

Earlier today, just as I started thinking about going fishing at around eleven am, the showers rolled in. We were pelted with rain for a good portion of the rest of the day. The temperature, however, stayed above sixty all day, and once again we have the windows open trying to cool the house so we can have some good sleeping temperatures.

Other than an early morning trip to the grocery store, we had a very relaxing day watching football games. There have definitely been some good games on and with rain outside, it wasn't too hard to dedicate time to soaking up some of the last of the college football for the year. It's a little hard to believe the last bowl game isn't until next week. Maybe with a few more, football can compete with March madness.

Since today was the first day of the new saltwater fishing license, I went online and purchased a license. I was not sure what the residency requirements would be, and was a little worried that I might have to have my NC driver's license first, but it turned out that I didn't. I only had to be "domiciled" here for sixty days so residency was no problem. You can get your saltwater license online at this link. You also get to print out a temporary license which you can use until your permanent one comes in the mail. At least this way I won't have to stop fishing, Of course the fish are in no danger since it has been a while since I caught any.

Today being the first day of the New Year, we had to honor our family traditions by having greens (spinach in our case- no collards allowed), black-eyed peas, and pork for a meal. Now I really hope the good luck works for this year.

I am also excited to have my first article in the "Dropping Anchor" magazine. It's the winter weather article on page 24. I guess I get to be a mystery author since Will forgot to include my name. Anyone familiar with my background will recognize my Canadian stories. If that is the worst thing that happens to me this year, I won't have many complaints.

I am looking forward to my first full year on the Carolina Coast. If the weather will stay this way, at least the heating bills won't be very challenging.

Today was one of my favorite kind of day. My college roommate Gus, who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, made my day by telling me that they had their first snow storm of the season. In fact Cape Breton Island got slammed with twelve inches of snow. Fredericton, New Brunswick, the closest civilization to our old farm in the Canadian wilderness saw mid-afternoon temperatures of nineteen degrees Fahrenheit. Here in Carteret County it was cool (down to thirty) this morning, but it warmed up nicely. I worked outside trying to get some Christmas lights up before our neighborhood Christmas party scheduled for this weekend.

As is normal for me, I had to make a trip to the hardware for some things I had forgotten last night when I went shopping for decorations at Lowes in Morehead. You can get to Lowes from western Carteret County in less than twenty minutes. In a few months the trip will be even shorter since Lowes is building a new home improvement store at the intersection of Routes 24 and 58. That will be under ten minutes from our house. I am hoping that our four area hardware stores still manage to survive. Since they are all pretty unique, I think the odds are in their favor. We have one more day of weather in the sixties, then we have our winter where we might not make it into the fifties. Fortunately the sixties are predicted to return on Saturday.

This is definitely the coldest day that I have seen here on the Crystal Coast. This morning our thermometer was reading 30 degrees Fahrenheit. There was actually frost on the dock and on the ground leading down to canal and marsh. The frost was melting quickly as the sun came over the pines, but I had thought that I might not see frost down to the water until January. I guess that I was wrong.

A little cool weather gets us into the shopping mode. What I do not want to ever again is that Canadian cold when today's low temperature is tomorrow's high temperature. This afternoon we are up to 56 degrees and tomorrow is supposed to be in the low sixties so I guess I will have to do a little more Christmas decorating than just hanging a wreath on the door. My friends in Fredericton, New Brunswick are suffering through a temperature of 19 degrees Fahrenheit so I will not be complaining very loudly that we got slightly below freezing this morning. Our friends over at Mallard Gas installed some gas fireplace logs for us recently so I am looking forward to enjoying a fire in the fireplace this evening. I long ago gave up on the romance of heating with wood. Once you done three cords or so a year for several years as supplemental heating, propane, gas, and electricity look pretty good.

The showers are finally here. Yesterday I was home in the mountains doing the final mowing of the year.

Last night when I got back just before ten, I was surprised to see two walkers in the neighborhood. I was surprised to see them both wearing shorts since I had been driving through some gusty rain. I guess the wind gusts had not made it to our nieghborhood. Thenight was so warm they probably could not resist one last summer evening stroll. It was a warm, almost perfect evening. In fact I had a number of windows open in the house until the rain blew in just before noon today.

Next week, instead of the sixties and seventies, we will be seeing more seasonable temperatures in the fifties. It is December, so we need a little cool weather to get into the Christmas spirit.

It feels like a Canadian summer day here this morning. We actually slept with the windows open last night, and the house was still warm this morning.

The temperatures are supposed to stay warm for the next two or three days, and then we will get some Canadian cold air.

According to the Weather Underground for yesterday, here are today's statistics for Cape Carteret.

Max Temperature 70 °F, Average High Temperature 59 °F, Record high 75 °F (2001)

Min Temperature 51 °F, Average Low 39 °F, Record low 25 °F. We appear to running about ten degrees warmer than normal. There is nothing wrong with that this time of year.

If you can have perfect weather we had it yesterday. I actually switched back to wearing shorts.

I am guessing this will be our last warm spell for a while, but it was absolutely fantastic. The temperatures were in the mid-seventies. We went over to the Ice House and joined the crowd having lunch outside by the water. When the sun came out from behind the clouds, it was actually a little two warm.

As we ate our Grouper Grandwichs, we could see the dock over at Clyde Phillips seafood where we like to purchase our goodies from the sea. The fresh local shrimp are one of my favorite treats. It does not take much effort to prepare some perfect shrimp if you start with really fesh shrimp.

We are expecting a few more warm days before the bottom drops out on Saturday, and we have to face the mid fifties. I can remember my Canadian days when that would have been getting close to spring weather. So far my first Carolina winter since my childhood days is turning out to be a pleasure. Every day that we do not have to run the heat makes winter one day shorter. That is a very good thing.

This morning the rains stopped, and the sun came out. It was great to have the weather clear before the Thanksgiving holiday.

This shot was taken at launch ramp in Croatan National Forest near Swansboro on the Carteret County side of the White Oak River. It is one of my favorite places to watch the sun set over the White Oak River.

It would not have taken much to float your boat today. The water was way up the ramp.

The high temperature at our house was 67 degrees Fahrenheit. That's not bad for the day before Thanksgiving.

The weather has definitely changed. This morning I went over to Clyde Phillips Seafood to buy some Shrimp for our holiday feast. The White Oak River was already a little choppy. The word at the seafood shop was that it was going to be a while before anyone went out fishing. The winds have been impressive, and we have had some substantial rain. These were the highest wind gusts reported by the Weather Underground as of this afternoon. The high winds did not stop these surfers over at Emerald Isle late this afternoon.

... Peak wind gusts as of 5 PM Tuesday...

Cape Lookout... ... 59 mph 242 PM
Manteo... ... ... ... 52 mph 441 PM
Pea Island... ... ..63 mph 420 PM
Kill Devil Hills..62 mph time unknown
Rodanthe... ... ... .61 mph time unknown
Duck... ... ... ... ..61 mph 344 PM
Alligator river... 60 mph 230 PM
Cape Lookout... ... 59 mph 242 PM
Cedar Island... ... 52 mph 1150 am
Hatteras ASOS... ..44 mph
New Bern ASOS... ..45 mph
Cherry Point... ... 46 mph

I think we are lucky this storm is not building when the weather is a lot colder. It could be a nasty Nor'easter.

It's hard to believe the shot at the top of the page was only taken 12 days ago.

Even paradise has to have a few storms.