Blue Island in a Red State - Ocracoke in NC...just got back from a week

[NRaleighLiberal]

vacation there, pretty much like heaven! There are Kerry Edwards stickers everywhere, anti-Bush stickers everywhere - a refreshing bit of deep, independent thinking, where just across the sound and running westward until hitting parts of Raleigh and most of Durham and Chapel Hill it is very red (though I suspect becoming bluer). Now, if I only didn't have to go back to work tomorrow (I have to admit that spending a week with my wife and dogs, kayaking, reading, taking long walks and getting away from the internet and TV and newspapers was very reenergizing....). So, any big tickets items missed this week...are things still trending the Dems way for the midterms???

[babylonsister]

1. So nice to read! My brother lives in Raleigh/Durham, is a bona

fide rethug, and we haven't talked in over a year.
He's also one of those Christian conservatives who apparently just left wife #2 after 15 years.
I'm glad to hear about pockets of free thinking, and your vacation sounds like heaven!

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. Yeah, my brother in Florida married an ultra rightie and fundie

and took a righward swing himself....kool aid regularly consumed, and has driven a bit wedge in our relationship (his second, cheated on his first)....isn't it interesting how these all-morals-all-the-time bunch have so many issues with their OWN morals...

[babylonsister]

8. Wow. My brother cheated on his first also. He's a dog.

I just wonder who he's cheating with now; there's always someone available to buy your b.s., I guess. He told my s-i-l he doesn't want to speak to our dad, so there's some guilt going on, I suspect.
I know; he had the nerve to tell me how wrong liberals were, he went to church about 2-3 times weekly, and he goes and pulls this?
And where is this vacation spot? I lived in Long Beach, NC, when my mom was sick; folks lived in Southport, NC, so I'm somewhat familiar with the area.
We had a reunion on Oak Island years ago.

[caledesi]

2. Ocracoke. Used to vacation there when I lived in VA...

best kept secret...God's country. It's so beautiful there.

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. We've been over 20 times in the last 12 years or so, but always

in the offseason (way too many tourist types that are in the wrong place for what they want to do!). Ocracoke is all about God's country - it is the place to be one with nature. It is where you can get into a Kayak and go through estuaries and along the sound coast and see trees full of ibis and herons...where you can find yourself amogst dolphins. Great sunrises and sunsets. Plenty of time to be at peace. the only problem is that the real estate values have gone insane....but renting offseason is still a bargain!

[mmonk]

4. Welcome back to North Raleigh.

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. Yup...here we are, home sweet home!

[mmonk]

7. I and a friend just bought a deep water lot

in Fairfield harbor in New Bern (for investment pruposes). The inner banks and rivers are fun too for back to nature peace. But we own a place only 20 minutes from Raleigh at Bunn Lake (inherited from my family) that's my escape in just a short drive.

[nealmhughes]

9. Contrary to public opinion, there are progressive pockets all over the

country, from Iowa to Alabama and even Utah....

My ancestors settled Perquimans County just west of the islands in the early 1600s by the way, one was killed in a massacre and another died on a British prison ship during the Revolution.

I love coastal NC!

[Blackhatjack]

10. NRal Dem Neighborhood Checking In....

I am sure we have plenty of Repubs in our neighborhood, but Dem signs have been up on our street for weeks. Big difference from the last election. I have also noticed no new Repub bumperstickers or signs.

I think the Bush hand has been overplayed, people have no trust in Bush to do the right thing in Iraq, and the tide is turning toward the Dems in this election.

You may not have heard, Bush flew into N.C. under cover of darkness for a private fundraiser which barred the Press. Just think of all the times he came to N.C. to pose with the troops and primp for the cameras. Big change.

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. Wow....a few years ago, my wife stood out at Six Forks Road

in a small protest when he drove by (would have loved to see it...and she is not typically politically active. The current criminal disaster presidency sure woke us both up!

[mmonk]

17. I was stopped temporarily on 540

when he came in that time. I was cussing up a storm inside my car.

[livetohike]

12. Glad to hear it hasn't changed much.....it was my favorite

place on the East Coast. I first went there in 1974. We used to drive down from Pgh. on a three day weekend, just to have one blissful day camping on the beach.....

I hope Ocracoke doesn't get ruined. The last time I was on the Outer Banks, we cried all the way down to Ocracoke to see how commercialized it became...this was in 1999. We hadn't been there in 18 years and were in shock.

[NRaleighLiberal]

13. Well, the news is mixed. There is far too many ugly new structures

close to Silver Lake, but the water meter restrictions, Septic restrictions, access by Ferry only and National Seashore ownership of the beach mean that it is still an utter gem of a place. The way we feel when we are there is indescribable! I didn't know that such utter peace was possible. But only in offseason!!! We will never, never go there in the summer....too crowded with city types who wouldn't know what to do without movies, shopping malls, and waterparks!

[livetohike]

14. My thoughts exactly

:toast: to Ocracoke and those of us who remember the peacefulness and natural life....

[kskiska]

15. Don't forget about Asheville

That's a very blue city in NC. There's a Move-On office right in the heart of downtown.

[tenshi816]

16. I'm going to Ocracoke with my family

for a week in August 2007 so your post is a great relief to me because I'd hate to be stuck on an island with a bunch of right-wingers and I admit I had been wondering about it.

Any advice or observations about the island? I'm really looking forward to going, but would like to hear from someone who has already been. In particular, are there any good restaurants/bars you could recommend? Also, how's the ocean at Ocracoke for children? Is it calm or rough, or a mixture of the two?

[NRaleighLiberal]

21. Here are some answers - from my point of view!

Go to Ocracoke Island Realty's web site - there are loads of great rentals. We've been there 23 times and probably test driven 18 different houses. Our personal favorites are Olivella and Fresh Breeze! We both enjoy cooking, and the houses have good kitchens as a rule, so we tend to bring lots of good stuff and cook most of our meals. Howard's Pub is a great place for any beer you could think of and good pub food - and it is open 365 days a year! Back Porch is the island's fancy restaurant. Flying Melon is also good. Fig Tree makes great sandwiches. The island has a really fine coffee shop.

The ocean is wonderful - 13 miles of sand and dunes and waves, water typically very clean, can have a decent undertow at times, but is a great kids beach in my view. The wave action depends upon the presence of fronts or low pressure systems off of the coast. The beach can have great shelling - we've found olive shells and scotch bonnets quite frequently. I think one of the best things to do is to have Mr. Austin take you to Portsmouth Island for the day - a ghost town village, mile walk across an unearthly mudflat to the beach, great shelling.

That should do you for a start.....we came back yesterday and I am ready to return again already!

[pinerow]

18. Okracoke...is that Okra cut with cocaine...?

:toast:

[mmonk]

19. Yes.

For Outer Banks gumbo.

[supernova]

20. Actually Durham and Chapel Hill

have long been progressive enclaves in the Triangle. Ditto Carrboro. That's why we live here. Glad to hear about Ocracoke