We have had a lot of folks call tonight to check and see if we are okay,.  It is nice to have people around who actually care about us. However, please do not assume that our situation matches anything you heard on television.

Fortunately for us, Earl seems to be saving his best punches for Ocracoke, Hatteras Island, and the northern Outer Banks.  Even there I think they will be fine.

Earl sliding by us hasn't slowed local authorities who called for a mandatory evacuation of Bogue Banks.  For those who wanted to stay, they instituted a 7 or 8 PM curfew.

So far Earl has not treated us badly.  The slightly heavier band of rain that started a few minutes ago fizzled. Our winds are still in the 20 mph range.  According to the forecasts we should see our peak winds just before midnight.

If the winds get worse than the predicted 30 MPH speed, then I will post an update.  Otherwise I will be hitting the sack after the 11 PM news and weather.
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We were down in Morehead City for another medical appointment yesterday.  After finishing we thought about heading to Beaufort, but since I spent three days there last week on jury duty, we opted for Fort Macon.

Fort Macon is one of my favorite spots.  There is a covered stand overlooking the beach by Beaufort Inlet.  It is a great spot to watch boats coming in from fishing.  You can see Shackleford Banks and in the distance Harker's Island.

Beaufort is also visible.  As I was picking out different part of Beaufort,  I was wondering how many hurricanes Beaufort has waited for in the last three hundred years.
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One of the great pleasures of living in the Cape Carteret area is that impromptu beach visits become part of your life.

Getting over to the Emerald Isle beaches takes just a few minutes. There are enough beach access points that you can afford to be a little picky about which beach.

Sunday afternoon after church was pretty quiet.  We got some phone calls from the kids that kept us inside on what was a gorgeous day.  I also had to deal with a couple of real estate calls scheduling showings for my 165 Hadnot Farm Rd listing.

A little after five PM, I could hear the beach calling me.  Actually I heard a particular beach, Third Street, whispering my name.  It did not take long to convince my wife that we both needed a beach walk.  We were soon in the car and headed toward the island.
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I am not going to deny that the two lane bridge between Cape Carteret-Cedar Point and Emerald Isle gets backed up a few times during the summer.

I will readily admit that I heard rumors of a weekend this summer when the wait to get across the bridge was thirty minutes.  I do remember that a couple of summers back something happened, and there was a significant bridge delay.

However, today I took offense at someone's description of summer traffic in Emerald Isle.

"Emerald Isle is a congested knot of traffic during tourist season.   You'd never want to try to go to the grocery store, etc in the summer!"

Those of us who actually live here in the area know that the above comment has no relationship to reality.

As my mother used to say, "It was just someone saying something to hear their head roar."  read more »

Heat is no stranger to the Crystal Coast in August.  While it is rare for us to see temperatures above the low nineties, the combination of clear skies, humidity, and heat can prove formidable.

There are two usual solutions to the problem.  One is to get on or near the water.  The other is to hide in your air conditioned space.

There are some qualifiers in August.  Some area waters are so warm that you need to be in place with a breeze.  I went kayaking on the White Oak River one evening.  I was warmed up before even making a move with my paddle.

The water in Raymond's Gut behind our house that evening had to be in the upper eighties.  I paddled out to the river, and there was plenty of breeze.  In fact there was enough breeze that it was too challenging to hold a position while fishing.  read more »

If it wasn't humid enough for you before last night, I am sure the 1.5 inches of rain that we got will do the trick.

It is about time to say enough with the rain.  We have gotten close to 4 inches of rain in the last five days.  We have had well over a foot of rain since the third week in July.

If we get some more rain, I might switch my yard from centipede grass to rice paddy.  It is good thing we live and sand, and that the water drains off easily.  If this much rain hit the mountains, there would be flood, and our insurance rates would go up here on the coast. 

I am sorry, but that's pure coastal insider humor.  The last few hurricanes to hit North Carolina have done most of their damage inland, but our insurance rates have gone up and some insurers like State Farm are backing out of the area.

I have gotten to really "appreciate" August's humidity in the last week.  As is the case with almost all homes in Carteret County outside of Beaufort, Morehead City, and Newport, our home is on a septic system.  We have been in our home four years, so now is a good time to have it pumped.
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We got another 1.5 inches of rain last night.  That brings our total since mid-week to 2.25 inches.  If we reach the nineties as is predicted, it is going to be steamy around the Southern Outer Banks this afternoon.

After a parched June and early July, the rains have really hit us.  In the last four to five weeks, we have gotten close to ten inches of rain according to my calculations which happen to match what the government has observed if you know how to find our spot on the White Oak on their map.
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