You shall above all things be glad and young!

Happily, I feel very much both glad and young.

. . .

I have more pictures to post but I just wanted to share a quick story about yesterday, because it was such a great day --

We've had midterms for the past week and a half (they were take-home exams, which are so much more time consuming), as well as an ecology project/presentation/paper, our on-going capstone project, a semester project for another class, and our usual readings.  Yesterday was the last day of midterms and one of the projects was due, so we were totally burnt out. Our second half of ecology class was on a beach (Coquina Beach) in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which was awesome. So much better to learn about dune ecosystems when you're sitting among them!! It was a beautiful day and the water wasn't too cold, so a few of us (Robb, Ann, and I) decided to go back after class. I snorkled (and couldn't really see anything), Robb surfed, and Ann skimboarded (and taught me how!). We were out there all afternoon but had to get back to our apartments by 7 for a capstone meeting. Less than an hour before the meeting, we were driving up to the entrance to the seashore and were all thoroughly appreciating the sun sinking in the sky. Robb said he was going slow so we could see the sunset over the seashore (it's infinitely prettier than any of the beach development) and I suggested we try to catch it at Jockey's Ridge, a few miles up the road. We parked across the street, ran across the road and up the dunes. We got to the top just as the sun was sinking out from behind some clouds over the sound. The sky was lit up in an inversed volcano. Incredible!! We ran back down the dunes and across the street to go home -- and the clouds were even more lit up (corally pink) on the way home. I didn't have my camera, but sometimes it's better to just be totally present and soak in the experience without any distractions.

His path was rugged and sore/Through tangled juniper, beds of reeds...

(the title is from a poem written by Thomas Moore about the Great Dismal Swamp, where we went kayaking last week....I chose the line because BOY does it describe how I felt)

watch out - this is LONG. mostly pictures though...
. . .

It's been forever since I've posted....I know, I know. I kept thinking we were busy...but NOW we're busy, and we're only getting busier. So the last thing I covered was surfing....

well. I went surfing several more times, but after getting absolutely slammed in the jaw with the surf board - thanks wave energy! - it wasn't quite the same (my jaw is fine now though). I did still go out early in the morning with my friends sometimes, though, and saw some really incredible sunrises. One morning I just went and played in the path the rising sun made on the water, which was awesome. The ocean was positively glassy that day, and it was gorgeous being out in the water with no one but my friend (and the sharks below me!) around.

(the last three are from the same morning. all are from the same beach)

Let's see...also one weekend on of my best friends (Bridgie!) came to visit me! It was fun to have her here and to share this gorgeous place with her. We went down to Hatteras and spent the afternoon at Cape Point (right where the OBX turn SW)....it was when one of the hurricanes was passing by off the coast, so the waves were HUGE and rough.

(I promise I'm wearing a bathing suit... ps I really hate carrying surf boards out of water. ha.)

One of my friends here celebrated her birthday a few weekends ago, so we went actually went out! (Usually we just hang out at our apartments cus the weather is great and we have big porches)...

From L to R, Nathalie (it was her birthday), Robb, me, and Betty

THEN, another week (by now we're at the end of September/beginning of October) we went to Ocracoke to visit Alton Ballance at the Crews Inn. He's fantastic! Extremely knowledgeable about Ocracoke - its people, its history - and a very sweet, fun person. It rained the whole time and there were just about infinity mosquitoes, so most of the pictures I tried to take outside were blurry (from rain and/or the camera shaking while I was swatting them....)

this is so, so true. it very much captures the essence of my mantra in life right now, especially with these incredible study abroad/'abroad' experiences that I'm so fortunate have.

on one of the porches at the Inn

riding in the back of Alton's truck on the way to the beach

everyone on the beach! I love this picture. from L to R, Betty, Josh, Nathalie, me, Alton, Robb, Ann, Alex, Jamie, Robert!, Lindsay, Sasha

hungry pelican waiting at the fishing docks

legit fisherman (I think those are red drum in the bucket)

Lindsay (our very sweet ecology professor) and I left Ocracoke early - she because she has tons of work to do for her post-doc, and me because I had to be back in Manteo to meet Erin & Kermit (my internship mentor and HER boss, the town manager) to go the state planning conference!! I got back to Manteo, spent an hour in my apartment, then hopped back in the car to go to New Bern with Erin & Kermit. We were getting the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole, so it rained the WHOLE TIME. New Bern got 15 inches in 5 days...other places in eastern NC got 20 inches, which is a ridiculous amount of rain, period, but especially for that region because it is so extremely flat and low that the water table just rises and then the water doesn't drain off. Anyway, we went to the NC APA planning conference for three days and it was so cool. I learned so much about the planning profession - topics in the field, current research, various careers, the misogyny of many of the men...  - it was super informative and a lot of fun. 

me and Erin in front of Tryon Palace

my favorite historic house in downtown New Bern! beautiful...look at that porch! those columns!

Last Friday we went kayaking through the Great Dismal Swamp to Lake Drummond, which is a pocosin - a lake that is higher than the land around it! huh. Because of the week-long rain in eastern NC a week before, the lake was quite full and the paddle up was not only against the current, but was against the RUSHING CURRENT that was fed through a mini-dam, which meant it was even stronger. Ridiculous. We paddled about 4 miles against that, and then finally came upon the lake, which was gorgeous and made all the pain absolutely worth it. 

the water is full of tannins from all the organic matter, which makes the water super dark (like tea, which is dark for the same reason) and spectacularly reflective. we were lucky because the surface was extremely calm - on dirait même positively glassy - which meant it was even more reflective.

I just really like the lighting in this picture.

cool patterns made by foam, of all things, on the surface of the water

me on the water. you know, I'm a pro-kayaker...

The next day I was...not the sorest I've ever been, but my arms and shoulders were still quite uncomfortable. That morning, we had to be in a parade in Columbia (about 45 minutes away). Guess what they asked me to do? Yeah. Hold up this crazy puppet's arm. Not just hold it - hold it UP. Wave it around. Make it clap. whoa. But really, in the end, it was good, because it forced me to work the lactic acid out of my muscles, which meant that after that, I felt a lot better.

That night we had a bonfire on the beach (yes, legal, as long as you have a permit, which we did). It was a lot of fun! I hope we do more.

from L to R, Josh, Robb, Nathalie, Sasha, and Ann.

The next day (this is Sunday now, just for reference), I went with Erin to Island Farm, which is a living history site just outside Manteo proper based on a farm that was there in the second half of the 19th century. They were having an open house for a historic preservation group in Manteo, but the owners (Bill Parker and John Wilson) know and love Erin and invited us both to go! There were only two 'interpreters' (it's so weird to think about them like that, having done it myself) but it was still really great to look around. I fell in love with the farm and am in the process of working out some way to volunteer there. I miss that lifestyle so much!

I was so jealous of her inside kitchen! Except I bet she didn't get nearly as many as nice breezes as we did at camp. Plus she only had one fire to work on. One!

sigh.

And as if all that wasn't great enough...I came home Monday afternoon from my internship to discover that one of the girls in the program had rescued two five-week old kittens! When I went to see them, they were just drying out from being bathed (with Burts Bees soap!) -- they were so fluffy and smelled like honey. And they're so tiny! I've never held kittens so tiny. so unbelievably cute!!

ADORABLE FLUFFBALL

ahaha I know, great picture of me. but LOOK AT THE KITTEN. so tiny.

oh. my. gosh. I literally melt every time I see this picture.

!!!

If you'd like to see more pictures (believe me, there's more), check out my Facebook albums:

first album (posted before, but updated now)

second album

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Best wishes to all of you! I hope you're all doing wonderfully --- I hope that you're finding joy in your days, even if it's not immediately apparent.

More of E.E.'s thoughts on humanity

I love this poem and I've only been able to find it in one place online (another blog), and I wanted to share it with you all (and anyone else looking for it). E.E. Cummings is quite talented at creating allegories that really make you think.

. . . 

now two old ladies sit peacefully knitting,

and their names are sometimes and always

"i can't understand what life could have seen in him" stitch

-counting always severely remarks;and her sister(suppress-

ing a yawn)counters "o i don't know;death's rather attractive"

—"attractive!why how can you say such a thing?when i think

of my poor dear husband"—"now don't be absurd:what i said was

'rather attractive',my dear;and you know very well that

never was very much more than attractive,never was

stunning"(a crash. Both jump)"good

heavens!" always exclaims "what

was that?"—"well here comes your daughter"

soothes sometimes;at which

death's pretty young wife enters;wringing her hands,and wailing

"that terrible child!"—"what"(sometimes and always together

cry)"now?"—"my doll:my beautiful doll;the very

first doll you gave me, mother(when i could scarcely

walk)with the eyes that opened and shut(you remember:

don't you,auntie;we called her love)and i've treasured

her all these years,and today i went through a closet

looking for something;and opened a box, and there she

lay:and when he saw her, he begged me to let him

hold her;just once:and i told him "mankind,be careful;

she's terribly fragile:don't break her,or mother'll be angry'"

and then(except for

the clicking of needles)there was silence

"Dude. These waves are heavy."

So....a couple of my friends here are into surfing (none very advanced, but still) and, over the course of hanging out with them and hearing them talk about it....I've heard this phrase a lot. I went surfing for the first time today (it was SO GREAT - more in a second) but I still have no idea what it means. Ideal? Rough? Intense? I could look it up but I'm really just fine not knowing. but anyway, I went surfing today and it was awesome. Both of the friends who surf have long boards, which makes them easier, and they were really patient in teaching another of my friends and me. I rode several waves in all the way kneeling several times and even STANDING a couple of times! I've never been a huge adrenaline junkie - partly because I err on the side of caution, and partly because I've never had the opportunity - but this was fantastic. It really is almost intoxicating once you stand up, and you can't get enough of it....even if you are heartlessly battered by the waves the other 60% of the time. Maybe there's a life lesson about ambition in there somewhere......

. . .

We're halfway into our second week of classes, and things are wonderful. I LOVE my internship at the planning office here...everyone is laid back and fun - it's almost like The Office with Steve Carrell except no one is as excruciatingly awkward as Dwight or Michael. Everyone seems genuinely happy that I'm working there with them. It's so great to feel welcomed & included. Erin (the town planner, who's only a few years older than me which is so cool - gives me hope for finding a job!!) - anyway, Erin and I talked about some possibilities for a project and decided on something that was mentioned in a land use plan from a few years ago... the need for a 'development evaluation tool' to review proposed developments based on criteria established as priorities by the town. Beyond that, though, I'm learning a lot about the inner workings of municipal government, which is a huge amount of what most planners do. Erin is terrific - she takes the time to explain projects, decisions, conflicts, legal processes...basically anything she's doing that I don't understand. I went to the planning and zoning board meeting this evening, which was really interesting. They (at the Town Hall, where I work) all give me a hard time about giving up hope on the field of planning now that I'm seeing how slowly local government really works, but really it's great to get a 'real life' perspective - to see it in process. To see real people (i.e. people I know, more or less) making decisions that will affect the town for a while to come. THIS is where change happens! Cool! ......or, more realistically, where change can happen. [Thankfully Manteo has done remarkably well in terms of planning for the long term....as opposed to, say, Nags Head, which is over-developed and quite unpleasant to drive through.]

. . .

Our classes are going to be a lot of work, but I can tell already that I'm going to learn a lot. We get credit for 6 classes, but only three of them are in the classroom - Coastal Law & Policy, Coastal & Estuarine Ecology, and Resilient Coastal Communities. [The other three are the internship, a one hour workshop/community speaker series, and a group capstone research project.] More on all those later......mainly because I should be doing reading for all of them and instead I'm doing this.......but it's such a worthy object of my attention!

. . .

Now for some pictures:

A cute little snake I found while sweeping my porch after the hurricane.

beginning of a truly incredible sunset...

cool huh?! on our way to the beach

our beach of choice at Nags Head. this is where I was surfing today!

wow.

My ideal house turns out to be this bungalow c.1880 right on the sound in Old Nags Head. I've always known I'd know it when I saw it, and this was it. Sweet, old, very full of character...with a big wrap around porch and lots of windows.

View from the porch out over the sound. The weather on the evening we were there was also ideal.

The group, minus Robb and plus a few.... from L to R, Colleen (it was her house), Robert (our very dear program director), Jamie, Betty, Josh, me, Sasha, Alex, Nathalie, and Ann.

. . .

As Robert often says, "Ah! wonderful! hooray!" 

I couldn't agree more.

(not where not here but neither’s blue most both)

I have to finish some readings for class tomorrow (our first day!!) so I can't write a long post, but I just added pictures to my album on Facebook and wanted to share them with you! Here's just one for now...(click on it to get the full effect!)

(Sunday night we went to Nags Head to hang out, swim, and watch this incredible sunset.)

. . .

also - I just wanted to say that I don't think I have ever felt more positive in my life. I'm not entirely sure what all that means....all I know is that is very much what I feel. I'm so happy here...not just happy in a passive, contented way but really, truly happy. At peace. but more than just that! because that sounds passive too. I love it here - the area, the atmosphere, the people, what I'm doing. Isn't incredible that you can be enjoying life and then something happens, you meet someone, you go somewhere, you do something - whatever it is - and you realize that you just love life even more? And suddenly you realize you're even happier -- you radiate joy and love because you can't possibly keep it all inside....

oh, Earl. and, of course, some E.E.

Guess what?! We might have to be evacuated tomorrow if Earl decides to come up the sound instead of veering out toward the right. I've never been evacuated before. Although, really, I guess it's only exciting since our apartments aren't really at risk where they are (north side of the island, soundside, up on some dunes - probably the highest elevation on the island. seriously)....I'm still going to pack all my most important things and be ready to take them home. wow. Kind of hard to look around my room and imagine it being destroyed when I return, but I don't really think that will happen. I hope not.

I hope you all are safe wherever you are. I've recently learned from various events in my life - and the lives of people I know - that you absolutely cannot imagine what is about to happen, and how your life might be changed by it. Or even ended, sadly. I've always found the phrase carpe diem too...brief to encompass the weight of the concept, but I think E.E. Cummings touches on it when he writes,
"history immeasurably is / wealthier by a single sweet day’s death." I've been trying to live more consciously recently - to not do things I would regret, to do things I would regret not doing, to love openly, and to be kind at all moments (because why should we be anything else?).

In which Audrey goes exploring

wow. the past few days have been packed with lots of exciting things. I think that's how the whole semester will be!!

Here are some pictures from the house we went to on Thursday evening:



Saturday was pretty low key.... in the evening we went to a fish fry at the Outdoors Outfitters in downtown Manteo. My parents stayed at their B&B (Outdoors Inn, right around the corner) for a few days after dropping me & my stuff off, and absolutely loved it. They kayaked and biked around through this outfit, so if you're interested, ask them about it. I'm sure they'll recommend it highly. Anyway, they were having a free fish fry on Saturday, so most of us from the program went. It was a gorgeous evening - sunny and about 80 degrees. perfect!! There was freshly fried hushpuppies & fish as well as homemade slaw, cucumbers with some sauce, cake, and baked beans. NOM NOM. Once we were all there, we constituted about a third of the party, but it was so great. Several of us were interested in various things they do (kayaking, diving, etc), so we talked to Pam, one of the owners, for a while. My friend Chris was in the area from Chapel Hill for the weekend because he lives down by Hatteras. He's actually the one who convinced me to do this program! (he did it last fall.) So he met us at the fish fry, which was great, and then showed Nathalie (another girl in the program) and I a really cool secret beach at Fort Raleigh, on the north end of the island. A bunch of us hung out that evening - with a number of his friends, too - and had a lot of fun.

Sunday afternoon I bike up to Fort Raleigh to explore [the rest of] it. It's a national historic site where the so-called Lost Colony originally set up camp. Where'd they go?? It really is kind of interesting to think about. It was so cool to walk through the woods there and imagine 16th century colonists wandering around trying to figure life out in the New World.



After walking around there, I headed over to the Elizabethan Gardens. We're living in the apartments that the Lost Colony keeps for its performers, so we have Lost Colony company cards! Which means I got in to the gardens for free. It mostly consisted of trails lined by plants (some of you could have appreciated those more than I, but I did do my best to be interested in them)...but my favorite part was a sunken garden in a very distinctly English style. I had fun playing with my new camera...




There were also a couple groves of beautiful live oaks:


more garden.


statue of Virginia Dare, supposedly the first European child born here....but then she disappeared!!


Today, Monday, we went exploring... our task was to go to some random town on the Outer or Inner Banks, so my group chose Duck, which is on the very outer banks (as opposed to Manteo, which is shielded from the ocean by a barrier island...where Nags Head is), north of Kitty Hawk. It was interesting because it was very unlike the Nags Head/Kill Devil Hills/Kitty Hawk stretch, which is extremely strip-oriented development: strip malls, long straight strips of beach, and rows and rows of beach houses. Pretty unpleasant, if you ask me. Duck, though, was more like Manteo - more suburban feeling (which is, oddly, a compliment of sorts in this case)...houses were organized in a way that felt more like neighborhoods, and there were TREES! Everything - even gas stations and touristy surf shops - was hugged by trees. It made a huge difference. There was also a distinct town center/commercial area (CBD, if you know what I mean...), which gave it a more bike/pedestrian friendly feeling. (A gallery owner described the town to us in this way, and I was interested to see that the bike/walking 'lane' was 1. marked with an HOV rhombus (geometry! Jay-Z!) and 2. literally RIGHT next to the highway.

what.


okay sorry for the planning tangent.... We finished with lots of time to spare, so we headed up to Corolla (pronounced, for some reason, "kuh-rah-luh") to meet another group. We were both in four wheel drive vehicles, so we could drive up the beach after the paved road ends. We drove up the beach and then back into the inland of the island...where we saw some wild horses! One had an egret standing on its back but he flew away before I could get the picture. I did get a shot of a colt and mother, though -



We went swimming for a bit there and then Robb (who was driving our group) let me drive his car! So I four wheeled down the beach, which was so fun!! Never thought I'd get to do that. We headed straight to the Manteo airport because we were going FLYING!

in this little guy.


Jockey Ridge on a skinny stretch of the Outer Banks


o hai


ship wrecks RIGHT off shore


solid development all the way up the coast :(


these houses were once quite a ways back from the water but with the erosion rate of 7 - 10 feet per year, they're as water front as it gets now. most have been abandoned....probably a good thing, given that Earl (the hurricane coming more or less towards us) could wipe them out.


mix of tides just outside Oregon Inlet - the blue on the left is the ocean (Gulf Stream + Labrador Current) and the green is the salty-fresh water from the sound


looking south toward Hatteras


just inside Oregon Inlet


This last picture is actually from last night, but it seemed like a nice image to end with...

The vestiges of a simple but beautiful sunset on our beach. Reminds me of Monet.

. . .

In case you'd like to see more pictures, you can go to my Facebook album (even without an account!) here.