february beach time is just as good

Somehow even if it is winter cold and cloudy, the beach is always be gorgeous and peaceful. In my 1,050 miles in the reliable BLR-Mobile this weekend, we stopped off to face the ocean and listen to the wind and waves for a few minutes at Wrightsville Beach.



(Yes I saw the sign. Don't worry- we didn't park there for very long. Occasionally I do follow the rules:)

Sand and salt water; Another example of a free and simple pleasure.

i'm calling for a heat wave

I don't know about you but I am so over this winter. By that I mean SO OVER this winter. It seems like the skies are more grey and the temperatures are consistently colder than previous winters. I cannot wait for the heat and sun again. As I was daydreaming of the summer, this photo I took of my morning coffee overlooking the beach in North Carolina's Outer Banks came to mind:



Off in the far distance? Yep, that's the beach....the warm, warm beach...

Come back to us warmth, come back I beg of you.

don't stop get it, get it

(I love that song.)

I've got surprises coming throughout January and a new BLR look coming on Monday!

CHEERS!!! (I am raising a glass and clinking here.)

***My new favorite cocktail for a celebration like New Years Eve:
*2 ounces vodka
*4-5 ounces of fresh lemon and simple syrup or store bought lemonade
*Shake over ice
*Pour in martini style or fun glass of your choice
*Drizzle 1 ounce of red wine (pinot noir best) over the back side of a spoon onto side of glass (this will make a pretty red ring around the top of glass.)
*Top off with drop of bubbly. (I'm a big prosecco fan.)
*Sip and enjoy!

Not the greatest photo, but the Crackberry only does so much:



HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!!!

you beat me

As an answer to my slurping down the mega de-lish mocha java shake at Port City Java the other day in no time, one of my readers Bibb sent me this photo:



My shake was gone within 5 minutes. Bibb said his was gone in about 35 seconds. Now that's some devotion. I am impressed with this photo too. With one glance you can almost feel the chill and taste all the melty goodness of this perfect summer treat.

Thanks for sending Bibb!

coverages

When I look at my friend pool and people I like spending time with, it never fits anywhere close to one category. I have the most schizophrenic looking contact list. It's great. I have friends that are 20 year old college students and 40 year old firefighters, executives who live in big cities, and bumbpkins that live in the country. I'm even pals with my previous auto insurance agent who I'd only actually met once face to face. I guess after calling and emailing him about 560 times within a 10 month time frame last year helped us to get to know each other. Turns out those commercials are true. They really do care and will be there when you need them.

This agent and I have broken up. That is, in the way of auto insurance. I've moved away and switched agencies, but we still stay in touch. We went to lunch the other day while I was in town. During our chat over yummy Thai food, captain safety/big brother kicked in. (I can't say I'm surprised as he is married with a couple of kids and that seems to always make guys even more hyper-protective.) Like several other of my male friends he inquired about my road survival kit and supplies. I told him that I was not carrying a gun at this point (even though that has come highly recommended by several people in the past week or so.) I gave him the full run down of what I do have with me; "I have a knife and Swiss army knife, spare tire, maps, AAA card, compass, flashlight, can, bottle and wine openers (these are among the most important of course along with a nail file) cooler, lighters, matches, blanket, cell charger, water bottle, pens, paper and..."

"Don't forget the condoms" he interrupts.

Laughter.

Me; "What?! Ok, so that wasn't top of my list but thanks Dad. Safety first!"

More laughter.

Well Crager, seems you're in the perfect line of business.

Thanks for lunch and cracking me up.

mocha java shake; revisited

Once again I'm slurping down the best shake I've ever had; The Mocha Java from Port City Java in Wilmington, NC.

I wrote about his indulgent shake a bit over a year ago when I lived in Wilmington. 16 months later when deciding on where to camp out and work a bit, there wasn't even a question, so here I sit. I'm thinking there might be crack in these things. Heavenly, mouth-watering, scrumptious or lip-smacking can't even come close to describing how these things taste.

I'm glad I snapped this photo quick because as I type this now 5 minutes later, my cup is empty. Ahhh...

If you are every anywhere near a PCJ, do yourself a favor and drop in for one. With the combination of this treat and the always friendly staff here, it's comforting to know that some things never change.

racy country activities

I took this one in Pollocksville, NC.

Wondering if there are strippers that come out between games.

here's a little ditty

Meet Jack



I plopped down in a chair next to him after grabbing a coffee today. I had planned on taking a quick 5 minutes to get online and double check my mapped route to destination next. It's so fun when plans change because you run into someone interesting.

As soon as I sat down, Jack said "I saw you eying that chair next to me as soon as you walked in here!" I just laughed and shook my head. Jack asked me where I was from and I told him that I was traveling. He then broke into this story about how he used to drive small country towns taking photos of old filling stations. He had wanted to make a book out of his photos. He suggested that we go on the road together and take pictures. We could write a book together he told me. We both laughed. I told him that I might just be writing a book myself. He asked- "What? How?" I told him I wrote a blog, he didn't know what that meant so I pulled up this site to show him. As I scrolled the pages for him he mumbled a bunch of "Well I'll be damned. Isn't that something."

Turns out Jack owns an Inn in Manteo, NC and a bunch of other property around the mid-Atlantic. That's what fills his time besides people watching in coffee shops. This relaxed summer Santa look-alike had plenty of stories for me which I could've listened to for hours, but I had to get on the road so we said our goodbyes after an hour.

Happy summer and people watching Jack. Thanks for being my first road person for this trip.

surf free for all in the shallow end

Both of these signs were in the pool area of the house I'm staying at here in the Outer Banks.





I guess if little Johnny was hangin' 10 in the pool Mom would have a hard time telling him to stop.

doesn't take long...

...to stumble upon funny things to write about. At my first stop rolling out of town to start my journey, this is what I saw when I came out of the bathroom. Oh Border Station, you always offer such good entertainment and Dairy Queen Blizzards for dinner.

Don't forget to support your local hooker everybody.

I Need To Pay My Bills...

...plus Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are pretty much just totally incredible musicians, it's going to be 80 and sunny in Wilmington, NC tomorrow, hanging out with random people is fun- especially at an amphitheater- on a lake, we're sponsored by a local micro-brewery and cold beer is delicious, not to mention we're raising money for a local nonprofit. 

Um- can you say, win, win, win, win? 

Please buy yourself a ticket at our website and get ready to rock and roll. We will be there with bells on along with 900 other people. Yeah baby! 

VERMONT GIRLS RULE.

(Yes, this is my shameless plug. Actually, there's nothing to be ashamed about loving my job and encouraging people to get out and spend a little dough so we can keep bringing awesome music and events to our cool little city to help it grow:)