The beach. Going to college near the white sandy beaches of Pensacola was amazing. Beach days for...days. The Pacific Northwest has beautiful beaches but most of the year they're cold. They're epic...but cold. If the air does get warm the water stays...cold. The beaches of North Carolina are definitely more like Florida. The famous Outer Banks are close by, we're about 45 minutes from Emerald Isle (more beach). Touristy in the summer gives way to empty in the winter. An added bonus - 4-wheel-drive vehicles are aloud on beaches during the off-season for fishing (we don't fish yet but like the idea!).  Living in the Country.  It's nice to get a break from the city. Don't get me wrong, we love the city. But country stuff is cool. Cotton. Bug sounds at night. Mowing the jungle with a tractor. Tree frogs hitching a ride into the city in my passenger seat. Space for a big garden. Dried gourds for sale at the farmer's market. Country people that know how to do country stuff.  History...more specifically, pirates. It's quite possible that fate has brought us to this area to retrace the footsteps of the Wright Brothers (First in flight in the Outer Banks) and the legendary pirate Blackbeard. His long lost ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was discovered off the coast about 1.5 hours from where I sit typing right now...wait till I tell the pirates of Brick Sailboat... Country-folk. I was fortunate enough to grow up in Missouri around country folk. Not rednecks. That's right, I'm drawing a line in the sand - people who live in small towns, know how to do lots of cool country stuff - build, hunt, fish, fix - and perhaps drive big trucks because they need them to do big truck things (and they usually have a cheap compact to commute in...because, duh, giant trucks use a lot of gas). They're on the one side. They're country. They have so much to share about the land that they love. On the other side of the line are people who pride themselves in being uneducated, wasteful, litterbug, rednecks. City folk who haven't grown up around true country people probably haven't realized the distinction, but I'm glad I have. Although country folk & rednecks both claim epic American-ness, only one passes on a country that I'd want to live in. So far I've gotten a taste of both here in NC (P.S. The Jurassic Park giant truck transcends country/redneck labels due to its awesomeness). Southern Things.  I don't like okra, sweet-tea, or grits. But I do like Spanish moss, Bojangles, & Which Wich (technically from Texas but I've never seen one until NC!). There you have it, a few first impressions from our new state. Next Monday we'll share a few more and then off to aquatic adventuring!!!
~Paul & Amber ETC
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 Dear club members, Well, that about wraps up our epic 2015 summer road trip. After living in Seattle for the past 11 years (the last 3 aboard Kingsley the sailboat!), we've set off for warmer temperatures, new scenery, and a new adventure. We settled on North Carolina (of all places) because Captain Wifey has family there, we'd been many times on vacation, it has lots to do outside - with mountains, ocean, farmland, kayaking, sailing - and it seems like a change of pace from the busy city-living (even though Seattle never really felt like a big city). In the coming months we'll start sharing stories and travels from our new state. But it's hard not to look back. Above all, we'll miss our countless friends from the Pacific Northwest. I guess I haven't really accepted the fact that we're really gone from Seattle - it still seems like home. But like all the places we've lived, loved, and eventually left - if we didn't leave we'd have never have ended up there in the first place. Seattle: we miss you. North Carolina: let's get to know each other:) ~Paul, Amber, (and yes...the cat somehow survived) Kali ETC       The new temp housing  One perk of NC  Goodbye Kingsley! 
Our last mini-adventure before the big push across Appalachia to our North Carolina destination was Dogwood Canyon. 
With so much to do at the 10,000 acre facility - hike, tour, fish, and more - we came in the last few hours before closing and rented bikes. 
We even obeyed all rules about where to ride, and used our zoom lens to get a few pictures from beyond the Jurassic Park-like bison gates... 
It was a blast - a great stop in southern Missouri. Next stop: North Carolina!!!!!
~Paul, Amber, Jon, Mom |
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