Ali's Ocracoke Odyssey, Part III

Hi! This is Philip, introducing Ali's latest observations. Sorry I haven't posted for several days -- I was just enjoying the beach, friends, & family too much...plus a whole day trip to the dentist yesterday (another crown!). Anyway, here is Ali:

I am quickly approaching the half way point of my summer adventure, and it seems to have flown by. Things have certainly picked up pace in the shops as the season gets going. This last week has flown by for me, as I've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of my family for their summer getaway on Sunday. I'm excited to show them around the island and impress them with my knowledge. More than that, I managed to get the entire week off so I got a vacation too.

So far my beach days have been limited to Sunday afternoons and Mondays. I'll be able to spend the entire week there and see what keeps bringing people back to Ocracoke year after year. I'm also looking forward to building sand castles with my little brother, whom I miss incredibly. With most people, "grown-ups" if you will, you can keep in contact over the phone or emailing or whatever, but with kids it's the time you spend with them. After being gone for my first year of college and now into the summer, I can't wait to get some time with him this coming week.

Speaking of the beach, I enjoyed my Monday afternoon at the campground beach. The ocean was rough so I spent most of my time lying out in the sun. The campground beach is a less frolic-in-the-ocean and collect-awesome-seashells (which happens—it just isn't a part of this story) beach-going experience. I sat up at one point to grab my book, when I realized my arms looked slightly lobster-esque. Uh-oh, time to go. I grabbed my stuff and headed back to the wagon, and OUCH my face and arms were bright red. I have to take responsibility for this since I wasn't wearing any sunscreen. Yes, stupid I know, but my family was coming to visit and I hardly had a tan after living five minutes from the beach for almost six weeks! To be completely honest, I'm quite proud of myself, that I made it that long without getting burned. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Let's just hope I can evade it this whole week.

Other than beach adventures, my life had taken a more social turn with the arrival of Kristin, the other summer employee at the Village Craftsmen. It's nice to have another person around my age, and since we have just about the same hours, it's easy to hang out. Having another person also makes meeting other people much easier, since it eliminates some of that one-person-who-doesn't-know-anyone awkward factor. I've also been hanging out with some of the girls whom I work with at the Hemp Shop, which gets me out of my wagon even more! We walked out to Springer's Point last night and saw the glowing bacteria or algae that are out there, which was really cool.

I can't wait to spend this week with my family—I'm off to be a tourist or vacationer or whatever!

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the brave and courageous members of the US Life Saving Service. You can read it here.