Another drive in the rain this morning to get to work at the Gateway Visitors Center. I sure wish I could send some of this precipitation to those states ridden by drought. As expected for working this location, I didn’t have any visitors until 10:30. Then there was a a steady trickle through the lunch hour.
During one of the lulls, I stepped out on the back porch of the VC, and found this guy along the railing. He was only about an inch long.
Can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, but Saturday is switch out day on the Outer Banks. That means all those folks that rented beach houses for the week along the coast head for home in the morning. North and west bound roads are crammed with cars like a big city rush hour. Then in the afternoon, the south and east bound roads are packed with the new group of renters coming in for the next week. It’s quite a phenomena. The morning is kind of like being at a campground on Sunday when all the working people make a great exodus for home after the weekend. Some sight seeing destinations in the area are closed on the weekends since people are either leaving or settling in upon arrival.
I think the reason I had a flurry of visitors this morning is because all the rain this past week made people a little desperate to visit something today before heading home. Whatever the reason, after 1:00, I could count the number of visitors stopping in on my hands.
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So I was able to walk around a bit outside while waiting for business to arrive.
The insects were certainly busy with a native blooming plant that looks like black-eyed Susan's. The plants sure had more visitors than I did.
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All of the recent moisture is bringing out a nice crop of fungus as well.
My drive back to the rig after work involves passing the entrance roads to several rather ritzy subdivisions outside of Manteo on the shores of Roanoke Island. At one of the entrances I noticed a cardboard sign advertising a Kool Aid stand. Now I’m a real sucker for kids that have the ambition to set up a lemonade or Kool Aid stand, so I pulled over. As I stopped, I waved at the three youngsters that appeared to be about seven years old or so. They jumped for joy, and got my cup of red Kool Aid ready. In the meantime, a bare footed mother hopped out of a nearby old pickup to approach my window. She said, “That will be a dollar.” , and grabbed the bill out of my hand as she hollered at the little girl to give me my drink.
That kind of took me by surprise. A buck seemed a little high for about 3 oz. of Kool Aid, but that’s probably what I would have given the kids anyway. I don’t know, it just seemed a little odd to me. Perhaps the family really needed the money. At any rate, I enjoyed my two gulps of cold Kool Aid; red being my favorite flavor of bug juice, and as I headed home I tried to remember the last time I had a serving of this beverage. It’s got to be about twenty years or so…
THE END!!
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
