The Beach At The End of The World...

It's not really the end of the world, but it feels a little like that when you come to the fence.  So, of course that makes me want to go beyond the fence to see what's there.  

For the past ten days, we have been visiting the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  The Outer Banks is surrounded by water on both sides, as you can see on the map.  We stayed in Corolla, all the way north on the Peninsula.  The main road through the Outer Banks is North Carolina Route12.  The road comes to an end just north of Corolla.  That is, the paved portion of Route 12 comes to an end.  Officially, Route 12 continues along the beach, all the way to the Virginia border.  In order to continue on Route 12 on the beach you must have a four-wheel drive vehicle.  

But what about the fence?  The fence was put there to protect Corolla's wild horse population.  The horses have been here since 1520, when Spanish sailing ships landed here.  Before the fence, the horses roamed the town of Corolla freely.  As the area became more popular the problems with horses mixing with traffic increased.  The fence was erected to keep them north of town.  The horses are free to roam north of the fence, including the beach and the dunes.  In this area you can see beachgoers, 4-wheel drive vehicles and wild horses all mixed together.  It is a law that people go no closer to a horse than fifty feet and that they do NOT feed the horses.  

This is where the paved part of Route 12 ends and the road continues on the sand.  

Of course, you can go through the fence on foot, but you must be sure to close the gate after you go through, for the protection of the horses that live here.

Farther inland, behind the dunes there is also a Wild Horse Preserve, where the public is not allowed.  The horses are wild.  They are Colonial Spanish Mustangs, descended from horses that were brought on sailing ships over 500 years ago.

Link:  www.corollawildhorses.com

On Vacation

We are vacationing with friends in Corolla, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  I have attempted to post some photos here, but couldn't manage it with my phone.

The weather has been perfect; clear blue skies and warm but not hot.  It gets cool and breezy in the evenings.  Every day we have walked for miles along the beach.  At the northern end of the beach there is a fence to keep the wild horses in their preserve.  If you have a four-wheel drive you can drive on that part of the beach.  Of course I had to see it!  So today we went on a guided tour of the wild horse preserve.  It was fun!  Our driver took us in Safari type vehicle through the wilderness.  We did see some wild horses; they are Spanish mustangs whose ancestors came off sailing ships hundreds of years ago.

We drove through a part of the island that has no paved roads and saw beautiful scenery.  Some people have even built houses there... amazing!

As you walk on the beach you see lots of kites flying and lots of water-loving dogs playing in the water.  I love watching sandpipers running at the edge of the surf, their tiny legs skittering along.  I love everything about the beach!

September

Why wait until now to celebrate the arrival of September?  Because now it finally feels like it!

Last week it was still hot and humid here, up to 90 degrees some days.  Those days make me feel like going outdoors for only short periods of time, running from one air conditioned space to the next.  But this morning dawned clear and cool, without the stifling humidity.  This is how September should be!

Everyone says that Labor Day is the "official" end of summer.  But it isn't.  The real last day of summer is the autumnal equinox, which comes later in the month.  So, in my mind it is still summer.  Forget those who say not to wear white after Labor Day.  If it's 90 degrees outside, I'm still wearing my white shorts!

Remembering...

September 11, 2001

I went to work as usual, taking the train from Fort Washington to downtown Philadelphia.  As I walked from the train station to my office, I was enjoying the beautiful September day.  The sky was clear blue, not a cloud in sight and the air was just crisp and cool enough to make breathing a joy.

It was a typical day in my office.  My co-workers and I had finished our morning coffee and were busy working on our individual projects.  I was sitting at a desk that faces a window, working on my computer.  My co-worker across the office had his radio on as usual, but low enough that I couldn't hear it.  He stood up and told us to turn on our individual radios (we didn't have a TV in the office).  He told us that one of the twin towers in New York City had been hit by a plane.  At that point they thought it was probably a small plane and an accident.  Of course, a few minutes later it was reported that the second tower had been hit.  It was beginning to dawn on us that this was an intentional attack.

When we heard the Pentagon had been hit as well, we all decided we should leave and head for home.  We had no idea what the extent of this attack was going to be.  As I walked down 16th street in Philly I noticed everyone had the same shocked look on their face that I must have had on mine.  It was the same on the train; everyone sat there silently with the same stunned look on their face.  The main thought in our minds was to get home.

I arrived at home and turned the TV on.  By then they were reporting that a plane had gone down in Pennsylvania.  It wasn't that far from where I was living and my husband was on a business trip in Chicago.  I started rushing around the house finding emergency supplies, just in case.  I got my cat carrier out so I could take my cat with me.  But where would I go?  I had no idea.  I guess I was in a bit of a panic.  I ended up staying there, watching TV in the same shocked disbelief as the rest of the country.

My husband called later and said he was driving home from Chicago.  He happened to have a rental car already, so he was one of the lucky ones.  Since all flights had been shut down, everyone was scrambling to rent cars and they quickly ran out.

For days we mourned.  We mourned for the people who died, for their families.  We mourned for the firefighters who ran up the stairs and died.  We mourned our country's loss of innocence; our sense of security had been shattered.

It's Not Just Hot Flashes

It's Heat Intolerance...

For a couple of years now, I assumed I was having hot flashes.  Except they aren't flashes because they don't go away.  I'm just hot all the time.  If the temperature outside is in the 70s I'm fine.  But once it starts to go into the 80s and 90s I can hardly stand to go outside.  Even if I stay inside I'm still hot!

I've been researching heat intolerance and found there are many causes, beyond menopausal hot flashes. Heat intolerance can be caused by some autoimmune conditions:  lupus, Sjogren's syndrome, fibromyalgia.  It can also be a symptom of multiple sclerosis and hyperthyroidism.  Since I have been diagnosed with Sjogren's I assume that's the reason in my case.  I also have "foggy brain" when I'm too hot.  I just have to lie down, breathe deeply and let my body come to equilibrium.

There have been times when I'm out shopping when suddenly I'm hot and dripping with sweat and dizzy.  But now I know I'm not alone.  There is a support group online with others who have exactly the same symptoms.  Some of them have Sjogren's and some of them have MS.  The symptoms seem the same.

Not many people have heard of Sjogren's; even some physicians don't know much about it.  Venus Williams was in the news a while back when she had to drop out of competitive tennis for a while because of Sjogren's.  Before that, hardly anyone knew about it.  There is no cure.  You just have to treat the symptoms.  I'm looking forward to cooler weather.

My Favorite Thing From The Sixties

My mushroom lamp!  It has moved with me from place to place for over forty years!  I love the shape and the soft glow.  I think it's iconic!

One time I had it where it was visible from a front window.  A young paperboy came to collect and he asked me, "does that do anything psychedelic?"

Four Decades of Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston is my all-time favorite actor.  If you have seen the new movie version of "The Great Gatsby" with Tobey Maguire playing Nick Carraway, you need to go back and watch the 1974 version in which Sam Waterston plays Nick.  In my mind, Sam Waterston WAS Nick Carraway.  I thought he was perfect!  I just couldn't believe Tobey Maguire in the part (my young niece couldn't either; she shouted out "there's Spiderman!")

Now Sam Waterston is in a terrific new show, "The Newsroom".  Here's a clip where he appears with Jane Fonda and Jeff Daniels.  (Warning:  one bad word is used.)




This is Sam Waterston in 1974, playing Nick Carraway in "The Great Gatsby".