An Outer Banks Weekend

Please be patient sir.  It's understandable that you'd want to know why I've been out of work for two weeks.  It started with an idea.

"How about a weekend on the Outer Banks?" I asked my wife Mary.  "It's mid-winter.  We'll have it to ourselves; find something right on the water; maybe visit some of the light houses."

"Sounds good Jim," she replied.  "You know I like light houses."

That was the original plan.  Not at all unusual.  No matter what you think of what came later, the start was very common place.

Much waterfront lodging was closed for the season, but I was able to reserve a motel room near Nag's Head.

We drove out after work on Friday..  The closer to the Atlantic, the thicker the fog.  Center and side lines on the road made it safe enough, but the world closed in.  There might have been buildings and people around, but we sure didn't see any.

We couldn't get anything on the radio.  Our only serenade was the humming from the tires.  The glow from the car's digital clock lit the interior of the car balancing the reflection from the headlights off the fog.  An impressionist image to start the weekend.

We followed Route 64 across the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge to Manteo, then continued on to turn north on Route 158 along the shore line.  Our destination turned out to be a little rough.  The owners had chosen natural over aluminum siding, and the sea air wasn't kind to the natural.

A smiling long haired hostess was at the front desk.  Grey hair, but otherwise little changed from the sixties.

"Welcome to our special dolphins weekend," she said, signing us in.

"Special weekend?" I asked.  "We weren't aware of that?"

"Oh," our hostess simply said, pausing for a moment, with a concerned look.

"Well, don't worry about it," she finally continued, "just enjoy your stay."

Hmm...  "don't worry about it?", I thought to myself.

"When and how often do you have these special weekends?" I asked.

"During the winter, and bi-monthly," she replied.  "It's safer, I mean easier, since most things are shut down.  Most of our guests will arrive tomorrow.  Maybe you'll want to join in.  Here's a brochure."

Like the hostess, our room brought back the sixties; paneling on the walls, and carpeting which contributed a mildewed aroma to the ambiance.  On the plus side, it had sliding glass doors opening onto the beach.

"Mary, look at this," I called out, opening the slider.

The fog had lifted.  The moon was up, and shone like a spotlight in a sharp band across the water.  The sound of the waves provided background music to the dance of dozens of dolphins through the waves.

"Oh Jim," she sighed, "who would have thought this place could provide such beauty?"

"I think it's warm enough for us to sleep with these sliders open tonight," I said.

"If not, maybe we can provide our own warmth," Mary whispered.  As it turned out, she was right.

On Saturday, we drove from Kitty Hawk to the north to Ocracoke in the south.  We got pictures of three different light houses, making Mary's day.  We looked for the wild ponies, but all we saw was a sandy pasture where they show themselves when they feel like it.

Back at the motel, the parking lot was filled.  Our hostess recommended Captain Andy's Fish and Chowder across the street.  Surprisingly, on this special weekend, Captain Andy wasn't offering much in the way of seafood.  Meat that had mooed, oinked, or laid eggs, made up the menu.

"Hi, we're Frank and Elizabeth," the guy at the next table said in introduction.  "Welcome to dolphins weekend."

"Jim and Mary," I replied.  "We didn't come for the special weekend, but it seems popular."

"Oh," Frank said, pausing like the hostess at the motel.

"You might want to join us on the beach tonight anyway," Frank concluded.

Back in our room, heavy drapes were drawn across the sliders,  locked down, with a note attached to the lock.

"We hope this security precaution doesn't cause you any inconvenience.  If you're here for the dolphins, please join us on the beach at 1:00 AM," I read the note to Mary.  "What do you think?"

"Strange," she replied, "but, after last night, I'm feeling adventurous."

At 1:00 AM, we went out to the beach.  Frank and Elizabeth came over to us.

"Wonderful," Elizabeth said, hugging us both, "you're about to have the adventure of a lifetime."

"Just follow our lead," Frank added.

We matched their actions as they held hands and walked into the mild surf.  With the waves up to our waists, we all stopped.

Soon, dolphins appeared, swimming and jumping around the two dozen couples standing in the surf.  Glistening in the moonlight, two of them swam up to Frank and Elizabeth, and nuzzled them almost as a kiss.

Suddenly, Frank and Elizabeth were replaced by a different couple.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Bill and Marie," the young man answered.  "Our two weeks are up, so we have to return, and go back to work."

Bill didn't seem happy about that.

"If you're newbie's," Bill continued, "relax."

Mary was still holding my hand, with a strong grip.  She gave me a shrug that said she was game.

Our turn came when two dolphins approached, and rose out of the water to go nose to nose.  Raphael and Susanna were now standing in the surf.  Mary and I swam and jumped out into the Atlantic.

As soon as the two weeks were up, we returned to the beach, and swapped back.  Here I am ready to work as hard as ever sir.

What were the two weeks like?  Here's the brochure from the Motel.  "Swim with the dolphins," with pictures.  Pictures taken far from land, and with no people around.

It was very educational.  Dolphins do communicate sir, and it turns out they're very amorous.