Inlets and Outlets, Part II ~ Inlets

Shana Tovah to the members of the tribe out there!

After scoring the pottery, we headed back over the bridge to the Outer Banks proper.  We headed south instead of north, to stop at the Oregon Inlet.  We kind of overshot it and drove down the island a bit, then turned around and parked near the marina on the inlet.  We walked around, looking at boats and enjoying the sunshine.

By now, lunch was definitely overdue and dinnertime was approaching fast.

Charity and I both enjoy games and I knew there was a game/toy shop on the way back.  We stopped and looked around.  It seemed to be mostly kid stuff but there were some games for non-kids in a rear corner.  The store was pretty empty but we talked games with the guy behind the counter and picked up a couple because, somehow, we neglected to bring a game or two on the trip.  And new games are always welcome anyway.

Before we left, we asked about places to eat.  He suggested a couple that were along the beach, on the way back to the room.  We stopped and skipped the first one he suggested, but stopped and dined at the second, The Red Drum Grille and Taphouse.

It was quite crowded, but I'm getting used to crowds.  I people-watch; in return, they ignore me.

I did what's becoming normal: chatting and joking with the waitress, and basically being a normal restaurant patron.  And, again, I was treated as such.

Being a short, straight drive to the hotel, I had a mixed drink.  Being a restaurant on the beach, I had the fish and chips.  Both were good.

We returned to the hotel after dark and played one of the new games in the room instead of taking a walk on the beach.  And it was a good night to get to bed early.  Tomorrow would be the long drive back to Annandale.

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Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)

The outlet mall was south of the hotel and we decided to head back to Manteo on Roanoke Island.  I did want to see that maritime museum and explore the island a bit more.  There are a lot of attractions packed into that little island.  There are Elizabethan Gardens, a show about "The Lost Colony," The sailing ship Elizabeth II, an aquarium, and more.

We wandered the town of Manteo again.  This time, we knew where it was (Monday we wandered) and we parked near downtown and explored, starting with the maritime museum.

If you have a chance to go to Manteo and have to skip something definitely make it the maritime museum.  It was not worth the shoe leather walking to the front door.

Monday, we ate lunch and then saw a very appealing ice cream place.  But lunch was very filling and we passed.

Today, we had a big breakfast and stopped for ice cream.  In addition to having access to non-chain ice cream, it was quite hot out, hotter than expected.

I continued my usual behaviour and kidded around with the girl behind the counter.  I say usual, but, again, this is new Meg behaviour and I wonder if it's appropriate in a female.  On the other hand, I'm being myself as Meg; I can be myself with respect to acting in a way that might be less female-appropriate.  And again, I'm not sure.

This is where we ordered ice cream and as she was preparing mine I leaned close and said "I think I need rainbow sprinkles."  She giggled.  I didn't think until later that the rainbow is associated with gay, and most civilians probably associate trans with gay.  I won't even speculate whether she was laughing because of that connection or because I said I need sprinkles.

I just like rainbow sprinkles.

We wandered into several shops, mostly clothing shops, mostly niche and pricey.  We also walked

through an artsy little shop where the owner made assorted pottery.  Charity decided she loved one of them but it wasn't quite ready yet.  She made a tentative purchase and we figured if we stayed long enough on the island we'd return and pick it up.  If not....

We went to the aquarium next.

It is a surprisingly nice aquarium.  There are a lot of local sea life and an assortment of very large and healthy sea turtles.  Signage could have been better.  I often didn't know what I was looking at.  They also do sea turtle rescue and care there and had a nice hands-on exhibit to demonstrate what they do.

Shark Fight!

There were also hands-on live exhibits.  You could touch a variety of invertebrates and even a sting ray (the stingers were removed).

At one point there was a green screen and we could get our picture taken.  They would then sell it back to us with a background of some sort and that didn't interest either of us.  We told the guy that we really didn't need our picture and he directed us through a different door than the people who had the photo.  I questioned that and he said "trust me!"  I said "should I?" and he said "trust me!  Go that way!"

That way was the sea turtle rescue area which I really enjoyed ~ it was very well done.

After we went back in, I sought out the guy and said "I should have trusted you."  He looked like he had never seen me before and I reminded him of our conversation and he laughed and said "see?"

So it was pretty cool that I didn't stand out to this worker!  Every event like that makes me more confident.

Meg, being bold!

One surprise: there was a shark tank with a few large specimens ~ over five feet long, I'd guess.  While they were swimming one started to nudge another.  They looked to be identical, and pretty large.  The next time they swam past, one had the other's pectoral fin entirely in the other's mouth.

Divers magically appeared, and the sharks were contained behind some large rocks in the tank so we couldn't see what happened.  I tried to get some pictures but the water was murky and it was too dark for a good shot.

For no discernible reason, they had several animatronic dinosaurs on the premises.  We took a look,
but it was a bit puzzling.

By now, it was getting later, we were getting hungrier, and the pottery was getting readier.  We headed back to Manteo and the pottery was ready.  We left Roanoke Island for the last time.

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