Upon Meeting Dawn

Vacation: Day 13

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The housemates had gone off to play tourist (Jeff got some great shots at Bodie Light), and I was hanging out around the pool awaiting Dawn's arrival. Meeting someone for the first time is always terribly awkward. I'm a great one for welcoming hugs, but not everyone else is. So, the greeting usually ends up to be an uncomfortable, half hug, half handshake, usually accompanied with nervous laughter. However, Dawn's warmth and friendliness was apparent from the beginning.

Dawn is the quintessential Southern Bell. Petite, blond, pretty as a picture - and that wonderful soft, slow drawl when she speaks, every syllable dripping sweetness like honey on a warm biscuit. As we spent more time together in the next few days, I'd learn that beneath that magnolia exterior laid a healthy dash of Tabasco.

As she settled in, the rest of the group began arriving back at the cottage. Darrin and Darcie had been on their 2nd day of a mission to find liquor. Only beer & wine are served on Hatteras Island and I was under the impression those were the only 2 spirits sold there, too. The girls had headed up to Nags Head to the ABC store, yesterday, arriving just after it closed. One hundred twenty miles, round trip, with no results. Today, they had learned that liquor was sold on Hatteras, and in fact there was a store just up the road. All of that wasted driving! And, Dawn had come prepared, as well.

She was prepared in more than one way ..... she had brought the fixings for dinner that evening, which she insisted cooking alone. Dawn's husband is a crabman, and it was through his hard work we enjoyed this treat! Kudos to him!

That night we ate like royalty ..... soft shell crabs, fried shrimp, hush puppies, a great potato dish and pasta salad. We really felt guilty about her doing all of the cooking, but she zipped around the kitchen like a seasoned chef.

We all learned how to tell the difference between boy crabs and girl crabs ..... aprons vs. lighthouses, along with the process of crabs developing their soft shells. Their little legs were really crunchy - good, but food with legs still attached makes it too personal for me to eat. I stuck to the main bodies. YUM! And the shrimp was INCREDIBLE!

After dinner, we all laid around the great room, half way watching TV, half way snoozing, all the way too stuffed and content to make the short journey to our sleeping quarters. But, with a busy day planned for Thursday, we turned in fairly early.