Last Day at Lightship

Vacation Day 16

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Jennifer, Darrin, Darcie & the little ones shipped out early in the morning to return to their respective homes. All of them dawdled on the trip north, lingering on the Outer Banks until the last minute. All of them arrived late for their flights. Jennifer po'd numerous travelers by pushing to the front of the car rental line, returning her key & Darrin and Darcie replayed the "Home Alone" scene, running through the airport, dragging luggage and children. It's hard to leave island time and return to the real world.

Dawn & I decided to head north of the Bonner and do a bit more shopping. Actually, Dawn was shopping, I was watching. Since I would have no room in my limited amount of baggage, all purchases would need to be smaller than a ....... gnat.

Our first stop was Indian Town Gallery. I was still looking for a piece of sea glass jewelry as a Christmas present for Katie, in hopes it would bring pleasant memories of her stay whenever she donned it. Numerous jewelry stores, galleries and gift shops had been scoured by me - unfortunately most sea glass in jewelry sold on the Outer Banks, is not native to the Outer Banks. (Why is that?) And, I wanted sea glass found on Hatteras beaches. Indian Town Gallery

had a wonderful assortment of sea glass baubles by Shawn Franklin. I found exactly what I was looking for ..... delicate, dangly earrings with blue & green serendipity set in gold. Perfect!

Our next stop was The Farmer's Daughter in Nags Head. As was usual for the time of year, a big sale was in progress. There were many items I would have liked to buy at great prices, but no way to get it back to Iowa. I pulled a long face as Dawn merrily shopped away.

Dawn wanted to go to The Christmas Mouse, place I've never shopped before. Someday I hope to have 2 Christmas trees during the season ..... one traditional, the other beach themed. Now, I certainly know where to go to buy beachy ornaments! Again, I exited a store with no purchases, unlike Dawn. (Actually, I was hoping that we'd have time to go to the Christmas Store in Manteo the next day, but it was not to be.)

Heavy into the shopping groove, Dawn headed to the Outlet Mall, another place I'd never been. As she shopped for a blouse for an upcoming wedding, I headed to the kitchen store. As soon as I walked in, I knew I'd be dropping some $$. I found kitchen towels and dish cloths that I really liked, but they would take up so much room in my suitcase! Hmmmm ..... maybe I could remove the wines I had planned on taking back home and substitute the towels. It was a sacrifice, but one I made for the betterment of my cooking experiences. Bye, bye vino.

Having completed our shopping, we decided it was cocktail time, so it was off to

We sat at the bar, ordered up some drinks and watched the activity around us. I think that I like S & O's because it reminds me of a neighborhood bar with lots of local color and characters. The menu offerings are very good - very tasty & well prepared, however this is not the place for fine dining. The amount of diners can attest to Sam & Omie's popularity. There is usually at least a half hour wait even during the off season at dinner time. We checked out the menu for a light snack and decided on the fried veggie platter. (Which reminds me - I really should schedule an appointment with my cardiologist after all of the fried foods I had on the Outer Banks. My arteries were narrowing simply at the sight of the dishes I consumed this year.)

After a beer, or two (or three), we headed back south of the Bonner to begin packing for our departure the next morning. An activity that I dread every year.