Come on, Irene

pork, it's the meat of kings

Yes, it's been a while since we wrote about anything. Yes, we've been in NC for two weeks. No, our stop here hasn't revolved solely around eating barbeque and beach bumming, though I must say, the water temperature is just about perfect (85 degrees) and eating a tray of chopped pork and cornbread at Scott's in Goldsboro is as heavenly an experience as I remembered. But we have also been working in between playtime and mealtime. 

Re, destroying the vegetation

We recently purchased 2.5 acres of land adjacent to a piece owned by Colin's parents and one owned by his sister, Connie and her husband, Barry near Selma, NC. Part of it was wooded (mostly pine which has been cut and removed) and part was formerly tobacco field which was overgrown with various species of very sturdy weeds. After having the stumps cleared from the formerly wooded section, we spent the better part of two days behind the handlebars of my father-in-law's DR Brush Machine in an attempt to mow down the weeds. Hopefully, this will allow the red clover to grow and feed the goats that will fairly soon inhabit the field. I like the DR very much! Obliterating a field of unwanted greenery feeds my appetite for destruction (I have long wished to go into demolition but have not yet acquired a wrecking ball and something to knock down). We also put in a mailbox so we will have a permanent address (essential for banking nowadays) and in case all else fails, a place to pitch our tent.

Symbas on the sand

Since mowing and digging post holes is physical work, we've visited the beach several times for some hot sand and salt water therapy. Since Colin's parents live minutes from the ocean, it's easy to hit the beach for a couple of hours at a time. We took the Symbas for a seaside visit one afternoon and got some strange looks when we stripped out of our riding gear to reveal (gasp!) our swimsuits. People here as well are amazed to find out that we really did ride those bikes all the way from Oregon and even more so by the rest of our plan.

The downside to living so close to the ocean is...hurricanes. Irene came to call this week, and while the waves that preceded the storm were a lot of fun to play in, the power outage is not. We helped batten down the hatches (Colin's parents have been through so many storms that they have lag bolts in the window frames and pre-drilled wood panels to hang on them) and moved all potential projectiles (plants, lawn ornaments, furniture, and Symbas!) into the garage. Irene arrived with more of a whimper than a bang and turned out to be less dramatic and more inconvenient than anything. The power is out right now, but we have a generator running on the front porch to keep the fridge cold and a couple of lights burning).

We have really enjoyed our time in NC, but we're both getting antsy to get on the road. My father-in-law will be glad for some peace and quiet. He's probably getting tired of asking how soon we're leaving in response to all of my smarty pants comments. This week, we go to Raleigh to visit friends for a few days before we head to Ohio to see my family. Following that, we begin the next leg of our adventure- preparing our mighty little Symbas for their first plane ride (I'm assuming) to Africa! Oooooh, I'm starting to dance in anticipation already!!!

PS- I forgot to mention we also felt the earthquake that hit the east coast last week. It was only a little wobbly wavering here, not like the booming whomps you feel in California. Hopefully this gets all the natural disasters out of the way for the rest of our trip!

PPS- The power came on at around 3 this morning. Yay air conditioning! Yay electric lights!! Yay internet!!!