Back in HK

Yikes! I have been woefully neglecting my blog, abandoning it to instead catch up with friends and family and, well, New York City!  But, after a heinously delayed flight on Saturday/Sunday, resulting in a total travel time of just a shade over 24 hours, I am back in good ole' Hong Kong.

Last I left off on the blog, we were heading to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for Michael's brother's wedding.  The Outer Banks are stunning -- a stark combination of endless blue sky, powder white sands and scruffy, bleached sea grass set on a wisp of an island.  At some points of the drive, the towering dunes are the only barrier between the ocean that gulps and roars on the left, and the sound that ripples and murmurs on the right.  The mere fact that the Outer Banks exist, despite seeming impossible odds, seems like a miracle.  It inspires marvel.

How to describe the atmosphere?  It's quiet, it's tranquil, and suddenly things that seem of utmost importance reduce to a gentle murmur and instead you find yourself observing the sunlight dapple the water, sniffing the salty tang of the dock, and feeling the breeze play with your hair.  I could not bring myself to go on the internet or check email while I was there.

The rented house, Sea Dream

The dock off the back of the house

Our inlet

We would take the boat out the channel to the sound - I went tubing!

We attended an impressively orchestrated rehearsal dinner (so much food!), a wedding ceremony held at a gem of a church, and a reception at the very unique Kitty Hawk Pier:

91 pound roast pig

Oh, lest you think I am done, I am only getting to the very best part.  The seafood!  I ate half a dozen crabs by myself (and because everyone is so friendly and kind, half a dozen actually meant seven crabs).  I also ate an entire pound of the freshest, briniest mussels I've ever had.  It was my first time cooking mussels but they turned out beeeeautifully (if I say so myself).

Before.  Steamed and packed like jewels in a  little cardboard box.  Lots o' seasoning!

Mid-way.   I couldn't be bothered to clean my hands again.

Mid-way.  I couldn't be bothered to take a photo until I'd popped a bunch into my greedy gullet.

My consumption before I remembered to take a picture.

The trip was such good times - except for the really long drive and the vicious mosquito bites.  But now that it has been nearly two weeks and my painful, oozing, swollen bites have been reduced to scabs, I have my rosy tinted perspective back.  (Still kind of reeling from the drive though.)  What would be the fun if the Outer Banks were easy to get to, though?  It would surely take away from the beauty and contemplation of such a special place.