splendid isolation: Nov/Dec preparing to depart OBX

November consisted of finishing up work at roadside, our trip to NY, but mostly just packing, cleaning, and organizing of our belongings. We left a good amount of the stuff we hauled back from the boat in our parents attics. We moved into my sister Christina and brother-in-law Johnny's house in Kilmarlic, Powell's Point, NC. Claire and I have never lived on the mainland, across the bridge, from the island we grew up on. It was a different atmosphere only 2 miles away. Sure it still has the sound and canals, but it's mostly farmland. I am especially used to waking up and checking out the ocean's mood on a daily basis. The rest of the month was spent saying countless good-byes to friends and family.

i did not take this photo!

i believe this happened back in october? i forgot to post it back then.

Down at Pea Island on Cape Hatteras National Seashore - The Graveyard of the Atlantic strikes again!

Short story: this man went up north and got these two boats for cheap. He was sailing one while towing the other behind, down to florida, to sell. It got nasty off our coast (of course) and he went down below to put on his foul weather gear, while down below he fell asleep and washed ashore. He was on the beach for at least a couple weeks. I never followed up on what happened...

We didn't get much Hurricane swell this year, but Autumn is the time for clean surf.

rolling our change

organizing some of our cash savings

farewell get together with our co-workers of Roadside!

It was a great summer. We worked hard and made a lot of new friends.

Claire's father has held his famous Bocce ball Tournament on their backyard court for years and years. Each year he dedicates the tournament to a lost loved one or relative.

This year was the year of Gran Fran.

the court

Our friends Danny and Cheyne came into town for their yearly Thanksgiving trip. Cheyne was my room mate in California for years before his girlfriend Danny moved in with us. Some of the best years of my life were spent living with them. The last time we saw them was when we departed Dana Point on Splendid Isolation over a year ago!

Woody. Also a former room mate, long time friend, and traveling buddy.

La Sancha got a new battery

scrapple scramble with New York sourdough

lobster stock.

Claire's mother Laura asked me to make Lobster Ravioli for a family meal before we depart.

the stuffing for the ravioli i made was ricotta, lobster, blue crab, spinach, mozzarella, lemon juice, old bay...

fresh pasta

i made pasta for dinner another night too

Claire made an autumn salad with bibb lettuce, arugula, shaved turnips, grapes, goat cheese, and a honey orange balsamic vinaigrette (from scratch)

the lobster ravioli with asparagus.

I reduced the lobster stock to a lobster bisque cream sauce :)

everyone seemed to enjoy it

claire driving la sancha!

carolina crabslough oysters!

"Crab slough oysters are the saltiest oysters and have in pairs two small pea crabs golden in color tha live inside the oyster. The Crab slough is a special place living just inside the sound and next to the inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. In October the season for oysters begins and these are the most prized of all oysters in the world. This magical oyster has a degree of flavor found no where else in the world as the gulf stream and the labrador currents meet it feeds on the richest waters with a high oxygen content. The waters are rich enough that the oysters can sustain the pea crabs without reducing their own viability. This naturally harvested food is understood by those that love oysters to be unique a gift from God."

~link