Still here

     Shame on Uncle Jack for not at least letting his readers (are there any left?) know that he has not yet shuffled off his mortal coil---just incredibly busy since returning from Nags Head last week.  He still doesn't have time to write a proper blog entry but here are a few last pictures from the beach in Sonag (and elsewhere) that might help pass the time. It's time to watch the Ravens stomp the Packers into the snow up in Green Bay.

    Sunrise from the deck one day last week.  Uncle Jack is getting too old to walk down to the beach at 6 a.m. any more.  It was still worth getting up for, though.  Not many things are.

This pool at a Sonag development whose name Uncle Jack can't remember at the moment (Dunes South maybe?) has withstood many a storm over the past 25 years but not this one.

                                                        For sure.

Unusual doubledecker stairway shows how much sand gets pushed around during storms in Sonag.  It's a bonanza for carpenters who don't have houses to build at the moment.  Every cloud........

Chez Schneck, a few doors south of the Outer Banks pier, survived thanks to the massive dune built up over the past couple of years by judicious use of sand-fencing.  Time to start all over.  Get to work Polly.

The old Lifesaving Station at Oregon Inlet is looking better than it has for years.  All the ancillary structures built by the Coast Guard have been removed and new shingles applied to the original building.  Anybody know what the plans are for this marvelous survivor of countless storms over the past 100+ years?

More storm pics from South Nags Head

     The weather in Nags Head has been wretched for the past couple of days but the sun made a brief appearance this morning, allowing Uncle Jack to continue his post-Ida explorations of his old neighborhood---South Nags Head, N.C.  This morning's perambulations took him to a couple of perennial trouble spots---the Comfort Inn South and its neighbors, and the Sea Gull Drive area near the 20 milepost---both of which were particularly hard hit by last week's storm..  The pictures tell the story.

The Comfort Inn South lost its walkway to the beach as well as a lot of new decking installed after other storms in recent years. There have been no cars in the parking lot all week so Uncle Jack presumes it is closed until necessary repairs can be made.

The Yachtsman Condos are two doors south of the Comfort Inn.  Owners will have to get along without their swimming pool for a while as this sign suggests.

                                          And this is the reason why.

(Top picture). The Diamond Shoals condo development next door to the Comfort Inn took its usual hit. Management wasted no time in trucking in new sand to replace at least some of what washed away last week. The swimming pool is long gone.
(Bottom).  A hotel can't get much more oceanfront than this.

Longtime readers will remember that a large house called Gray Eagle (later Kuckoo's Nest) stood in front of the house in the foreground until a couple of years ago when it was moved back across the beach road. Looks like it may be time to call the movers again. (Looking south from Seagull Drive)

All but a short stub of Seagull Drive washed away again last week.  It has been rebuilt a couple of times since Isabel but town officials will no doubt think twice before spending any more money on it given that the cottages on the right are now sitting in the water most of the time.  Are they finished as rental houses?  Don't bet on it.

                                                          High but not dry.