Science! Psuedo-science! Nature! Art! Nonsense!
November 1, 2023
nature, ocean, travel beach, moon, moon rise, moonie, moonshine, NC, ocean isle beach, OIB, sun, sunset, the stick Leave a comment
Because this beach faces South, the sun can go down and the moon can come up on opposite sides of the beach.
Sun down
Moon up
And then the next morning, the sun can come up while the moon sets.
Sun up
Moon down
The Stick in October is ideal. What people? We’re not in Norway anymore, moonie.
August 27, 2023
ocean beach, beach house, ocean isle beach, the stick, uhaul Leave a comment
Sometimes the doldrums strike even at the Stick. Intensely hot. No wind. The Stick is usually a place of respite with crosswinds blowing through the house, but we up and left when it was just too hot. This is likely to be more common as climate change unfolds. That is, until the Stick is eaten by the Atlantic ocean.
We flew the usual flags.
In any case, we dragged a bunch of stuff down from the cabin. So that was accomplished.
Which also means we got to get rid of some stuff. UHaul at the dump!
All gone.
The dogs had fun when they were not completely overheated. Maybe loves the beach.
Check out the baby puppy Maybeline in the water!
Life is but a bowl of dog food.
Oh yeah, there were cocktails too! Served up on the new bar.
Dark and Stormy
Gin and Tonic
Colt’s Neck
Of course, more dogs in the ocean. Which sometimes means the baby has to be dried off.
One of my very favorite views. We will, of course, be back. Two visits slated for the Fall.
June 17, 2023
animals, dogs, ocean beach, dog, dogs, maybelline, moonshine, ocean, romey, the stick Leave a comment
The Stick with two dogs! Including the new puppy Maybeline and Moonshine (who has already been to the beach this year).
Digging in the morning!
The sand and the ocean sans leash.
May 25, 2023
art, music, ocean charles, charles arthur, dogs, gem, music, ocean isle beach, original music, recording, rhine, studio, the stick, where's aubrey, wilmington Leave a comment
All work and no music makes gem a dull boy. So we fixed that. Music refactoring at the Stick followed by recording in Wilmington. Here are some highlights.
Where’s Aubrey was joined by the incredible Charles Arthur in the studio.
And yes, we started at the Stick (on Ocean Isle Beach) where we practiced. Our schedule was tight, and sleep is for the weak. But first things first. Since Rhine flew into ILM, we set up an impromptu rendezvous with Adrian and Julie. Dinner was excellent, and Moonshine made a fast friend of Ralph.
We ended up at the Symphony with those fine people come Saturday.
Practice on the porch.
Industry sour with the last bottle of Green Chartreuse in NC.
Moonshine got in some fine music time.
The Wilmington Symphony played Shostakovich 5.
Moonshine, meanwhile, destroyed the screen door.
Turns out I found a musical sibling (same teacher, Linda Case, as Suzuki kids).
The bassist from NY. Hella talent.
NC sippy cups for the concert. LOL.
The after party was a blast. But then it was time for even more work.
Each night before a recording session we crammed on the music.
There was also some beach time. Moonshine was a hit at doggie day care.
Studio day one.
Hope in time for sunset and breakfast for dinner.
More cramming. And more studio time.
Followed by more beach and more cramming. We were very efficient, but the work was intense.
Studio day three (the last).
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And then it was time to get into the Liberals.
All in all a great experience. We bonded as musicians and friends.
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October 29, 2021
animals, dogs, ocean beach, home improvement, mr skaggs, ocean isle beach, OIB, photography, romey, the stick Leave a comment
Sunset and Moonshine (by Romey)
Who knew that installing a new washer/dryer combo thing could be so fun? That’s the nature of the Stick, I suppose. Now that I properly own it again, the time has come to spruce it up (a constant battle in the elements provided by the nearby Atlantic). We also fixed the ridiculously installed electricity, added some lights in the kitchen and over the bar, and installed a beautiful shelf in the bathroom.
Special thanks to Mr Skaggs for the help, as always above and beyond the call of duty. Anyway, here’s how all that unfolded over two visits
Moonshine and Rosie demonstrate how it feels to arrive at the Stick.
Mike learned about pickapeppa on cream cheese. A serious YUM.
The ocean is great when you are under one
Look at that professional grade piping!
The new shelf
Kitchen lighting. Now there is no excuse for not properly cleaning the kitchen.
The bar lights
Claudio and his family are going to do some major work next year. But first they need to see what they are getting into.
A second trip down with the Shepardsons and Romey was required to install the W/D (on order for several weeks).
Installing this thing required taking the entire closet apart, cleaning out 25 year worth of dryer lint, and putting it all back together (without improving the design one tad…LOL). Gotta say that drying sheets and towels is a thing.
How you feel after several days of partying at the Stick
Moonshine demonstrates what it feels like to leave the Stick.
February 15, 2020
art, mixology, nature, ocean, who knows alexandria, american visionary art musem, aquarion, baltimore, bell ringing, boots, catoctin creek, gigantic champagne, greta, homeslyce pizza, jellyfish, last word, majestic, maryland proton treatment center, old town, parking angel, proton tuesday, radioactive valentines, spool, spoolia, the national aquarium Leave a comment
As usual, it started with zapping
But it was a special day! The last day of treatment! Which means bell ringing time. Pizza was devoured. Bells were rung.
Feels good to be done.
A happy spool
There was little time left for Baltimore’s museum collection. We headed directly to the American Visionary Art Museum.
AVAM
Das boots (slightly radioactive)
After purchasing some items, many of which were plastic, we headed to the aquarium, driving like lost tourists.
The parking angel (really does something indescribably to the Audi)
The National Aquarium was mobbed on a Valentines Day night.
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And then it was back down to Old Town for a very late dinner indeed at the Majestic. Super fun at the bar (happy Catoctin Creek day!), and a delicious dinner.
A VERY VERY LARGE BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE. VERY LARGE.
The bar at the Majestic
Scallops. If you can’t watch them in an aquarium, by all means eat them.
Last word
I will dearly miss Proton Tuesdays (and Radioactive Valentines), but I hope they never happen again.
February 2, 2020
animals, nature, ocean, photography, travel maritime museum, photography, sea life sydney aquarium, squarium, sydney, video 1 Comment
The aquarium was a first. So was the maritime museum. Visit both.
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March 18, 2019
hiking, nature, ocean, photography, trees california, california coast, David Joseph State Park, hiking, nature, pacific ocean, photography, Russian River, shell beach, sonoma, travel, video 1 Comment
On a beautiful Spring day (one of the first for months) we went to the edge of the continent with Uncle Jim and Chloe. Just south of the Russian river is Shell Beach and across Highway 1 from that is a nice set of trails traversing the coastal hills.
All told, we may have hiked 3.5 or 4 miles.
From the Pacific
Vernal mud on the trail
Spring mushrooms were everywhere (irises too)
To the fern forest
Then it was back down to the ocean.
