And, We're Back!

North Carolina was wonderful. Though we had more rain than usual, the family still managed to have a nice time. We went to the beach, ate some great food, and finally took the ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island, where we walked around the village area. We stopped by the Ocracoke Preservation Museum, checked out the British Cemetery, enjoyed ice cream at The Slushy Stand, and visited the Books to Be Red bookstore. If you're on the island, you really need to check out this neat bookstore. It's much larger than it looks from the outside and has a slew of interesting titles and gift items, as it shares space with Deepwater Pottery.

I picked up a journal for each of the girls and treated myself to Portsmouth Divided: Portsmouth Island and the Civil War by James E. White, III. This is just one of a series of books the author has written about Portsmouth.

We had never been to Ocracoke in all the years we've vacationed on the Outer Banks, so this was a nice day trip. Next time we go, we'll rent a golf cart to travel around. The island isn't very large and it's much more peaceful than Kill Devil Hills, where we stay on the mainland. I would love to visit one time with just the hubby and take the boat out to Portsmouth.

In addition to this day trip, we visited Manteo a few times. The first was to take in the fireworks on July 4th, but toward the end of our first week we stopped at the Island Gallery Christmas Shop, which is probably my favorite place on the Outer Banks. I usually buy myself a new Christmas ornament, but this year books were on my mind. At a 60% discount I picked up a copy of Tom Wolfe: A Writer's Life edited by Ted Mitchell. I recently heard of this book, even though it was released in 1999. It was a recommendation, so I figured I would check it out. The editor is an authority on Tom Wolfe.

As for books from my TBR Pile, I reviewed Anasazi Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke here on July 1st. I also started The Queen's Vow by C. W. Gortner, and I am almost done with Strong Rain Falling by Jon Land.