A Day at Back Bay

Another day of discovery as we ventured out to explore another part of Virginia.

I have been told by many, that I would like the outer banks.  Most of them are refering to North Carolina, however, since we had only the afternoon, we decided to look at the outer banks of Virginia Beach.  The outer banks are a 200 mile string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina and a small portion of Virginia.  They actually begin at the southeast corner of Virginia Beach and spread southward.

 A day outing.  Most surprising for me, initially, was the fact that on October 9th, we had a clear, sunny day and as we left on our journey, it was 80 degrees.  Fabulous.

We drove to the south eastern shore and traveled Sandbridge, Sand Piper and Sand Fiddler Roads…huge dunes protecting coastal homes on a narrow stretch of land.   

Sandbridge Beach is 5 miles of beautiful sandy public beach. 

We traveled south until the drive ended  at Back Bay.   

Situated along the coastline at the southend of Sandbridge, the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge contains about 7,700 acres of beach, dunes, woodland and marsh.

An additional 4,600 acres of the bay’s shallow waters surrounding the refuge’s marshy islands have been designated by Presidential Proclamation in 1938, as an area for the protection of migrating birds. 

      

When I say wildlife refuge, I mean it in every sense of the word.  Regulations include no pets, no swimming, sunbathing, or surfing.  Hikers and bikers must stay on dedicated trails.  It is truly a place to observe nature. 

We did not see a lot of wildlife, however, after additional study, I have determined that we will take the grandgirls for a visit there in January.  At that time approximately 10,000 snow geese and a large variety of duck take refuge during the peak migration season.

As an aside, there is also a Charles Kuralt Trail.

 

Charles Kuralt Trail, Back Bay NWR, Virginia Beach

Charles Kuralt (September 10, 1934 – July 4, 1997) was an American journalist. He was most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his “On the Road” segments on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and later as the first anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning, a position he held for fifteen years.   Kuralt hit the road in a motor home (he wore out six before he was through) with a small crew and avoided the interstates in favor of the nation’s back roads in search of America’s people and their doings. He said, “Interstate highways allow you to drive coast to coast, without seeing anything.  (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kuralt)

‎I happen to have been a huge fan of Charles Kuralt over the years.  I loved his down home style and how interesting he would make of what seemed to be the most mundane things.   The Charles Kuralt Trail has been established to help people enjoy these wildlands and to recognize the broadcast journalist who shared the delights and wonders of out-of-the-way places like these. 

 

I can remember so many segments of his broadcasts that simply focused on the landscape and natural habitat.  No narrative..simply the sound of the nature that we viewed.  Impactful.

 

Life is a transition.  Embrace it.

 …

 

 

Beach grass, sea grass,

Granmas

When a child is born–so is a Grandmother.  It is not something I aspired to be. (aspired will be our word of the week). 

When I was a little girl, I had 2 Grandmothers.  My mother’s mother, Clara Arras was German, and she would speak German to my Grandfather, so that we couldn’t understand what she was saying (especially when she was frustrated by our activities).  She lived in a big gray house, with a huge garden in the back and a grand porch in the front.   She was not a warm, cuddly, Grandmother, but she was a wonderful cook–she made the best noodles and pies in the world.  She would take me and my cousin, Cynthia, shopping at Woolworth’s and get us lunch–I would always get the hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potaoes and gravy and  a Tin Roof Sundae (vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, peanuts, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.)  I would stay at her house with my cousin, and we would have all kinds of adventures from a very young age until we were teenagers.  My cousin and I would eat together at a card table in front of the TV in the “front room”.  The only draw back was that we had to watch Laurence Welk (thank goodness for the Lennon Sisters–who we adored). 

We would make koolade in a big pitcher–my favorite was lemon/lime.  In the summers we had fresh picked corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes, and cucumbers with vinegar and onions–straight out of the garden.  Christmas at her house was a HUGE event, with all of the family eating and opening mountains of presents.  The granddaughters always received a “spectacular” dress from Aunt Maggie.  I remember when we would go to visit  her–we would go upstairs to bed and my Mother would sit downstairs with Grandma side by side in big rocking chairs and talk for hours.  I have no idea the things that they would talk about, but I remember thinking at the time how different the two of them were–and  wondered why they would have so many things to talk about late at night.

My other Grandmother was Granma.  Granma Benny, Bernice Benington, was my father’s mother and I think she was my soul mate. I was her first grandchild, and my cousins on this side of the family were younger than I, and seldom stayed with Granma when I was there—so I had her all to myself.   Her house wasn’t as big and as nice as my other grandmother, but she had a front porch with a big porch swing–we would sit out there for hours and talk about everything.  Frequently the noise of a train would interrupt our conversation–the tracks were just a block away.  I didn’t get to stay with her as often as I did with Grandma Arras, because she worked, and it was difficult for her to keep me and be at her job.  She had a rocking chair in her dining room at the side window of the room that looked out at the alley and down the busy street.  I remember so many times sitting with her in that chair and watching for people to arrive for family events.  When I went to bed at her house, I would get to sleep with her.  She would tell me stories and scratch my back.  She had a huge drawer in the bottom of her dresser filled with fabric scraps, old jewelry, feathers, flowers and dress-up clothes and shoes.  I would play “dress up” for hours.  I was everything I wanted to be upstairs in her bedroom. 

I would like to tell you many more stories about my Grandparents, and my Parents in the letters to come.  I would like to tell you about growing up and all of my memories.  I would like to tell you stories of your Daddy and your Auntie Amy growing up as well.  I want to share with you my hopes and dreams, my fears and failings, all of the things that make me who I am.  I want to share things with you that will help you grow up and help you better understand who you are and where you came from.  I want to share with you little wisdoms…so it is with the greatest excitement that I begin to send you “Letters from Granma”.  I aspire to be the very best Granma that I can be!