16 August 2009
You Cannot See September from Here
21/08/09 21:26
The first year we lived in Nova Scotia, we got over a foot of snow in the middle of September. The power was out for a week. Some recent visitors to the island from Montana have told me that they are already seeing temperatures in the high thirties at night.
Last week when I was in the Virginia mountains, I even saw a few leaves changing. In most places September does mean much cooler evenings and a return to normal day time temperatures.
Here on the Crystal Coast our average low temperature at night changes very little during September. Even our daytime highs only start to moderate after the middle of September. Weather is challenging to predict as anyone who has seen this year unfold, but those are the long term trends here on the coast.
September on the Crystal Coast, when it comes to weather, is pretty much a continuation of August. As we walk the beaches there is little thought of cooler weather until we can see October.
Our weather is one of the neat things about living here on the Crystal Coast. Cateret County is over one half water, and those large bodies of water tend to keep our temperatures from changing very rapidly., In the spring we often will go through much of June without serious hot weather because the waters around us have not warmed.
In the fall the warm ocean waters keep us from feeling any chill until well into the fall. I personally like our warmth. After years in Canada, it feels pretty good to wear shorts until December.
As the summer winds down, August is one of the last months where we enjoy a wide selection of local produce, but that is pretty much the case in much of North Carolina. My good friend, Sally, who lives in Massachusetts, has seen a tomato-less summer. It is just the opposite for us. My wife will hardly eat a homegrown tomato because she has seen so many on her plate this year. I might even have to secretly plant my fall tomato crop. When we lived in Canada, September was probably one of the biggest garden months.
One might think that we would see a big September drop in visitors. Fortunately the drop we see is not something for concern. We have this whole set of visitors who have just been patiently waiting for September before they come to the beach. We get a lot of parents whose children are still too young for school. Then we see some older travelers who just like to avoid peak seasons. Sometimes they are on the way to Florida. Finally fall brings us our fishermen who wait all year for this magical time.
It is really very relaxing to have an extra month to transition into fall. It gives us more time to think about the important things in life such as which is the best shelling beach or which restaurant serves the best grouper sandwich.
It is a little easier to get into local restaurants during September, and the grocery stores are no longer out of bounds on the weekend, but from where I sit, September just looks a lot like August with younger kids to me .
I am pretty sure my feet will not be able to tell the difference in water temperature along the shore as September arrives. I am counting on blue skies and fluffy clouds for months to come. There might not be any as interesting as the one I saw this morning, but we will have some wonderful summer days in September before we see October on the horizon.
It is All About the Water
18/08/09 21:34
There is something universal that draws us to the water. I have been attracted to water for as long as I can remember. I know the symptoms well. In my case, I need to see the water soon after I get up each morning.
For me that means a walk out on the dock behind my house or walking across the street to the Bluewater Cove boardwalk which traces the edge of Raymond's Gut as it flows into the White Oak River.
That first look at the water each morning certainly does not cure me for the day, it normally just starts me thinking about how I can get on or in the water sometime during the day.
Occasionally I have to make to do with no more than a trip across the bridge to Emerald Isle. Other times I am lucky and can take the boat or kayak out in the river or over to the Inlet.
Sometimes I manage to go surf fishing, and then there are those late night swims which I enjoy so much. The water is one of the reasons we came to Carteret County.
Figuring out how to get close to it is often the challenge aspiring residents face first.
When someone says that they want to be on or near the water, the natural response from someone in Carteret County is to say, "You have to be more specific than that, there is a lot of different kinds of water in this county."
That turns out to be the honest truth. We have kayak water, skiff water, big boat water, and of course we have modifiers like ocean, sound, and river. Then just for fun we can add marsh, Intracoastal, and canal.
Prices for waterfront property have come down considerably in the last few years, but it is still challenging to find inexpensive waterfront property that has access to good water and is suitable for homes.
One of the ways that many of us have solved the problem of being on or near the water is by finding a home in a water access community. Homes in water access communities often have deeded access to the water and enjoy a common area on the water. Some communities like Bluewater Cove have pools, docks, and boat ramps.
I have learned that having a number of people use an access point to a river is actually a good thing. Having more boats travel out an channel like Raymond's Gut at Bluewater Cove means that it has to be dredged less often. So it is often with a sense of duty that I drop my skiff into the water and ride out into the White Oak River just to help keep our channel clean.
There are a number of water access communities across Carteret County. Over on Emerald Isle we actually have beach access communities. There the communities often share beach access and other amenities like a pool. There are also communities on the sound which offer access to water.
While those of us who work in the western end of the county know this end of the county very well, Bluewater GMAC has offices in Beaufort and also Atlantic Beach. Those offices know the eastern end of Carteret County just as well as the Emerald Isle and Cape Carteret offices know the western part of the county.
As people once again start to look at real estate with an eye towards retirement or finding a second home, you will find Bluewater agents experts in getting you as close to the water as possible.
You might end up living in a Bluewater designed community like Bluewater Cove where my wife and I enjoy the water almost every day of the year. Even on day like today when the skies opened up in the afternoon, we still enjoy being on the water's edge.
There were a number of reasons why we chose Bluewater Cove, but the most important one was being near the water. As I said it is still all about the water.
Sound, Ocean, or River
16/08/09 21:29
Still it is a big decision as to what water meets your needs. One of the first divisions that pops up is between beach and boat people. While it is easy to love both, usually in the end, one or the other has to give. Usually the only way to have a boat at your home if your home is on the beach is to park it in the driveway.
Our big waters, the ocean, sound, and rivers each have their advantages. It often depends on your personality as to where you will be the happiest. Of course your wallet often has something to say about the location that best fits your budget.
Just about everyone knows that our beachfront property is the most expensive in the area, but that is sometimes tempered by the fact that it also provides the strongest stream of revenue if you are planning on renting your home part of the time.
The oceanfront property also is the highest maintenance property that we have since they are usually the most exposed to weather and especially the winds.
Normally the beach homes you find are a somewhat smaller house if you consider the same amount of dollars will buy more home on the mainland.
When we were weighing whether to live on the beach or not, we found homes that were sixty to seventy percent larger on the mainland which cost the same as beach homes back several rows from the water.
Still there is nothing like being able to walk out your door and be on the beach. It is a rare privilege, and one that many have figured out how to afford.
The next most expensive water property would be sound front property which is divided in sound front on the island and sound front on the mainland. Being on the sound is very desirable especially if you are just a few minutes to Bogue Inlet.
While it might appear that being on the sound poses less danger, it is still possible to get substantial flooding along the sound. The water in the sound is often the same color as the ocean and usually has a nice sandy bottom. Many people have modified their docks along to the sound so that the flooring can be dumped into the water before a storm. Without flooring, docks can much more easily survive the flooding that might come with a storm.
The least expensive water to own is on a river. Just as the North River is a popular spot over by Beaufort, the White Oak River has a number of communities not far from Emerald Isle.
My wife and I actually live on the White Oak River in Bluewater Cove. We chose the community because it was designed as a boating community with great access to the Intracoastal Waterway. While we have to drive ten minutes to get to a beach, I can have my boat in the water in less than five minutes. Ten minutes later, I am exiting the White Oak River and turning into the Intracoastal Waterway.
With being on the river, we got a little more protection from storms and still found a community close to the beach. While the White Oak is a blackwater river with a bottom that is either silt or oyster shells. It is very clear and clean since there is no city dumping pollution into it. By living on the White Oak, we also have the choice of boating on the river when the sound and Intracoastal are crowded during the summer. Few tourists will venture up the White Oak since it requires following a marked channel.
Finding the right spot on the Crystal Coast is all about trade offs. Once you have seen a few properties, you will know whether the beach, sound, or river make the most sense for you.