Penguin Plunge opens at 9 a.m. May 12! Penguins waddle into the spotlight May 12 at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. A 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting officially opens the visiting Penguin Plunge exhibit. Special guests expected include Splash, the Aquarium’s penguin mascot, and Big Splash, a 30-foot inflatable penguin. Black and white is [...]
Nautical News
I thought it might be ‘fun’ to address how and when taxes began. The first documented system of taxation began 6,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Livestock, boats, and a ‘burden’ tax were required to be paid. A burden tax was imposed on every man and had to be paid in the form of labor or [...]
The Top Five Children’s Books of All Time… (according to Scholastic Parent and Child) Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White) Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown) A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle) The Snowy Day (Ezra Jacks Keats) Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak) The Top Five-Selling Books of All Time… (according to Wikipedia and since sales [...]
Into food and wine? Then you need to make plans to attend this fun event. The Eighth Annual Beaufort Wine & Food Weekend will be held April 25 – 29 in Beaufort, North Carolina. There are lots of special events to choose from, but a few are already sold out. Ticket cost depends on the event, ranging [...]
Pottermore Shop Opens (www.pottermore.com) As of Tuesday, March 27, all seven Harry Potter novels are now available in electronic form via the Pottermore shop, the exclusive retailer for Harry Potter e-books and digital audio books. A component of the long-delayed Pottermore site, the shop is initially selling U.S. and U.K. English editions, with French, Italian, [...]
The Azalea Festival held on April 11 – 15 in Wilmington is the oldest and largest festival in the Old North State. This year marks the 65th year that it has been held and promises to be one of its best years. The event kicks off on Wednesday morning with the arrival of Queen Azalea, [...]
Some of you may be aware that the wreck of a Spanish galleon was recently found, along with a pile of treasure. ALOT OF TREASURE. We’re talking about 594,000 gold and silver coins and other artifacts. They were found and excavated by Marine Exploration. The 200-year-old shipwreck, Nuestra Senora de los Mercedes, was discovered off [...]
UPDATE! A few days ago I wrote a post about a new NPS regulation requiring permits for all ORVs to access OB beaches (see below). Soon thereafter, The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance filed a lawsuit against the new regulation. The NPS says it was done to protect turtles, shore birds, and other wildlife. The [...]
As evidence that the crackdown on piracy has been successful, Somali pirates have resorted to a new form of piracy. They are now going ashore and kidnapping anyone they feel they can extract a ransom on, such as businessmen, doctors, journalists, missionaries, and aid workers. Last fall, pirates kidnapped a female American aid worker and a male Danish aid worker. A [...]
For those not able to set sail to warmer climates, here are some delicious drink recipes guaranteed to take the chill off on a cold winter’s night (especially the rum recipe!): Homemade Hot Chocolate (enough for family) 2 cups whipping cream 6 cups milk 1 tsp vanilla small pkg chocolate chips (milk or dark chocolate) Stir [...]
