OUTER BANKS MILEPOST: ISSUE 12.4

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Issue 12.4

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FORGET THE POLAR BEARS. outthere Never mind the three-toed sloths and staghorn corals.

And screw those piping plovers! (Though not necessarily for the reason you might think.) This issue’s not about any of the critters clinging to melting poles, parboiling on Pacific atolls or fleeing deforested mountain tops as they fight to see the end of this century. (A whopping 1/3 of all animals will die off, we’re told.)

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This issue — both the magazine, and the whole climate change debacle — is how global warming is hurting human beings right this second. Impacting our neighborhoods.

Threatening our livelihoods. Damaging our very psyches.

(See the marquee above.)

And don’t tell me you ain’t felt it yet — because you have.

This June, air quality warnings told Outer Bankers to stay indoors — all because of Canadian wildfires burning 2000 miles away. In July, two beloved locals died from an invisible water virus — with no warning at all. Not to mention the usual series of “rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones” that ain’t made landfall in years but have still walloped our bank accounts. (Seen your latest insurance bill?)

And rather than being isolated, these incidents are part of a larger pattern that’s bound to repeat. After all, you don’t set record temperatures nine years in a row by accident. And when once-a-century turns into every day, the abnormal

quickly becomes normal. Only, what that new normal is nobody can say. Because, while it’s clear our addiction to fossil fuels is changing the planet in strange ways, nobody’s 100 percent sure of how it will all play out. And, according to scientists, it’s precisely that unpredictability that’s among the greatest threats to mankind.

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As NOAA’s Marlos Goes told us when we talked to him for Page 6’s tipping points story, “Our world is founded on a climate that we can predict. We had a fair climate for thousands of years that allowed us to start agriculture and build cities in certain locations.

We did it believing that, in hundreds of years, this town would still be here, or we can keep growing food there. But it’s not that way anymore. And these changes are coming too fast for a society or its economy to adapt.”

“WE HAD A FAIR CLIMATE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS… NOT ANYMORE.”

It’s already happening. Last summer, heatwaves in China shut down car factories. This fall, record flooding from a single storm stopped half of New York City’s subways from running. And if you think Wall Street hates supply chain issues, wait till you see what a sinking Manhattan does to your IRA.

Of course, by that point, retiring to Florida will be the least of our worries — assuming there’s even a Florida left to retire to. We’ll all probably be scrambling to stay alive as the world crumbles around us, pitch forks in one hand, torches in the other, shouting about why we didn’t take action all those decades ago when we still had the chance, instead of squandering precious seconds arguing whether avoiding extinction was worth the expense.

Ironically: you know who did act in plenty of time? The fossil fuel industry. They knew 50 years ago that their pollutants were jacking the planet. And instead of sounding the alarm and reversing course, they spent billions on upgrading their infrastructure to adapt to the future disruptions — while simultaneously funding a PR campaign that said climate change wasn’t real. Because from day one, they’ve seen this issue through a single lens: “What’s in it for us? How can we survive? Forget everyone — and everything — else.

And that same selfish instinct should be driving every personal choice and policy decision moving forward: making sure humans don’t wipe ourselves out. Because we’re not just the only species that caused this crisis — we’re the only species that can do something about it.

Until we can’t. — Matt Walker

Thank you for reading Outer Banks Milepost. We hope you enjoy it. If not — before chucking this issue into the nearest dumpster — please consider one of the following equally satisfying ways of expressing your disgust: cut out some paper animals and set them on fire — then fold a few pages into a powerless “green” hand fan for the next 110-degree heatwave. Or just toss it on that six-month stack of newspapers you’ve yet to recycle. (Trust us, you’ll feel better.) Then, send any and all feedback — positive, negative or just plain confused — to: editor@outerbanksmilepost.com. We promise to find some way to re-purpose them. milepost 3

“There’s a dragon with matches that’s loose on the town.” — Robert Hunter “Tell me can you feel it?...” — Glenn Frye Issue 12.4 Winter 2023-24 Cover: Sizzle sticks.

Photo: C. White

Reader You Brushes & Ink Carnell Boyle, John Butler, George Cheeseman, Marcia Cline, Carolina Coto, Kim Cowen, Cloey Davis, Michael J. Davis, Fay Davis Edwards, Mary Edwards, Laine Edwards, Marc Felton, Travis Fowler, Adriana Gomez-Nichols, Amelia Kasten, Chris Kemp, Nathan Lawrenson, Dave Lekens, Tim Lusk, Elisa McVearry, Ben Miller, Dawn Moraga, Ben Morris, Holly Nettles, Stella Nettles, Rick Nilson, Barbara Noel, Holly Overton, Stuart Parks II, James Perry, Charlotte Quinn, Willow Rea, Meg Rubino, Shirley Ruff, Noah Snyder, Rob Snyder, Janet Stapelman, Alyse Stewart, Kenneth Templeton, Stephen Templeton, Shane Thomas, George Tsonev, CW, Christina Weisner, Chris Wheeler, John Wilson, Mark Wiseman, Bri Young, Mike Zafra Lensfolk Nate Appel, Matt Artz, Nathan Beane, Chris Bickford, Russell Blackwood, Mike Booher, Don Bower, Aycock Brown, Mark Buckler, Jon Carter, Garnette Coleman, Rich Coleman, Marc Corbett, Kim Cowen, Chris Creighton, Mere Crockett, Benny Crum, Jason Denson, Amy Dixon, Susan Dotterer Dixon, Lori Douglas, Julie Dreelin, Tom Dugan/ESM, Roy Edlund, Bryan Elkus, Ben Gallop, Cory Godwin, Treveon Govan, Chris Hannant, Katie Harms, Bryan Harvey, David Alan Harvey, Ginger Harvey, Bob Hovey, Biff Jennings, Jenni Koontz, Daryl Law, Mike Leech, Anthony Leone, Jeff Lewis, Jared Lloyd, Matt Lusk, Ray Matthews, Brooke Mayo, Mickey McCarthy, Nic McLean, Roger Meekins, D. Victor Meekins, Richard L. Miller, Dick Meseroll/ESM, Ashley Milteer, David Molnar, Rachel Moser, Ryan Moser, Elizabeth Neal, Rob Nelson, Candace Owens, Anne Snape Parsons, Crystal Polston, Daniel Pullen, Cal Ramsey, Ryan Rhodes, Terry Rowell, Cyndi Goetcheus Sarfan, Katie Slater, Tom Sloate, Wes Snyder, Aimee Thibodeau, David Thomas, Ed Tupper, Eve Turek, Chris Updegrave, Dan Waters, Kati Wilkins, Cyrus Welch, Jay Wickens, Cody Wright

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Penfolk Ashley Bahen, Madeline Bailey, Sarah Downing, Ty Evans, Laura Gomez-Nichols, Jim Gould, Steve Hanf, Dave Holton, Sarah Hyde, Catherine Kozak, Katrina Leuzinger Owens, Dan Lewis, Michelle Lewis, Terri Mackleberry, Fran Marler, Amanda McDanel, Matt Pruett, Mary Ellen Riddle, Peter Graves Roberts, Arabella Saunders, Corinne Saunders, Sandy Semans, Shannon Sutton, Kip Tabb, Kathleen Wasniewski, Hannah West, Clumpy White, Sharon Whitehurst, Natalie Wolfe, Michele Young-Stone Pointing/Clicking Jesse Davis Sales Force Laurin Walker Big Mouth In Chief Matt Walker Blame It All On Suite P Inc. PO Box 7100 • KDH, NC 27948 Office: 252-441-6203 • Sales: 949-275-5115 editor@outerbanksmilepost.com • sales@outerbanksmilepost.com

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Outer Banks Milepost is published quarterly (sorterly) by Suite P Inc. All contents are the property of Suite P Inc. and do not reflect the opinion of advertisers or distributors. Nor do their contents reflect that of the creative types (who would never, ever sell out). Comments, letters and submissions are usually welcome. Please include SASE for return delivery of all snail mail, however, Milepost and Suite P Inc. still aren’t responsible for any unsolicited materials. And don’t expect much else to move much faster than IST (Island Standard Time).

Oh yeah: if you reprint a lick of this content you’re ripping us off. (Shame on you.) To discuss editorial ideas, find out about advertising or tell us we blew it – or just find out what the waves are doing – call 252-441-6203 or email: editor@outerbanksmilepost.com; sales@outerbanksmilepost.com. www.outerbanksmilepost.com

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“Listen to Arachne’s Voice” 26” x 15”

By Holly Overton www.hollyoverton.com @hollyo__ “I’m not a spider nerd any more than I’m a flower nerd. I just like to quietly observe nature’s little behaviors — which I think I got from growing up on the Outer Banks. But I actually added a spider to this particular painting because I was reading Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which is a collection of ancient Greek myths. It tells the story of Arachne. She’s a weaver who makes the most beautiful designs. When Athena gets jealous, they have a sort of weave-off. After Arachne wins, Athena turns her into a spider. But Arachne’s tapestry also depicted all these famous stories of various gods raping these nymphs — which is most of the book, really. So, I feel like I was listening to Arachne’s voice when I was painting it, because you can see the rain droplets as tears — or sparkling gems. And, also because, apparently after the female of this species mates with the male, she kills him.” — Holly Overton

03 StartingPoint Screw the planet, save yourselves.

06 UpFront Critical currents, cryptic images, and crazy architecture.

18 GetActive Pinching pennies for the planet.

21 I nto the Wild Three local experts devote their bios to biomes.

28 GraphicContent Boys in the hoodies.

30 T he Heat IS On There’s no denying these current climate change crises.

40 GoChill Ice, ice, baby.

42 FoodDrink Your tongue is toast.

44 ArtisticLicense Flat-top phoenixes.

46 SoundCheck Story of the ghost pepper?

49 OutThere Great balls of fire!

50 EndNotes Feel the glow of winter’s festivities. milepost 5

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OCEAN ON THE EDGE? soundcheck

Add this North Atlantic current to a long list of getactive climate change “tipping points.”

Melting ice sheets. Blazing Amazon rainforests. Bleaching coral reefs. By now, most people are familiar with these images as potential climate change “‘tipping points” — ongoing climatic disasters that, if intensified beyond a certain level of severity, will threaten the whole planet. At that stage, these catastrophes are basically irreversible, setting off a chain reaction of negative impacts that are virtually impossible to predict. (They also go by other pleasant nicknames like “doomsday scenarios” and “points of no return.”)

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For decades, “the powers that be” figured great natural wonders like the West Antarctic ice sheet, the Amazon, or the Great Barrier Reef were too big to fail.

But in recent years, a growing number of experts have begun arguing that’s not necessarily the case.

This summer, the public learned that another less visible but equally vital planet-spanning process may be in even more immediate danger: the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation — aka the “AMOC.” According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this essential current is part of a “global conveyor belt…that circulates cool subsurface water and warm surface water throughout the world.” It also “carries nutrients necessary to sustain ocean life.”

For the past few decades, scientists have been monitoring the AMOC’s movements, predicting an outside chance of it failing sometime after 2100. Then, this July, Nature printed findings by two Danish scientists who estimated “a collapse of the AMOC to occur around mid-century under the current scenario of future emissions.” And that “a transition of the AMOC is most likely to occur around 2025-2095.”

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As one alarming Nature article from 2019 begins, “Politicians, economists and even some natural scientists have tended to assume tipping points…are of low probability and little understood. Yet evidence is mounting that these events could be more likely than was thought, have high impacts and are interconnected across different biophysical systems, potentially committing the world to longterm irreversible changes.”

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So what’s the big deal? Well, ask yourself this: in the midst of a record heat wave, how would you feel if your AC broke?

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“That’s a good analogy,” says Marlos Goes, oceanographer at the University of Miami and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. “The AMOC acts as kind of a thermostat. In fact, the early models of the AMOC used analogies

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with heat engines such as an air conditioner.

Because, in an AC, the cooler air is heavier than the warm air, and the cooler air tends to go down. In the AMOC, we have this water going northward at the surface, cooling and becoming saltier as it flows towards the Arctic, where it sinks and then

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returns at depths of like 3000 meters or so to the south.”

The problem is that the ocean’s been getting hotter. And when you heat the ocean, it gets less dense — which slows down the current. Plus, the higher temperatures cause greater ice melt in the

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lungs, as it circulates nutrients around the oceans, while also helping them “breathe.”

“The AMOC is really important for carrying things like oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and everything else that the ocean absorbs,” Goes continues. “And parts of it go around South Africa and Antarctica, into the Indian Ocean and all the way to the Pacific. On its way to the Pacific, this water returns to the surface again, and then it starts the process again on the way back. That circulation also helps ventilate the bottom of the ocean, some of which takes almost 5000 years to ventilate.”

Needless to say, word that part of the planet’s pulmonary system might fail within the next 70 years set off alarm bells around the globe — at least in the media. In the scientific community, not so much.

As Goes explains, “This was one work with many caveats. Because of its many assumptions, and that the data itself is not perfect — especially before 1950. So, it has to be taken with a grain of salt.”

His take? “I think by the end of the century, we have something like a 20 to 30 percent decrease of the AMOC. And in the next century, there’s a chance of collapse.”

Arctic, which increases the amount of fresh water entering the ocean, decreasing both salinity and density and slowing down the current even more — all of which serves to expedite the AMOC’s demise.

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But the AMOC isn’t just the North Atlantic’s AC. It also serves as the ocean’s heart and

But that’s still no reason to breathe easy, because even a slowing AMOC is bad news. Not just because it means removing less carbon from the atmosphere and melting even more Arctic ice — both of which only speed up global warming — but it creates a range of other problems, especially for those of us close to the

Gulf Stream, where the implications can influence both coastal flooding and the food chain.

“From 20 percent to one half of the Gulf Stream is driven by the AMOC; the other half is winds in the North Atlantic,” Goes explains. “And as this strong current goes northward, you have lower sea level close to the coast. So, as it slows down, you will have an increase of the sea level in the coastal part. Also, as the Gulf Stream meanders and moves, these deep, nutrientrich, cold waters rise to the surface. And my colleagues in fisheries say certain species are very dependent on this upwelling.”

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“PROBABLY HALF OF THE GULF STREAM IS DRIVEN BY THE AMOC.”

Goes says other negative impacts include more precipitation and changes in storm tracks. And if it totally fails?

“The northern hemisphere will cool [and] warming will happen in the tropics and southern hemisphere,” he says. “It will bring changes in precipitation patterns and more storminess. And those changes will not only influence the US, but the whole globe. One of the strongest effects on the weather will be the cooling and drying of Europe.”

It sounds counterintuitive: a hotter body of water in one hemisphere leads to a colder land mass in another? And…all against the backdrop of a warming planet?

This is exactly the problem with understanding climate change’s far-reaching effects. Each process is so individually complex and so interconnected, it’s hard to fully grasp how they’ll influence each other.

In fact, it’s often hard to untangle what is a climate change pattern and what’s just normal fluctuations from year to year — or even summer to winter.

“Climate trends are generally small compared to seasonal variability,” Goes explains. “Then we have year-to-year or decade-to-decade variability, so it can take several decades to get the climate signal of these trends.”

That explains why we keep seeing studies that constantly reset expectations — or even contradict each other.

But while it may be hard to totally predict all of climate change’s impacts, there’s no doubting one simple fact: the hotter the planet gets, the worse those impacts will be. Which is why the time to curtail greenhouse gasses is right now. Because, as Goes notes, by the time we fully understand just how close we are to these tipping points, it might be too late.

“These changes are going to go really fast,” he says. “And I think this is part of what this paper wanted to address. Other studies estimated that we need like 40-to-50 years to detect these changes because of this internal variability in the system. But the nature of a tipping point is that, once you cross it, it will collapse. And then there’s nothing you can do.” — Matt Walker

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THERE’S roadmap NO PLACE gokite LIKE DOME Perhaps it’s time to revive milepost this futuristic house design?

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Windproof? Sure. Oceanproof? Not so much. Elemental design flaw, circa 1980.

Photo: JF Scott/Outer Banks History Center

In 2005, Hurricane Rita plowed into Louisiana’s Pecan Island. Nearly all of the beach-side community’s houses were destroyed. But one only lost a couple of shingles. Not because it was built on bigger pilings — but because it was built from a better design: a geodesic dome.

Geodesic domes are spherical in shape and made up of interlaced triangles. (Think of Epcot Center at Disney World or a jungle gym at the playground.) According to The New York Times, geodesic domes are more hurricane-proof for two big reasons: “First, the domes are composed of many small triangles, which can carry more load than other shapes. Second, the shape of the dome channels wind around it, depriving it of a flat surface to exert force on.”

They’re also more energy efficient. As a result, The Times continues, “As weather grows more extreme, geodesic domes…are gaining new attention from more climate-

conscious home buyers…architects and builders.”

While geodesic domes may look and sound futuristic, their roots actually reach back 75 years.

In 1948, inventor, architect, and author Buckminster Fuller attended the Summer Institute at Black Mountain College, an experimental school in Western NC, where he, along with faculty and students, tried to build a large-scale geodesic dome.

Although small models were successfully assembled from venetian blind strips and fasteners, they were unable to build a more substantial version.

But he persisted. And, in 1954, Fuller’s design was finally patented.

By 1969, geodesic domes had found their way to South Nags Head, where Bob and Laura Benson had four prefab models pieced together for a summer home. The kits were lightweight and easy to transport.

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They arrived in the morning, and, by the end of the day, they were assembled on an oceanfront lot near Milepost 21.

Each 1,100-square-foot dome cost $2,600.

One was the couple’s living room. Another their bedroom. One was divided into guestrooms. And the fourth was Bob’s art studio. Each one measured 39 feet across and 16 feet high and was constructed of 60 triangles. (When Fuller tested rectangular structures vs. triangular, he discovered that triangles were twice as strong.)

For fun, the Bensons hung a sign on the gate at the entrance to the property: “Warning! U.S. Electrovisual Services. Do Not Enter” — making the modern structure appear more mysterious.

They were an interesting pair. Bob had played football at Duke with Redskins great Sonny Jurgenson. Laura grew up on Long Island, where she’d made friends with influential artists like Jasper Johns. Both had

a passion for offshore fishing and often chartered boats out of Oregon Inlet.

But fate was not kind to their geodesic dome house, which — for all its wind-proofing elements — was not prepared for a raging sea.

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“IT WAS AWESOME, LIKE LIVING IN A SPACESHIP.”

Between October 1977 and spring 1978, a series of powerful winter storms removed 50 feet of sand from the beach in front of the Bensons’ property. Two winters later, a fierce March nor’easter undermined the structures. As quickly as could be, the four domes were detached and moved across Old Oregon Inlet Road — one by one — until they were out of harm’s way.

After the move, they were sold at auction.

Nags Head artist Rick Tupper lived in one,

and his son Ed, a Nags Head musician, charter fisherman, and photographer, has fond recollections of growing up there.

“It was awesome, like living in a spaceship,” he says. “All the rooms were shaped differently.”

Ed also remembers riding out hurricanes and says the dome felt well-suited for the high winds.

“The roof was only a couple of inches thick.

It was like layers of plywood and foam insulation. It flexed with the wind and the house would just stay still.”

The Tupper dome was eventually razed to make way for something more modern.

Another of the Benson domes burned down a few years back. Today, one lone dome still stands in South Nags Head.

But the Bensons weren’t the only Outer Banks dome-buyers. Ronnie Price of Elizabeth City built a dome in Kill Devil

Hills. Another went up in Salvo in 1971 and still serves as a vacation rental.

In 2016, Todd and Jennifer Bivins of Suffolk, Virginia purchased a vintage dome perched on the shore of the Roanoke Sound. They affectionately refer to it as the “Round House” and Jenni says that “All of our children, some of their friends, and some family members have spent summers at the Round House.”

During the recent pandemic, it was a place of refuge, where the family “found comfort and solace here on the Outer Banks.” Jenni says it became — and remains — “The Dome Away from Home.”

— Sarah Downing Sources: “A Well-Rounded Way to Live,” Sports Illustrated, Aug. 11, 1969; “Geodesic Domes,” Buckminster Fuller Institute, www.bfi.org; “Storm Damaged Domes, Milepost 21, South Nags Head,” Advertisement in The Coastland Times, Nov. 20, 1980; “As Climate Shocks Multiply, Designers Seek Holy Grail: Disaster-Proof Homes,” The New York Times, July 16, 2023.

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upfront soundcheck getactive startingpoint roadmap gokite A cheering, jeering look at recent events and their potential milepost impacts.

SUCH A SWEET GESTURE What happens when two transplants fall in love with a small stretch of sound?

You get a little slice of heaven.

That’s the lesson out of Old Manns Harbor Bridge, where a relocated Virginia couple noticed an old kayak put-in was so littered it looked like “nothing but condoms and needles.”

So, they spent the past two years cleaning trash and planting flowers. They even added a sweet little bench. Today, anyone can enjoy “Pineapple Beach” without getting the least bit sticky.

WHAT THE FLOCK?!

Add feathered friends from Florida to our list of fall visitors, as 11 flamingos were spotted floating around Pea Island in Sept. According to experts, the tropical birds likely flew north to evade Hurricane

Same Bar But Tastefully Festive!

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Idalia. And while it was just one of several sightings along the Eastern Seaboard — and as far away as Tennessee and Ohio — this was the first anyone can recall seeing a flock in NC, which left local birdwatchers tickled pink.

THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR What’s got Avon residents screaming fire and brimstone? The potential sale of a historic church. Apparently, the building was built on community love — and free land — roughly a century back. But two years ago somebody gifted the property to the pastor in charge. This Sept., he listed it for sale — for a whopping $1.2 mil — which to many former parishioners and longtime locals sounds less like “What would Jesus do?” and more like “What’s in it for me?!”

WE KNOW THE DRILL With a decades-long history of weekly summertime demonstrations, nobody

does a tighter Beach Apparatus Drill than the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station.

(In fact, not many stations re-enact 19th century shipwreck rescues at all.) So, this fall, the U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association Conference invited them up to Maine to show off their skills with a Lyle Gun and breeches buoy. Needless to say, despite driving 700 miles with tons of gear — and facing new challenges, like a rockier shore, smaller practice area, and higher platform — they nailed their performance from stem to stern.

A-HOLES ANONYMOUS Talk about a stinky development! In the wake of KDH, Nags Head and Manteo thwarting various workforce housing proposals — after the state appropriated $35 million in federal funding for that expressed purpose — Raleigh’s new budget included a provision that bans Dare County and its municipalities from regulating affordable housing. (No limits on

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lot coverage; no height restrictions; and no public hearings.) Of course, no elected officials would cop to helping craft the language, but news reports pretty quickly sniffed out a draft version of the bill with Rep. Keith Kidwell’s name on it. Add the fact that the federal funding is controlled

by Coastal Properties Inc. — whose partners donated thousands to Kidwell’s campaign last year — and the evidence quickly piles up over who crapped out this foul piece of legislation.

GOOD TO-GO Dollar menus and Happy Meals don’t make for the best of dietary choices. But they’re often all struggling households can afford. Luckily, this fall, the Food Bank of the Albemarle started putting mobile food pantries at the Outer Banks Family YMCA (fourth Wed. of each month; 10am-12pm) and the Community Care Clinic of Dare (first and third Mon.,1:302:30pm.) Each will allow an estimated

75-100 food insecure families drive away with healthier groceries to fill their stomachs — and a little hope to fill their hearts.

LANDMARK ACHIEVEMENT Pea Island. Cedar Island. Currituck.

Alligator River. Mattamuskeet.

Swanquarter. Roanoke River. Mackay Island. And Pocosin Lakes. What do these nine names have in common? Well, besides being part of the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuge, they’re all under the command of Rebekah Martin. Which is wonderful news, because this fall, Martin earned the Paul Kroegel Award/Refuge Manager of the Year for a range of efforts — from securing $27.25 million to beef up resiliency, to teaming up with the Nature Conservancy to help restore peat in roughly one thousand acres of Pocosin Lakes — and setting a shining example for America’s other 579 refuges.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO MAYBERRY? From daily gridlock to deadly overdoses, it feels like a plague of big city trends has tarnished the Outer Banks’ smalltown charms. But the tragic police shooting of Sylvester Demetrius Selby is a new low. Not just because the 44-year-old lifetime resident tragically joined the list of unnecessary fatalities, but because his family is still searching for answers. In fact, at press time, the sheriff’s department had still answered no questions and released no body cam footage — more than three weeks after the incident — damaging a once trusting relationship between longtime citizens and local law enforcement.

For detailed reports on these stories and breaking local news on a daily basis — plus plenty of local discussion — visit www. outerbanksvoice.com, www.islandfreepress. org, www.obxtoday.com, www.wobx.com, and www.thecoastlandtimes.com.

SMART-ASS COMMENT OF THE MONTH “I used to smoke reefer and drink King Cobra there. Where will the kids go now for safe and healthy fun?”

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Kim Mullen, 58 Clothing Coach Colington “Probably war. But if I can choose, I hope something comes in the air and puts everyone to sleep.”

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Abbi Siler, 37 Platter Scatterer Kill Devil Hills “Giant meteor strike — and I’m gonna blast some Aerosmith and let it happen!”

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Karen Didion Originals Hollywood Nutcrackers Disney Ornaments LED Lights

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gosurf Jamie Wescott, 47 Flipper Skipper Wanchese “Whatever it is, I hope it’s quick and painless, like a nuclear bomb.

Nothing that drags on forever like the massive flood in Water World.”

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rearview Ken Fucci, 88 Professional Time Killer Kill Devil Hills “If we keep burning oil and gas, that’s gonna end things quicker than we think.”

What cataclysmic global catastrophe do you think will end us all?

Liz McBain, 32 Pottery Head Southern Shores “I’m a pretty devout Christian, and it really seems like a lot of Revelations is coming true, so basically The Rapture.”

John Cardona, 22 String Slinger Kill Devil Hills “Electronic apocalypse. Some type of huge electromagnetic pulse event like a solar flare disables all our technology and society collapses.”

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E’Mya Bryant, 23 Vestment Broker Manteo “The world’s gonna implode like that Titanic submarine.”

Broughton Aycock, 40 Human Jukebox Kitty Hawk “Ophiocordyceps fungus is going to take over our brains and turn us all into zombies!…wait, too late.”

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Interviews and images by Tony Leone milepost 13

Visit Duck’s favorite spot

for shopping, dining, yoga…

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NAGS HEAD Nags Head Causeway 7351 S. Virginia Dare Trail

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PIZZA & BREW WITH A VIEW! Check FB for TRIVIA NIGHT details!

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Photo: Stan Le Steele

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MADE YOU LOOK Unscramble this seamy little image — snag two VIP tickets to April’s Lost Colony Wine, Art & Culinary Festival!

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” That’s the sound of this fun-lovin’ activity.

But while some of its elements look a bit seamy — and perhaps a touch dirty — it’s hardly X-rated. (Even if a few key terms have filthy connotations.)

Hard wood is essential — and so is a hole.

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Power plays can slide off course — limp efforts will totally flop.

No pillow-talk after — but maybe some trash talk in the middle.

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But you’ll rest easy knowing you can always find yourself a fresh threesome to keep hammering away.

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Think you’ve sewn-up the answer? Throw your best guess — as well as your name and phone number — to editor@ outerbanksmilepost.com by Jan. 15.

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We’ll swish the correct ones around in a pile, then pick one lucky winner who’ll score a free pair of VIP tickets to April 13’s 6th Annual Lost Colony Wine, Art & Culinary Festival, featuring fresh local cuisine, live tunes, and a cornucopia of fine wines from around the globe.

PS: Congrats to Fred Vallade for correctly guessing last rag’s brain teaser: a flock of waterfowl taking flight.

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SO YOU’RE NOT SURE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING?

But you do believe in cold hard cash? Well, what if we said there are ways to upgrade your castle that save money in the long run, while immediately reducing your size-17 carbon footprint? Here’s some not-so-extreme home and yard makeovers that will trim your expenses while cutting the planet a break. milepost 18

CONTROL YOUR OWN CLIMATE. Like pinching pennies? Stop wasting kilowatts. According to the Department of Energy, “43% of a home utility bill goes to heating and cooling,” with the AC alone “costing homeowners $29 billion annually.”

Meanwhile, the Center for Climate Change Solutions reckons that, “Homes and commercial buildings account for a third of greenhouse gas emissions.” So, if you want an easy way to squeeze costs — while pushing back on power plant pollutants — get a grip on your climate control. Start by peeling off a few dollars for caulking and weather stripping to seal windows and doors, which can reduce heat loss by a third. Take advantage of warm spring days and cooler fall breezes by leaving windows open. And come winter, put on a hoodie before cranking the furnace. (Stats show that every degree you can take off your thermostat can save three percent on your heating bill.) And during peak seasons, give your HVAC a break when nobody’s home, as the DOE also says, “you can save as much as 10 percent a year…by simply turning your thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees for 8 hours a day from its normal setting.” And another bright idea? Switch out your light bulbs. Turns out lighting is another big power hog — using roughly 15 percent of the average home’s electricity. LED options not only use up to 90 percent less energy, “they last up to 25 times longer.” So not only will you save dough over time — you’ll waste less energy changing them out.

FUTURIZE THAT FRIDGE. Got an icebox that predates the ice age? Or

a stove off the set of That 70s Show? There’s big savings afoot if you’re ready to step into the future. DOE research shows that the average old-school refrigerator “uses about 35% more energy than [an Energy Star] model,” while a new-fangled induction stove “is about three times more efficient than gas.” And you can save even more on major improvements, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is chock full of income tax credits for big-ticket changes, like “installing heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, insulation, doors and windows,” as well as “a 30 percent income tax credit for clean energy equipment, such as rooftop solar, wind energy, geothermal heat pumps and battery storage.” Needless to say, the bigger the commitment, the bigger the kickback. (For example, you can claim up to $2000 off any heat pump or biomass fuel stove or water heater — but only $600 back for a more energy-efficient traditional AC.) Wanna go huge and put in some solar panels? Not only will they pay for themselves within five to 15 years, you’ll receive a tax credit of 30% of the cost for any project installed before 2032. (Note: while the program is only available for primary homes, it covers everything from condos to trailers.) Plan your upgrades wisely, you can knock $3200 off your annual tax bill for the next ten years while moving your home into the next millennium.

CUT DOWN ON THE LAWN. Picture perfect grass may look pretty

— but it can come at an ugly price. Frequent watering wastes a precious resource, and fertilizer run-off can pollute local waterways. Plus, it’s all pretty costly to maintain. (An average of $330 in fertilizer per year and $120 per mow according LawnLove.com.) And even if you do the work yourself, you’re basically dumping money into an empty space. So why not donate some real estate to plants that are “beautiful, functional, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly?” That’s the goal of the Sea Grant’s Coastal Landscape Initiative, which encourages homeowners to spruce up their yards with native and non-invasive species. Google their Plant This Instead! Eco-friendly Alternatives to Harmful Ornamental Plants guidebook, you can find a full range of replacement ideas that offer the same visual effect — without the negative impacts. (For example, instead of mimosa, plant a “fringe tree.” Or put down switch grass in place of pampas grass.) Not only are they better for local habitats, but they’re also better for your wallet, as they require less water, fertilizer and pesticides. Then carve out a little plot for a butterfly garden. The NC Wildlife Federation’s Butterfly Highway Project can help you create a vibrant 5’x5’ field of “flowering plants to support butterflies, bees, birds, and other pollen and nectar dependent wildlife.” (Find details at https://ncwf.org/habitat/butterfly-highway.) Every $10 seed pack doesn’t just promote local pollinators, it also helps endangered Monarchs make their long migration.

That’s a lot of eco-friendly, fluttering color — for just a little green.

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INTO THE

WILD FOR THESE THREE NATURE LOVERS, PROTECTING SPECIES IS NO PET PROJECT — IT’S A PASSION.

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A sweet kiss from Skittles.

FALL IN!

FOR AMBER ROTH, HUMAN IGNORANCE IS SCARIER THAN ANY CRITTER.

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SLITHERING REPTILES. Skittering arachnids. Stinging insects of every stripe. Every day, Amber Roth saves some such critter from certain death — or at least she tries to. As an admin for the “OBX Official Snake, Spider, Fish, Turtle ETC Identifier” Facebook page, she peruses pictures posted by clueless civilians who are wondering WTF is lurking around their back yards or screened porches.

taking photos of spiders — inching ever closer with each shot — to reinforce “the experience that they really don’t care about me; they could care less about anything that is not food.”

Is it a cottonmouth — or a water snake?

A brown widow or a house spider?

But really, they’re all asking the same question: Is this animal a friend — or a foe?

“It just sat on my hand and looked around and cleaned its little face and then off it went,” she recalls. “I was like, ‘Okay, maybe they’re not so bad.’ I started looking for more Phids to hold.”

“It’s not as simple as that,” warns the 40-year-old, DIY entomologist. “But I remember a time when that too was my only concern. And it’s a terrible feeling.”

The more she researched, handled and identified, the more she fell in love.

She went on to keep seven different golden orb weavers — Triconephila clavipes — and noticed that each pet had

Today, it’s hard to picture Roth being petrified of anything creepy or crawly.

Sitting at her work computer inside the Frisco Native American Museum, one hand clicks the mouse — the other casually holds her six-foot California king snake, Tryhpphinia. Around her neck, nestled between long strands of purplehued locks, is a pendant with a bronze encasement of her first pet spider, a golden orb weaver named Eris.

But while she’s always had a passion for snakes — she also owns an Eastern hog nose named Skittles and an Eastern king called Nebby — there was a time when the mere sight of anything eight-legged would send Roth “screaming, teleporting across the room.”

So how did she overcome her arachnophobia?

“I had a really embarrassing situation at the museum,” Roth says. “A little house spider walked across the floor, and I freaked out. And this poor gentleman got super annoyed. ‘It’s just a spider,’ he said.

That’s when I knew I had to learn to get over my fear.”

The key word being “learn.” A selfdescribed “geek who must know all things,” Roth went on an investigative deep dive. She researched which species are dangerous and which are not.

(Turns out almost all of them are totally harmless.) She talked to people who have spiders as pets. Next, Roth began

To fully conquer her phobia, however, Roth knew she had to handle them herself. She began with a wild Phidippus otiosus — a fuzzy jumping spider with Muppet-like visage.

“Animals with fangs or stingers aren’t terrible and out to get you.” different preferences and “personalities.”

One hated green bugs and would flick them out of her web. One built her home high up in the kitchen. Another disliked moths. And so on.

Every experience came to support Roth’s conviction that humans’ fears of animals are mainly based on generalizations and misunderstandings. For example, not even a black widow or brown recluse will aggressively bite unless it feels threatened and unable to get away, Roth explains. And while she recognizes that knowledge does not necessarily erase fear, she says it can help you prove to your brain that your fear is unfounded — to “learn that these are not scary monsters; they’re actually really cool.”

Today, Roth casually drops the Latin names for various species and easily

discusses their potentially grossest behaviors. And she uses that confidence to help educate the 3,000-plus members of the Facebook group.

And even though Roth is not a formally trained expert, that doesn’t stop her from sharing her knowledge.

“You don’t have to have a degree behind your name to know things,” she says.

“You just have to have an interest in the information that is out there. Everybody should learn and everybody should feel more confident in their surroundings. If we had more of that, maybe we would not have so much fear of the creatures that are all around us.”

Sometimes she confirms people’s suspicions — like when a woman posts an aggressive-looking serpent. (“Pixelated Hershey kiss [markings]… typical posture…. Yep, cottonmouth.”)

Mostly, though, she soothes their worries with some sweettalk and science.

For example, one day a user posted a small, fuzzy spider with blackish-grayish legs and an orange body, adding the caption, “This guy... looks scary.”

Roth’s reply? “Looks like a Phidippus whitmani! Totally not scary. Like an 8-legged cat.”

During the pandemic, Roth moved on to conquer more phobias — wasps — by taking an online wasp ID course through Penn State. Now she feeds paper wasps by hand and likes to pet bumblebees.

At the same time, she has a lot of other interests. A lifelong artist who grew up in Pennsylvania, she has a formal education in graphic design and multimedia art.

She paints, does wood carving and taught herself to code. She works at the Frisco Native American Museum six days a week and loves learning about Native American and Hatteras history.

Still, she spends at least an hour a day responding to Facebook queries, reminding folks to feed their curiosity instead of their fears. And, when in doubt, to remember one simple fact: “Animals with venom in fangs or stingers aren’t ‘terrible and out to get you,’” Roth says. “They’re just trying to exist, eat, and breed — same as us.” milepost 23

Sea turtle necropsies are expert only.

UNDER KAREN CLARK’S TUTELAGE, ANYONE CAN BE AN ANIMAL CONSERVATIONIST.

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ONE PERK OF BEING A WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST? Being able to impress your friends in strange, new ways.

“One of my best party tricks is to sit out on the deck at night and point out which frogs are calling a prediction of rain,” laughs Duck resident Karen “KC” Clark. “And which are calling out for girls in the bushes.”

As a coastal community science specialist for the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), Clark manages volunteer projects that provide ways for ordinary citizens to become involved in protecting the state’s wildlife — that includes training Regular Joes to detect and document the various songs of green tree frogs, eastern narrow mouths, squirrel tree frogs, and others. Their findings provide valuable, in-the-field assistance to biologists who are studying at-risk frog and toad species. And this is just one example of community science, or citizen science, in which everyday folk support real research.

“Everybody stands to benefit when you bring the community into conservation efforts,” Clark says. “When you get citizens involved, scientists get better information about the area’s needs, and from that they can inform some of their initiatives.”

This type of volunteerism is growing in popularity, especially in coastal regions where people feel a deep connection to their environment. In fact, Clark’s job with the NCWRC takes her from Carova to the Brunswick County coast. All along the way, she connects volunteers with scientists to help protect wildlife.

Take sea turtles, for example. Staff biologists for the NCWRC, National Park Service, and US Fish and Wildlife cannot do all the necessary conservation work on their own.

But by training and supporting volunteer groups like the Network for Endangered Sea Turtles (NEST), Clark helps strengthen and unify recovery efforts.

Besides monitoring and assisting nesting volunteers, Clark assists NCWRC and other agencies to recuperate cold-stunned sea turtles. And when a specimen dies, she performs necropsies to “make the most of a bad situation.”

“When a sea turtle dies, we get a lot of life history information,” Clark explains. “We can’t get as up close and personal when they are alive.”

A biologist with degrees in neuroscience and biological oceanography, Clark worked with the Virginia Aquarium for five years after getting her master’s degree and volunteered with the Virginia Sea Turtle and Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

She came to the Outer Banks in 2005 to develop educational programs at the NCWRC’s Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education (OBCWE) in Corolla. In addition to establishing wildlife education programs, she worked to build connections with local wildlife protection groups, specifically training and supporting volunteers who were contributing to biologists’ monitoring efforts.

“When you get citizens involved, scientists get better information.”

Eventually, Clark became director of OBCWE. But when the center changed hands from NCWRC to Currituck County (canceling its educational and community science programs for now), Clark switched into her current role covering the NCWRC’s community science efforts, expanding many of the initiatives she started at OBCWE. “We took those efforts that had been a success here to see if we could build similar networks of volunteers all along the NC coast,” she says. “In addition, we are supporting existing volunteer groups that were already organized and working with biologists.”

Besides frogs, toads and sea turtles, the NCWRC currently runs big volunteer programs with bats, whose populations are dwindling drastically due to white-nose syndrome; diamondback terrapins, which are a species of concern in the state; an initiative to keep box turtles common in the face of habitat loss; and shorebird and waterbird surveys and stewardship.

Clark says the best community science volunteer is the type of person who has an interest or passion for making a difference in the habitat they value.

“We can teach them the science and how to collect the data, but we can’t instill that desire to be out there,” she says. “We can feed it and help it grow, but they must have the interest.”

This is not a job that Clark had visualized for herself — “I just followed the doors that opened up for me” — but it fits. As a child, she explored a lot of different habitats as her family frequently moved as part of her father’s job in the Navy.

“I just wanted to continue to be a part of that and share it with other folks,” she says.

At 46, Clark jokes that she still does not know what she wants to do when she grows up, but she still realizes how lucky she is.

“A couple of years ago, we were immersed in a pretty intense sea turtle cold-stunning event on Hatteras Island,” she explains. “It was an exhausting day. I was ruminating on the ride back up the island, and I thought, if I was to describe that day to 12-year-old Karen, she would have been like, ‘That’s what I want to do!’ It hit me. I GET to do this!”

Clarks loves the symbiotic nature of her work: she gets to teach people about animal behavior and collecting data, volunteers get to learn about different wildlife, and both humans and the species’ lives get a little bit better.

And now that she is a parent of 6- and 8-year-old boys, Clark can instill that passion for protection in them.

“We spend a lot of time outside,” she says.

“They experience what I do firsthand.”

Clark says the need for volunteers varies, but they are always open to new faces. If there is a specific project they are recruiting for, they will announce it through Facebook and through the coastal environmental educator network. Luckily, she says there is no shortage of folks who are eager to help.

“On the Outer Banks, we are surrounded by people who really do value our natural resources and want to be sure that it’s all still around for us to continue to enjoy,” she says.

“We have a great community for embracing those values.” milepost 25

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FOR WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST BECKY HARRISON, DOING ANYTHING ELSE WAS NEVER AN OPTION.

HOLDING A CAPTIVE-BRED CLOUDED LEOPARD. Hand-releasing turtles into the sea. Banding and tracking American oystercatchers, and entering the den of endangered red wolves. With a Ph.D. in zoology and animal biology — and 12 years with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) — Becky Harrison’s enjoyed several lifetimes’ worth of one-of-a-kind animal interactions.

And yet, looking back, she’s not all that surprised. Not because the experiences haven’t been magical — but because she never imagined doing anything else.

“When I was little,” Harrison explains, “I expected I would be doing these kinds of things.”

Harrison’s urge to protect wildlife and wild spaces began on her grandparents’ farm outside Detroit, Michigan, where she spent many hours among their flower and vegetable gardens, tending the peach orchard and playing with barn cats, dogs, a dairy cow, sheep, and rescue horses.

“It was a little girl’s dream come true,” she says. “That connected me to outdoor spaces and animals.”

By the time she was nine, Harrison was documenting her natural surroundings with a little Kodak; later, she used an old Konica she inherited from her grandfather. When it came time for college at Michigan State, she figured a photojournalism major would keep her outdoors, but she soon switched to zoology and animal behavior.

What followed was a highly successful academic career studying a diverse range of species, from master’s work documenting the predatory habits of Utah’s coyotes to postdoctoral research chasing monarch butterflies across North America, Costa Rica, Australia, and New Zealand. Not only did the experience strengthen her love of science, she says, “it opened the world.”

But as much as she loved the academic system for cultivating curiosity, she opted not to make it a career.

“It’s competitive,” she explains. “It’s really demanding. And its work-life balance didn’t seem achievable for me.”

Instead, Harrison looked into opportunities with state and federal agencies, and in 2011 landed a position with USFWS as a wildlife biologist for northeastern North Carolina.

“It was kind of hilarious that they put me on the coast, because I had always been landfocused,” she says.

Harrison spent the next 12 years at Pea Island and Alligator River, monitoring the refuges’ biological health, studying the effects of climate change, working with waterfowl management, and in the recovery of threatened and endangered species, from the red wolf program to sea turtle nesting to migratory birds.

It was tough but rewarding work — work that often mimicked the dynamic struggle of life in the wild.

“In the field, it’s uncomfortable, you’re battling heat, and things like biblical levels of deer flies,” Harrison says. “But [at those moments], the universe usually gave me a moment of

“The exciting thing about biodiversity is that we are still discovering.” wonder. Maybe it was reflected off the face of an intern holding a sea turtle hatchling for the first time. The power of those experiences resonates.”

It also allowed her to pursue her love of photography, particularly as a way of documenting the animals and habitats. But she also notes that “at 46, I can’t operate in the field the way I did when I was 25.”

So, last January, Harrison took on a new role within USFWS: At-Risk Species Coordinator for the Southeast Region.

and non-government organizations. The collective goal? To keep more than 200 species from landing on the threatened or endangered lists, including mussels, plants, fish, birds, beetles, herps, skinks, dragonflies, butterflies, bats, and so much more.

The agency is continually updating the at-risk species list. The annual workplan is released every spring and looks ahead for the next four-to-five years. Species come on and off it regularly.

A big part of her job is uniting people who might be doing similar conservation projects, so they “eventually create their own positive feedback system and benefit the larger ecological, social, cultural, and economic aspects of the community.”

“There’s no shortage of things to do,” Harrison says. “I feel a little overwhelmed because there are so many worthy causes and species.“ As someone who stays immersed in the state of the world’s biodiversity struggles, she recognizes the situation is dire for many species — and yet she chooses to feel hopeful. And stay resilient.

“The exciting thing about biodiversity is that we are still discovering,” she says. “We still don’t understand what we have and what is out there. That cultivates hope naturally.”

“And being in this business,” Harrison continues, “I feel like it’s my responsibility to protect and conserve. I don’t feel like I have any other choice.”

With the new gig comes more desk time and phone calls, but she still makes plenty of time for the outdoors. She remains an avid birder and photographer, regularly volunteers in the field at Pea Island and Alligator River, and somehow makes time to be involved with Partners in Flight — an initiative to stop the decline of common land birds.

To say it’s a big job is an understatement. The Southeastern region covers 10 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It’s also one of the most biologically diverse zones in the nation, containing 131 refuges and 35 percent of the nation’s at-risk species.

In many ways, it’s those daily interactions that keep her most optimistic. The spring and fall migrations she witnesses here along the Atlantic Flyway and the pollinators visiting her garden give her comfort, reminding her of the ebb and flow of the natural world. A world that falters and rebounds, but ultimately endures.

From her home office in Nags Head, Harrison works to connect state and federal agencies, Indigenous Tribes, private landowners,

“The world seems to be falling apart, chaos is happening, all of this change,” Harrison says.

“And yet the cycle of nature continues.” milepost 27

WHERE’S WEIRDO?!

See if you can find the real sketchy character lurking among all these hoodies.

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FORGET YOUR “HAN SOLO” LOOKS. Those “slouchy denims” or Dave Grohl flannels.

Even the “Wanchese slippers.” Winter style on the Outer Banks comes down to just three items: sunnies, beanies and hoodies. A unisex clothing combo that spans all ages, genders and body types — and basically lasts from now to Memorial Day. But that don’t mean we got no worries, as all the fashion ubiquity means you’re bound to spend half of every gas fill and grocery run wondering who the hell’s waving at you from underneath all that gear. Is it Russell Blackwood? Vicki Basnight?

Might even be the infamous domestic terrorist, Ted Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber! ( Just kidding: he died in June.) We’re here to help you practice up with a visual game: see if you can find the sketchy character above lurking among all these shady figures. Do it in less than five minutes, you’re fully prepped for the next five months. (Or at least for your next Food Lion visit.)

Figure cutouts by Daniel Pullen Backdrop image by Cory Godwin

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THE HEAT IS ON.

From rising seas to Category 6 hurricanes, scientists continue to sound alarms about the future impacts of global climate change. The reality? Coastal residents can recognize its effects right now. Some are comparatively minor — others potentially catastrophic. All are bound to get worse without immediate action. Here’s just five ways Outer Bankers are feeling the burn.

WORDS BY CATHERINE KOZAK

FIERY

Weather Service data, not only were most eastern North Carolina counties a few degrees above the state average, Dare County led the state with an average temperature of 2.6 degrees above the 1901-2000 mean temperature. (This past July was also Dare’s eighth warmest on record.)

TEMPS A HAZY SKY. Burning eyes.

And a strong whiff of smoke in the crisp, salt air.

The Outer Banks is no stranger to the impacts from wildfire. In March, smoke from Tyrell County’s Last Resort fire burned for weeks and blanketed the region. In 2008, another major wildfire in the same area smoldered deep in the peat soil for months. But this June was different. Instead of being choked by a blaze in some nearby county, this summer’s Canadian wildfires — a whopping 6,400, at last count — sent massive plumes of smoke across the eastern US and as far as Europe, plunging the entirety of North Carolina under air quality alerts.

Then, rather than dissipating, the clouds kept returning — first in July, and again in September — blown back down the coast by strong north winds.

“There is a clear foul smell in the air,” Outer Banks photographer Wes Snyder says in a September TikTok post, “and it almost completely blocks out the sun.”

You might want to keep some N95 masks handy moving forward.

Between hotter temperatures and prolonged droughts desiccating land and forests, climate change has made wildfires both more intense and more widespread. A trend that’s sure to follow the global thermometer, which is only going up.

In October, the Washington Post reported that September’s average global temperature was about 1.6 degrees above 1991-2020 levels — a record surge. And NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies declared that 2023 was the hottest summer since global records began in 1880.

Furthermore, according to National

But all that heat isn’t just toasting our land and foliage — it’s also leading to record rainfall and increased flooding, as scorching temperatures evaporate more water off the surface of the ocean and sounds. According to Wired Magazine, “every 1 degree Celsius (33.8 degrees Fahrenheit), creates 7% more moisture in the atmosphere.”

Bottom line: hot air holds more water vapor. As a result, The Guardian says, “New York City’s record-setting storm in September was 10-20% wetter than it would have been in the previous century.” (It’s also a big reason the Outer Banks sees epic rain deluges, which now flood places that once barely puddled.)

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Meanwhile, warmer sea surface temps keep making headlines. In July, a South Florida weather gauge hit a record 101.1 degrees in July, adding “marine heatwave” to the weather geek lexicon. And scientists say the ocean off the Outer Banks was still about one

2023 was the hottest summer since global records began in 1880. degree above average in September.

Troubling, when you consider that warmer seas don’t just lead to more active tropical seasons, they help storms get more powerful more quickly — aka “rapid intensification.”

So, while the US may have seen fewer landfalling storms than normal, this season still managed to break records.

According to Surfline.com, on August 20, four tropical cyclones formed within 39 hours of each other: “The quickest that’s ever happened in the Atlantic basin.”

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PERVASIVE PE

unhealthy overgrowth of one species.

It happens on land, too: recently, nine-banded armadillo have been spotted as far north as Dare County, as they’re finding North Carolina’s warming winters a lot more amenable.

(The fire ant loving creatures are still more numerous in western counties, according to N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission data.)

occasionally stings.

Ask any beachgoer who couldn’t get in the water due to jellyfish the past couple of Augusts thanks to various ecological insults in the ocean.

“Oxygen levels in the sea have fallen by around 2% over the last 50 years, due to rising temperatures and pollution,” according to a 2019 World Economic Forum article.

“Jellyfish can thrive in areas with lower oxygen levels, where other animals suffer.”

Add overfishing of predators such as swordfish and sharks, and the opportunistic jellyfish starts to overpopulate the global seas. And that leads to more suffering for humans.

Jellies are just one of numerous bad actors in northeastern North Carolina waters.

ESTS

According to USGS, that’s because not only do warming conditions create new pathways and expanding habitats for invasive species, but they can also diminish the effectiveness of current control measures and alter ecosystem balances that had suppressed

Meanwhile, botanists warn that increased levels of carbon dioxide and warmer temperatures are making poison ivy more robust.

According to a September NPR story, scientific studies have shown that the climbing vine grew faster, with larger leaves, than other plants during tests.

Furthermore, “higher carbon dioxide levels spurred the plant to produce a more potent form of urushiol, the oily substance that causes the nasty skin rash we all try to avoid.”

All of which points to a rash of future annoyances.

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But the jellies are just one of numerous bad actors in northeastern North Carolina waters, says the US Geological Survey. Blue catfish and carp have become invasive in some areas, while venomous lionfish are problematic offshore.

And there are still more annoying creatures and aggressive plants to worry about as our relatively mild winter grows shorter and gets increasingly interrupted by sporadic warm spells that confuse growing cycles. Not only is flea season practically year-round now, a recent report from Climate Central says our allergy season is starting earlier and lasting longer.

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In June 2018, more than 1,000 beachgoers were stung in Volusia County, Florida during a prolific weeklong bloom, the WEF article notes. A year later, Queensland, Australia reported 13,000 jellyfish stings during one week in June. And elsewhere, these gelatinous nuisances have become an international menace, forcing the shutdown of nuclear power plants, clogging boat propellers, and wiping out fish farm operations.

Even those wild-and-resilient coyotes invading our neighborhoods are changing their habits in response to the interconnected ways climate change impacts our ecosystem, such as habitat loss and decreased availability of prey.

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WHAT’S THE HOTTEST FUTURE FASHION TREND? Full-body mosquito netting — unless you’re a big fan of vector-borne illnesses.

Yowch.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the Southeast is already seeing favorable conditions for mosquito populations that carry dengue and the Zika virus. In June, Florida and Texas reported their first locally acquired cases of malaria in the U.S. since 2003.

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, the CDC says, “Late summer and early autumn are the most common time to become infected with mosquito-borne diseases in North Carolina like West Nile Virus.”

According to a September 2023 warning, five people in the state had contracted West Nile, which causes “one in five people [to] develop a fever with other symptoms such as headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or rash.”

Additionally, about “one in 150 people…develop a severe illness affecting the central nervous system

KNESS such as encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord).”

They also warn that “West Nile is not the only mosquito-borne virus in the state. Approximately 20 cases of La Crosse encephalitis are reported each year in the western part of the state.”

The CDC goes on to say that “there is also always a small risk of contracting eastern equine encephalitis in the eastern counties.”

At the same time, the EPA warns

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that, “warmer temperatures associated with climate change can accelerate mosquito development, biting rates, and the incubation of the disease within a mosquito.”

Meanwhile, another disease vector — ticks — are slowly creeping their way south, potentially increasing cases of Lyme disease. According to the EPA Climate Change Indicator on Lyme disease, ticks live on deer, rodents,

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“West Nile is not the only mosquito-borne virus in the state.” birds, and numerous other animals.

And not only is their range expanding, the EPA says, but temperature has a strong influence on the life cycle and prevalence of deer ticks, a common Lyme vector.

“Ticks can’t survive more than a couple of days in temperatures below zero, but they’re able to persevere in very warm conditions as long as there’s enough humidity in the environment,” says an AP story published in July. “As Earth warms up…and winters become milder, ticks are becoming active earlier in the year.”

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And although scientists say it’s nearly impossible to predict with certainty what new pathogens or pathologies will develop, spread or mutate in a warming climate, the CDC warns that, “Milder winters, warmer summers, and fewer days of frost make it easier for…infectious diseases to expand into new geographic areas and infect more people.”

Meanwhile, studies by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan recently found that two species of “super mosquitos” in Southeast Asia have mutated to withstand insecticides — the very species most likely to transmit viruses.

So, you might need more than some DEET to mow the lawn moving forward.

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SCARY SOUND

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RED FLAG DAYS. Coldwater

August 2023 article in NC Newsline.

One of them, the article says, covered three-quarters of an acre near Corolla, and was described as “a large decaying red mass in the water.”

upwelling. Unfounded fears of various predators. There’s lots of reasons folks will flee the ocean and run for the sound. But that doesn’t mean the waters are always safe there, either, as we tragically learned this July when three North Carolina residents, including two beloved Dare County locals — longtime handyman Mike Gard and legendary seafood pioneer, Murray Bridges — died from a flesheating bacteria called vibrio vulnificus.

But you don’t have to see them to know they’re there. Long-time eco-tour operator and kayaker, Peter Roberts, recalls a recent bloom about oneand-a-half miles south of the Virginia border.

“Driving up, as soon as I got to a couple of certain places, I could smell it,” he recalls.

These fast-growing bacteria are naturally occurring in low-salinity marine waters. Many healthy people can be exposed with no problems. But older people, or those with diabetes, liver disease or compromised immune systems who have open wounds are especially at risk, and an infection can rapidly turn septic. (In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that since 2019, eight of the 47 reported cases among residents have been fatal.)

Roberts attributes the problem to nitrogen runoff from fertilizer used in surrounding development, as well as their septic systems.

And let’s not forget the most recognized soundside yuck factor: animal poop. Every summer, the state advises against swimming at various locations, typically at beach accesses near ocean outfalls or on soundside beaches such as Jockey’s Ridge, Colington and Frisco, when enterococci — a bacteria found in the intestines of mammals — exceeds the state’s recreational water quality standards.

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And you don’t have to go swimming to get the disease. Vibrio infections from eating raw oysters are even more deadly for vulnerable people, with a 50 percent survival rate.

And guess what? Studies also show that warming water temps — and runoff from increased rainfall — can also worsen contamination.

Even scarier? With warming temperatures come higher numbers. In fact, three vibriorelated deaths were reported in Connecticut and New York this summer, as the bacteria spreads to once cooler waters. And it’s only going to get worse, according to scientists. In the March issue of Nature, one study called vibrio a “microbial barometer of climate change,” warning that, “By 2081– 2100 V. vulnificus infections may be present in every Eastern USA State under medium-to-high future emissions and warming.”

One study called vibrio a “microbial barometer of climate change.”

Meanwhile, increasingly warmer waters make algal blooms another growing concern in northeastern North Carolina.

In July alone, 51 algal blooms and 10 fish kills in North Carolina were reported to the state Department of Environmental Quality, according to an

Reide Corbett, Executive Director at the Coastal Studies Institute, warns that the Outer Banks’ wastewater and stormwater systems will certainly be challenged in the years to come, mostly because our wastewater and stormwater infrastructure is designed around dated data.

So, while we face a future full of more intense rain deluges and stronger storm surges, “We continue to develop today like we did yesterday,” Corbett says.

And that means more water quality issues are bound to rise to the surface.

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helpless. In September, the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company used the phrase “strong headwinds” to explain why they wouldn’t renew 800 local wind-and-hail policies. Of course, they weren’t referring to any recent hurricanes. The decision, they say, “reflected data from a hurricane hazard assessment tool” and that “a measured view was taken to assess and rebalance its portfolio based on risk.”

TS

In other words, in an age when coastal storms are getting bigger, stronger, and more frequent, one of the country’s largest home insurers would rather fold up and leave town than gamble against Mother Nature any further.

But even if you have a home, and a policy, you’re still in financial peril, as the price of insurance continues to skyrocket.

The problem? The more houses and businesses we put in harm’s way, the more potential risk for insurers; the more risk, the more insurers try to raise their rates.

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Locally, many homeowners already pay more in insurance than they do in principal and interest — on houses they purchased in less exposed areas twenty years back. In some cases, they can barely keep their heads above water.

The more houses we put in harm’s way, the more insurers try to raise their rates.

This June, homeowners saw a 22 percent, state-wide increase. Then, in July, the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which represents the state’s insurance providers, requested another 50.6 percent statewide average rate increase for dwelling policies, which cover non-owner-occupied residences of no more than four units, including rental properties. (A hearing on the proposal is set for April 8, 2024.)

Don’t own? You’re not exempt, either: that extra dough gets tacked onto your monthly rent.

In 2022 and 2023 alone, between Dare County and the six towns, a total of about $78 million was spent to replenish about 22.5 miles of shoreline.

And while the purpose is to protect oceanfront houses — and, ostensibly, the beach-driven economy — it’s just as much about propping up property values.

In Florida, this symbiotic relationship between hurricanes, real estate prices, and insurance has already led to record rate hikes. According to an October Wall Street Journal article, “premiums tripled in the past five years. Some premiums have increased by about nine times what they were last year.”

And Nationwide wasn’t alone. With 18 weather and climate disasters in the U.S. in 2022 — each with losses of more than $1billion, according to NOAA — many major insurance companies have killed coverage in states where climate change promises more future payouts than profits.

In California, All State and State Farm will no longer write new policies for wildfire. In Louisiana, hurricanes made so many insurers flee the state that 17 percent of residents no longer have coverage.

Meanwhile, the county keeps subsidizing risky coastal development in the form of beach nourishment.

And as Willo Kelly, CEO of the Outer Banks Association of Realtors, asked WAVY.com in September: “Where do you find the money at the end of the day when your insurance keeps going up?”

The lucky ones — if you can call it that — can pay off their mortgage, kill their coverage, and roll the dice. But for many, the rising costs of protecting their house against climate change’s potential impacts, may turn out to be more financially catastrophic than any named storm. milepost 39

gochill

COLD COMFORT

Forget the bubble bath. Cold plunging is the hot new way to relax.

Two Augusts ago, Brad Carey faced a sudden and inexplicable bout of excruciating insomnia. As owner of First Flight Adventure Park in Nags Head and a father of two young boys, the Nags Head resident assumed it was due to endof-season and parenting related stress.

Drowsy drugs were not helping. And as the condition lingered (at one point he didn’t sleep for four days in a row), he was willing to do anything. Even submerging himself in freezing cold water. In the process, he discovered a feeling that was shocking and new — yet surprisingly familiar.

“My whole life I have been chasing the sensation of being in the moment,” says the avid rock-climber, surfer and kiteboarder.

“Trying to get the most out of life by doing the most things. When really what I needed was to sit, relax, watch my mind and become aware of my thoughts.”

So you haven’t yet heard about cold plunging? This habit of regularly immersing your body in 39-to-50ish degree water for several minutes? It’s proven to produce a variety of health benefits, including reducing inflammation, increasing energy levels, and improving insulin sensitivity.

While open-water cold plunges have been popular for centuries in cooler climates, the practice has only gotten trendy in America in the last few years, largely due to celebrities, influencers, and extreme sports figures — particularly Wim “The Iceman” Hof, who’s racked up 26 world records for subzero feats, from swimming beneath ice to running on snow.

When Brad heard a good ice bath could help with insomnia, he started jumping in his buddy Brett Harrison’s homemade coldplunging freezer/tub in Nags Head as often as possible. And it helped — not just with sleeplessness, but also with body aches.

“It’s unbelievable how good it works for inflammation,” Brad says. “If you have any kind of soreness, it’s instantly gone.”

Brad Carey chills the f#&k out.

Photo: Ryan Moser

Soon, quick dips turned into extended winter ocean plunges, which turned into building his own cold-plunging freezer/tub for him and his wife, Abby, to use at home.

For about $400, the Careys converted a

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deep freezer from Home Depot into a cold plunge tub using caulk, an aquarium filter, an Ozonator, and a thermostat. (Safety tip: it’s always unplugged when in use).

They keep the temperature at 50-to-53 degrees and use it a couple of times a week (Abby for 3-to-5 minutes, Brad for 5-to-10 minutes).

Abby says she loves the cold plunge freezer for sore muscle recovery after hard athletic training.

“My body was getting beat down, and I couldn’t stretch enough,” she says. “This saves time. I can replace ten minutes of stretching by jumping in here for a couple of minutes.”

“

“IT TAKES A FAIR AMOUNT OF MENTAL STRENGTH EACH TIME YOU JUMP IN.”

Like many cold plungers, the Careys wanted to add a heat experience to the routine.

So, in 2022, Brad and his brother, Alex Carey, built a mobile woodfired sauna, which they use to alternate cold and hot therapy. Their sauna reaches anywhere from 130 to 200 degrees and offers a wealth of benefits — releasing toxins and cardiovascular health among them.

Last winter, they regularly pulled the sauna, which is built on a boat trailer, over to a Nags Head beach access and invited friends to join them in alternating ocean dips and sauna sessions. In addition to the mental benefits, Brad says he appreciates the community it builds.

“The whole process — building the fire, texting people to come, sitting together in the moment with no distractions, talking about life — I love it,” Brad says. “It’s so cool to bring people together.”

Kill Devil Hills’ Shawn Deane and his wife, Nikki, discovered the joys of a deep freeze at a cryotherapy chamber at a spa in New York, and they came away infused with energy.

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So, upon returning home from the spa, he began researching online and eventually found a built-to-order, cosmetically beautiful cold plunge tub from a company in California.

“My reasoning for the tub is 90 percent mental,” says the digital strategist. “Nothing forces you to be in the present like a cold tub can.”

Deane cites his life stressors — multiple businesses, kids, desk work, and an insane amount of travel — as reasons for needing a mental break.

Deane typically goes from hot to cold: 20 minutes in his infrared sauna to three minutes in the cold plunge tub at 45 degrees. Sometimes, he adds the hot tub into the rotation, and whenever possible he dries off in the sun.

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Physically he says it gives him a burst of energy and focus, better sleep, less injury and fewer aches and pains.

“The tub forces me to be completely present for three minutes a day, breathing and being aware of everything around me,” he says. “The ice bath sets up the rest of my day.”

Yet, despite it being a near-daily habit, he’s never fully ready to hop in. In fact, he says the body reflexively fears the shock of the cold water. But that feeling of discomfort is also a big part of the benefit.

“I’m putting myself in a position of nonnegotiation with my body,” he explains. “It takes a fair amount of mental strength each time you jump in.”

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But after that, he says the discomfort vanishes almost immediately. Within a second or two he’s both relaxed — and present. Like those classic TV commercials of some 70s housewife soaking away to escape life’s stressors. Except he’d rather do three minutes of ice cubes than hours of bubbles.

“Everybody has their own thing they’re willing to do to feel good,” he says. “For me, this is it.” — Terri Mackleberry

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HEAT WAVE

The Outer Banks is awash in “hurts so good” hot sauces. roadmap It’s hard to describe the initial sensation. Is it anticipation — or fear? In a few milliseconds it won’t matter, as an explosion of flavor torches your tongue, setting off a ripple effect of unsightly responses. Eyes water. Nostrils run. Drool pools. All a byproduct of a body’s natural response to dangerous heat. And yet, hot sauces remain more popular than ever — despite being more painful than ever. Or, perhaps, because of it?

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after a long run.”

graphiccontent

According to a video produced by the American Chemistry Association, the key to this pleasure-pain principle is in the peppers’ capsaicinoids. These naturally occurring molecules trick the nervous system into thinking our tongues are being literally torched. To fight the impending pain, the body triggers a rush of endorphins, “kind of like what joggers feel

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“

“IT’S LIKE CHEMICAL WARFARE ONCE THAT CAPSAICIN GETS AIRBORNE.”

The more capsaicinoids, the hotter the pepper, the bigger the rush.

That’s what keeps sauce junkies lighting up — and leveling up — as they grow more addicted with each splash. The result is a $3 billion industry in the US alone — and a solid selection of Outer Banks hot sauce outposts that are happy to keep pouring gas on the craze.

“We’ve been in business for over 30 years,” says longtime Stop N Shop employee spice sommelier, Madel Odum. “We started with

Variety is the spice of death of at Stop ‘N’ Shop. Photo: Mez/ESM

stickers. Each shelf is arranged from left to right according to heat level. More bones equal more burn.

When in doubt, snag one of Stop N Shop’s in-house labels, like Three Pepper Lemon, Vidalia Onion or Smokin’ Gun. Each one is a “goldilocks” recipe with just enough kick, the natural byproduct of Madel’s personal experience.

“I have to try all the hot sauces,” Madel laughs. “And trust me, there are some you can barely eat! But folks still come and get them for their restaurants or for cooking at home. When we’re busy, I have to re-order hot sauce every two weeks.”

That’s where spending countless hours in a well-stocked kitchen can have its perks. And Chilli Peppers Coastal Grill’s Jim Douglas reckons he’s spent the past three decades fine-tuning his fiery flavor profiles.

“It’s funny, because people in my family think ketchup is spicy,” says the Michigan native, who opened his KDH restaurant in 1993. “But I love to experiment. So, I started by making various spicy concoctions, dehydrating peppers, saving the mash from a ferment and really just seeing which recipes worked.”

just a few options, but the response was so good we began adding to the selection — now we may have more than 100 hot sauces at a time.”

Already known as a slam-dunk for beach supplies, sandwiches, fishing tackle, and kegs for your next party, Stop N Shop is equally legendary among heat-seeking masochists for its hot sauce display.

Look just shy of the deli and you’ll find a veritable wall of intestinal woe, painstakingly organized by level of threat — from scary (Colon Blow) to approachable (Beach Day) to just plain questionable (Clamlube?!). In between, a whole host of mid-heat, fullflavor options await, like The Phoenix — a cantaloupe/scotch bonnet blend — and Goat Rider, a mix of cayenne, ghost peppers, maple syrup, and grape must. Just be sure to keep an eye out for the skull-and-bones

After sharing some hot sauce samples amongst friends, word spread like brushfire.

One sauce became two. One box of bottles became a few cases. At one point, all the experimenting lead to a collection of over 3000 pepper plants.

“It got a little out of hand,” Douglas laughs. “I had anchos, cayennes, reapers, and so many more that I lost track of all the varieties. We would bring the peppers in the kitchen and set up an assembly line and begin grinding the peppers to be mixed with staple ingredients like garlic, onion, vinegar.”

Today, Chilli Peppers’ lineup of flammable flavors has grown to include everything from beef jerky spiced with repurposed pepper mash, hot flaked salt, and even habanero honey from local bees. But if you ask any experienced heat seeker, it’s the Vidalia Onion and Peach that stands apart. This sweet and spicy fan favorite brought home a third-place win at the Fiery Food Show in

Albuquerque, New Mexico, which features over a 1,000 different products.

These days, what “started out as a hobby” is now a thriving second business that sells thousands of bottles per year. As a result, Douglas can still tinker in the kitchen while a manufacturer handles the mass production — which makes for a much more pleasant work atmosphere.

“Even wearing a mask,” Douglas says, “it’s like chemical warfare once that capsaicin gets airborne.”

Not for hot sauce fanatic, Andrew Stagikas.

For him, that capsaicin blast is the best feeling ever. Because every tear shed tasting his homemade blends is a reminder of how far he’s come.

“I was once an addict,” says the owner of the Stag Sauce and Soulshine Kitchen Food Truck. “And now I’m sober and following my passion.”

At any moment you can find Stagikas in his food truck, slinging sauce and serving plates at events from Dowdy Park’s Farmer’s Market to the Buffalo City Distillery. But while he has 34 years of cooking experience, Stagikas says he only began toying with hot sauces roughly six years ago after he “purchased some Carolina Reapers at the farmer’s market in Raleigh and didn’t know what else to do with them.” [Laughs] Equipped with a commissary kitchen and access to good farmland at his property in Elizabeth City, Stagikas began growing his brand as a professional hot sauce slinger with a handful of flavors. But they all begin the same way: with a solid base ferment.

“I start with whatever peppers I’m using,” says Stagikas, “then I add in garlic, onion, salt, and water. From there you let the mixture rest around three-to-four weeks. It’s very rewarding being able to source out so many local ingredients — you just have to be patient because it is a bit of a process.”

That includes blending it all, cooking it down and pasteurizing it to make it shelf stable.

Then it goes through a sanitary bottling process. But Stagikas says the final step is really his favorite.

“For me, the best part is creating the label, the artwork and naming it,” he says.

“For my Pineapple Bite sauce — which features fermented habaneros, caramelized pineapples and honey fermented garlic — I partnered with local artist Chris Wheeler to come up with a logo that was branded for the VusicOBX Concert series.”

That’s another joy of the biz: collaborations.

But, whether he’s making signature hot sauces for May’s annual Shred Fest, or pouring a blend over his daily special, Stagikas seems to have found his groove.

Every day is a reminder that no matter how painful the present can be, a moment of pure joy awaits.

“I hope people read this and know you can do anything,” Stagikas says. “The cooking, the truck, the hot sauce — it’s all my motivation to keep moving forward every single day.”

— Fran Marler

FIVE ALARM FIRE!

Wanna feel the burn? Here are three solid picks from these culinary pyros — plus two more fiery local favorites: 1. Stag’s Acapulco Gold: A black garlic, salsa verde hot sauce that is the perfect balance of zingy tomatillos and spicy jalapeños, with bright notes of lime. An absolute staple with huevos rancheros.

2. Stop N Shop’s Three pepper Lemon Hot Sauce: Citrus forward followed by a balance of spice and tangy vinegar. Keep this in your arsenal for that next round of chicken wings.

3. Chilli Peppers Vidalia Onion and Peach: A viscous blend of sweet and savory with a slow burn. Pair with pork chops and thank us later.

4. Tortuga’s Lie Habanero Peppa Sauce: Sweet on the front, notes of garlic, with a spicy finish. Perfectly paired with a BOFF and an ice-cold beer.

5. Blue Moon Beach Grill Serrano Pepper Sauce: Melange of ginger, black pepper and spicy Serranos.

Fried calamari and here we come. milepost 43

artisticlicense Each set of futuristic plans saves a piece of architectural history.

Art courtesy of the Flat Tops of the Outer Banks Project.

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FLAT TOP FEVER soundcheck

It’s the 1940s on the Outer Banks.

World War II has come to a close. Among other changes sweeping the area, a new style of coastal cottage begins popping up in Southern Shores and surrounding northern beaches. They are called “flat tops.” Today, only around two dozen still stand. Which is why architect Chris Nason and his partner, Steven Reiss, started the Flat Tops of the Outer Banks Project.

Their mission? To document and preserve as many existing designs as possible for posterity’s sake.

getactive

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roadmap “You’ve got this really weird moment in real estate where the design of the whole town started with this contemporary thing,” says Nason. “This does not happen very often.”

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And it’s not going to last very long.

According to Nason and Reiss’s website, “it is estimated that 2-3 cottages are lost per year due to development or disrepair.”

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At one time, these single-story, flat-roofed structures numbered in the hundreds all across the Outer Banks. And while the most robust collection currently exists closer to Avalon Pier, the original design idea is pure Southern Shores.

Southern Shores’ iconic home design is feeling some fresh sizzle.

3,000 acres of land north of Kitty Hawk which became Southern Shores. Frank and his son, author and historian David Stick, began developing these now iconic structures to draw families to the area as a vacation destination.

The tourism machine ushered in by the previous decade had been halted by the war but was again beginning to churn.

The Sticks knew that returned servicemen would be starting families and planning family vacations.

“It was postwar, people had just enough money that they could afford [a flat top] as a second home,” says Nason. “They were meant to be cottages, there was really nothing ‘luxury’ about it. There’s no air conditioning. It’s closer to camping.”

A flat top could also be built fairly quickly and cost effectively, using concrete blocks and incorporating local materials like rotresistant juniper. Beach sand was even used in some of the concrete — shells and all.

Brightly colored shutters and trim, in blue, green, and pink “jewel tones” completed the coastal look.

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In 1947, famed illustrator, developer and architect Frank Stick purchased close to

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Characterized by their concrete construction and simple, modern design, flat tops are an example of mid-century

vernacular architecture. And while it may be considered “classic Outer Banks” today, Nason says it was once cutting edge.

“People like the style, it’s definitely having a moment,” he says. “And we’re always a little slow behind the trends, but, in the 1950s, when they were building these, we were ahead of the trends.”

They were also highly functional for the area.

“The homes are resilient, being made of concrete,” Nason explains. “So, you just literally wash them out, wipe them down.

Even the wood used was juniper and cedar, so it holds up really well; it’s somewhat flood resistant. And they all had some ability to open up the house, like with screened porches, to get cross ventilation.”

As the popularity of the Outer Banks grew, so did property values — along with people’s houses and expectations. Over time, large, multi-story homes filled the landscape. And the humble flat top started to fade into Outer Banks history.

Cut to 2016. When a client scheduled the demolition of a dilapidated flat top on an oceanfront lot where they planned to build, Nason thought taking measurements

of the historic structure before it was flattened might be a good project for his summer interns. With the owner’s permission, his team got numbers and used them to create architectural drawings and 3D renderings of the structure.

While measuring and documenting the historic flat tops was great practice for future architects, there was no real urgency to the undertaking. There was, however, a growing interest in preservation. Between the recurring Southern Shores Historic Flat Top Tour — and local nostalgia for the Old Outer Banks in the face of increasing development — momentum grew to save as many of these historic homes as possible.

“And then word got out,” remembers Nason. “We started getting calls from realtors saying, ‘We’ve got another one that’s going to be knocked down, can you go and measure this thing?’ And pretty soon we had six or seven of them.”

Soon, more Southern Shores flat top owners began to contact Nason, wanting their homes documented, too. Then, Lewis Forrest, from the Friends of the Outer Banks History Center, took an interest in the project. The center was able to pay a draftsperson and speed up preservation efforts. Local high school students had

an opportunity to get involved, and even Nason’s teenage children would get recruited for the job if he had short notice before a demolition.

“It was all hands on deck,” Nason remembers.

Today, Nason and Reiss’ finished portfolio of plans counts more than thirty designs. The architectural documentation services are provided at no cost to the property owners, who are able to use them as part of their submission to the town of Southern Shores for historic designation.

Furthermore, the collection of photographs, scaled architectural drawings, and 3D renderings have been or will be donated to the Outer Banks History Center, the Town of Southern Shores Historical Commission, the Library of Congress, and more.

“

This winter, he and Reiss are teaming up with Dare Arts to help fund that vision.

From November through December 16, an exhibit titled “The Flat Tops of Southern Shores” will hang in the Courtroom Gallery in downtown Manteo, showcasing the drawings and renderings along with paintings, photos and interpretive media by local and regional artists inspired by the historic homes.

“We were thrilled with the idea of bringing the history of Southern Shores to Downtown Manteo,” says Jessica Sands, executive director of Dare Arts. “Sometimes it feels like these two communities are worlds away from each other, and this is a perfect opportunity to bridge the gap [while] displaying this important history of the Outer Banks.”

“MOST AREAS OF THE In 2016, Nason, COUNTRY Reiss, and their colleagues were DON’T recognized with GET AN a community service INDIGENOUS award by the American MODERN Institute for STYLE.” Architects. In

A portion of proceeds will go to the project’s book idea. In the meantime, Nason says it will hopefully bring “some renewed excitement towards flat tops and the style of flat tops.”

But they’re not finished. They’ve also begun to dive into historical research on the properties, gathering deed records and sourcing old photographs and stories from legacy families who owned the homes, or still do.

And he thinks by making a connection to the Outer Banks’ past, future developers can find ways to meet clients’ expectations of present-day size and convenience — while preserving a historic architectural milestone.

2022, they received the Volunteer of the Year award from The Friends of the Outer Banks History Center.

“Eventually, we’d like to make a book,” Nason says. “That’s the next piece of it: the future phase. We’d like to tell a little more of the story.”

And that’s another aspect of the project’s ultimate goal: as more vintage flat tops meet a tragic fate, Nason hopes new builds can borrow ideas from the design’s classic appeal. It’s no easy task, especially when many subdivisions and homeowner associations are resistant to anything modern-looking. But his team has already built a range of current adaptations, including Hatteras Island’s multi-tiered Edgecamp Sporting Club.

“If you think about most areas of the country, you don’t get an indigenous modern architecture style,” Nason says. “It’s so rare, it would be great to continue that lineage.” — Hannah Bunn West

Dare Arts’ “The Flat Tops Of Southern Shores — An Art & Architecture Exhibition” will hang in the Courtroom Gallery through Dec. 16. To learn more about supporting local preservation efforts, go to www.flattopsobx.com. milepost 45

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SEEING BLUE? Call Donahue.

“Are you seriously asking my Scoville level?” Hot Sauce drummer Aaron Kohlhafer is incredulous. But also amused.

He takes a second, grins, then spits out “at least 30 million,” at which point the whole band cracks up and chimes in about where they’d land on the infamous tastebud torch scale.

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Guitarist Jordan Lane reckons he’s a “ghost-pepper.” Bassist Antonio Martinez, “something smoky — maybe a habanero.”

Rory McFarlane jests his keyboard approach is both “a little hot and a little fruity,” before Kohlhafer busts through the laughter with a decisive call.

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outthere

“I’d say we’re in that Thai chili region. It’s like you think it’s sweet…and then the heat kicks you right in the ass!”

They may be jokin’, but don’t kid yourself.

In just a couple of years, this four-pack of Gen Zers has become the go-to, locally grown source for face-melting, eyewatering jams, linking classic rock legends like Hendrix and the Stones with crowdpleasing boogies by the Talking Heads — plus a whole bunch of early-era Phish.

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“I think the reason that we gravitate towards Phish is because of their long improv sessions,” says Lane. “That leaves so much room for all of us to kind of shine in different ways. And there’s plenty of other jam bands out there that do that, but Phish just happens to be our favorite.”

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Part of it is a deep, collective appreciation for many of rock music’s most technical acts. (From Queen to Steely Dan to Yes to Metallica.) Part of it is growing up among older, wiser music buffs. (What Kohlhafer calls “good parenting.”) And a solid chunk of it is just good, old-fashioned natural chemistry — plus a cumulative half-century of playing experience.

McFarlane first took piano lessons at age five — and last studied music at UNCChapel Hill. Kohlhafer was banging on his dad’s kit at around seven — and had his own rack at 12. By twelfth grade, Martinez was among the top brass in Manteo’s jazz band — and a member of the local pro outfit, Just Playing Dixieland. All were standouts in their respective high school ensembles — except Lane, who first started learning guitar via YouTube as a preteen, before moving on to private lessons with legendary departed local instructor, Roy Murray.

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DWI • Traffic Tickets • Criminal Law

missing a beat, despite being born decades after much of their set list.

They’re also among the tightest and most high energy — along with the most difficult to master. And yet, Hot Sauce rises to the challenge, grooving from track to track, band to band — era to era — without

“Mr. Murray really took my playing to the next level,” Lane recalls fondly. “He taught me Sabbath, Zeppelin — all the good shit.

He also taught me how to play by ear and how to improvise — which led to a lot of what we do now. But once we moved Tony over from trumpet to bass, that’s when we started getting funky with it and getting way more creative.”

That’s also roughly the time they booked their first real gig behind the Blue Crab — a show that basically blew the screens out of the dive bar’s gazebo. From there, word-ofmouth fed the flame with plenty of oxygen.

“I guess that’s the power of social media,” Lane says humbly. “Because, after that, Zack Mexico asked us to open for them at the Brew Pub. Then all the places around town started hitting us up.”

Today, Hot Sauce plays multiple shows a month — including regular gigs at Avalon Pier, Jack Brown’s and Roadside — filling rooms and backyards with a wide spectrum of music fans. Tie-dyed hippie chicks who just turned 21 — and grizzled grey beards flashing back to their glory years. Even

tight-belted tourists from “inside the loop,” who may not know Carlos Santana from “Suzy Greenberg,” but still can’t help but feel the groove.

“We’re a pretty tight unit,” says McFarlane.

“That gives us confidence. And I think the fact that we all have different favorite styles and different bands that we prefer helps us create our own distinct sound, even though we’re covering songs.”

Kohlhafer brings the big-stick energy of 70s monsters like Jon Bonham and Joey Kramer.

(He’s got the frizzy ‘do and headband, to boot.) Martinez stands virtually motionless in a black tee and beard — cutting a stoic, Slayer-esque figure — but his fingers never stop putting down funky basslines.

McFarlane plays it casual behind his keys and dark shades, orchestrating complex chords and flourishes that flesh out the sound.

But the accelerant to this blazing inferno is Lane’s leadwork, as he channels the greatest guitar heroes — Jimi, Carlos, Duane, Trey —

“

Jordan Lane melts his own face.

Photos: Ed Tupper

feeding the jams with fiery crescendos and a lot of weird faces. It starts with a little tongue poke, then maybe a waggle. Before long, he’s making crazy expressions that bend and scream like the notes themselves. So locked in the moment, he gets temporary amnesia.

something worthy of ultimate respect, yet simultaneously deserving of fresh interpretation. So, while the signature riffs all get their due — whether its Mitch Mitchell’s snare drum on “Fire,” or Ray Manzarek’s lithe, limber keywork on “LA Woman,” or Mike Gordon’s bass-slapping breakdowns on “Weekapaug Groove” — after that, all bets are off, as they follow their hearts and ears into strange new territories.

“I have no idea what I look like onstage,” he laughs. “I don’t think any of us do. But we all get our time to shine, because it’s necessary to have all of our talents on display for different songs.”

Ten minutes and a few gear shifts later, another guy at the table suddenly blurts, “Wait! This is Phish?!”

IF THERE’S A MAGICAL MYSTERY INGREDIENT TO ALL THIS COMBUSTIBLE MATTER, IT’S THE CROWD.

That’s because Hot Sauce treats rock classics the way Berklee kids do jazz standards:

At a recent fall show, an out-of-town couple perks up as the band segues between songs and teases a few droplets of “Tweezer.”

“Wait!” says the girl. “This is Phish!”

The answer is both yes and no. All of it melds tighter into performances that hook you with familiarity — then transport you into something totally different.

But if there’s a magic mystery ingredient to all this combustible matter, it’s the crowd.

The more the audience participates, the more Hot Sauce gets into it.

“If we start getting a good reaction,” says Lane, “that’s when we’re pulling out every single f#%ing high energy song we have, and we’re just giving it all we got.”

And that’s when the Scoville scale goes positively nuclear, as the collective energy spills back and forth between the band and the audience. Bubbling over until it explodes with a bazillion, blazing units of unbridled joy. An indescribable — inescapable — burning sensation that lingers for hours.

And keeps fans coming back for just one more lick.

“That’s the real meaning behind the name ‘Hot Sauce,’” says Kohlhafer. “The idea is to have a saucier way of covering songs, so they come out way spicier than you originally expected.” — Leo Gibson milepost 47

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The old Austan house in Rodanthe contained no Austans. Hadn’t since it was sold to another local family before WWI.

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It stayed in that family till sold to non-locals in the 1970s.

Changed hands many times afterwards and finally fell into the ocean in 2022 when its location, originally almost a quarter of a mile from the breakers, was overwhelmed by the changing coastline.

The video of it collapsing intact, floating in the likeness of Noah’s ark for a few minutes, was seen by millions around the world.

THE SEEMINGLY AMBER CUCUMBER

The wreck’s flotsam washed south for miles.

Including a giant chunk of fulgurite that had been left in the attic and forgotten.

Laying in an antique bassinet.

Soaked, clammy and miserable, they headed to Cricket’s where they could change, dry off and feed their famished selves.

Almost 20 feet in diameter it came bouncing down the rain slick highway from the direction of Hatteras.

The engine cut off but momentum took them into the parking lot of Cricket’s in Buxton.

All bailed except the Austan youth, Kip, who seemed paralyzed as he felt the seemingly amber cucumber getting glowing hot without his hands affected in the least.

Rushing to get off the beach because of Art by Travis Fowler a severe thunderstorm about to explode overhead they took hold of its ancient walnut rails and Young Austan held the cucumber in his lap, about to ran to their rusty crew cab Tacoma parked on the beach. say what a crazy reality this piece of glass or epoxy or something was, Lifting it up into the bed, not realizing it was exactly like amber, not ever having the fulgurite slipped backwards and out... seen amber to be able to mistake it for amber. only to fall on tide hardened sand and break.

The Austan youth retrieved the strange object, jumped in and they were gone.

But that is all he could get out before a thunderclap so loud and piercing it practically paralyzed them.

The bolt that produced it exploded into a huge ball of lightning.

Like a sixteen-inch shell out of a battleship’s gun it passed over screaming.

Four local surfers discovered it. One of the group was an Austan from Hatteras.

There was no time to comment on a fulgurite that big.

No time to even get out of wetsuits with lightning hitting all around.

“Dudes, this is crazy.”

Getting smaller by the bounce till it flew over their truck the size of a basketball.

Until at last, headed west, it came bobbing in the breakers along the elbow of Buxton onto the beach.

Ancient. Solid walnut.

Still containing the huge fulgurite.

Like a lightning baby Moses.

A seemingly cucumber shaped amber, till that moment still stuck inside it, rolled away intact under the truck.

the pointless protection of trees on residential lots bordering Nags Head Woods? Sender: M^t

Which it was not.

The following fall, Charles ‘Buck’ Austan of Nags Head was found not guilty of removing trees in a special protected area. As Kip read the article he was once again blown away.

Captain Buck Austan died in 1905. He had only heard stories about him. His great great grandfather. His life was a biography that tourists would buy.

The following spring Kip was awakened by an incredibly loud thunderclap over Hatteras Village. His first waking thought was that Cricket’s restaurant was before his time.

Stranger still, inside was holographic text in a script not even vaguely familiar.

Bright aqua blue with clearly defined green borders... about .635 cm in height.

Seemingly suspended in the clear-yellow mass like an ancient dragonfly in an ancient piece of amber.

The fulgurite, amber cucumber, huge balls of lightning. For a few euphoric seconds he struggled to remember what was designed to be forgotten.

Suddenly it changed to English. He struggled to read it with salt burned surfer eyes.

This story is true. Heard it from an eyewitness who lived on Hatteras. Just can’t remember who it was. Or is. Or will be. And sometimes when it storms, not even who I am.

— Ty Evans

Off-earth instructions outlining a mission to understand

Nags Head Woods, now one of the most beautiful and exclusive developments on the east coast, rivals Bald Head.

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endnotes ON THE OUTER BANKS

APRIL 11-13

Fired up for the holidays? Head over to The Elizabethan Gardens, Nov. 17-Dec. 30, as WinterLights transforms all ten acres into a festive display of glowing lights, toasty hearths and lit holiday decor. Select nights; 6-9pm. Find timed entry tix and full deets at www. elizabethangardens.org. • Then stuff your horn-of-plenty with Hayman sweet potatoes — while getting a history lesson on Thanksgivings past — when Island Farms’ Garden to Hearth returns Nov. 20-21. From 9am-3pm, costumed interpreters show off 1850s traditions — from making candles to smoking mullet — plus you can purchase locally harvested goodies. $10 for ages 4+. Learn more at www.obcinc.org. • On Nov. 22, give your cornucopia even more local street cred by shopping Secotan’s Thanksgiving Market, where every organic food item and handmade craft is born-and-raised within spitting distance. (PS: Cool Season hours return every other Sat. starting Dec. 2; get days, times and vendors at www.secotanmarket.com.) • Or feast your liver while moving your feet, Nov. 22, when Outer Banks Brewing Station’s Tipsy Turkey Beer Mile mixes 1/4-mile dashes with 10oz. chugs and holiday costumes for a gobblin’ good time. (Sign up starts at 10am.) And come Nov. 23, Corolla’s Wild Turkey Thanksgiving Day 5k invites families to get loopy with a healthy run around The Whalehead. 8am start. Jog over to www.obxrunning.com for more. • Down in Hatteras Village, Nov. 23’s 12th Annual Surfin’ Turkey 5K & Puppy Drum Fun Run invites joggers, walkers, strollers — even well-behaved Fidos — to take a few thousand more steps toward supporting the Hatteras Island Youth Education Fund.

8am start. More at www.hatterasyouth.com. • Or fly further south to Ocracoke, Nov. 23-25, for a weekend triathlon of morning runs around the village (Thurs.’ 8am Turkey Trot 5k), evening sails on Silver Lake (Fri.’s Parade of Boats starts at 5:30pm), and all-day shopping in the Berkley Barn (Sat.’s Holiday Gift Market goes from 10am-3pm). Follow their Facebook pages for the freshest news. • Just be careful walking off any holiday feasts in Nags Head Woods, as bowhunting season will keep twanging away through Jan. 1. (With an extended season from Jan. 13-Feb. 18.) Stay on trails, and keep your dogs leashed. Email nagsheadwoods@tnc.org with any questions. • Looking to bullseye that one-of-a-kind gift?

Head to Cape Hatteras Secondary School, Nov. 24-25, for the Hatteras Island Arts and Craft Guild Holiday Show, where local artists and craftsmen display their sharpest gift ideas. 9am-3pm. Find the full deets on Facebook. • Can’t stop, won’t stop shopping? Shoot north to Corolla Historic Park, Nov. 24, as the 8th Annual Christmas Craft Village corrals handcrafted items from fine arts to baked goods from 11am-4pm, while Corolla Village Christmas bedazzles local bizzes every Fri. & Sat., 5-8pm, Nov. 24-Dec. 31. Plus, Ice Skating in Historic Corolla Park lets you slip and slide with up to 75 friends on Fri., Sat. and select Tues. & Thurs., Nov. 24-Dec. 31. And Whalehead’s Candlelight Christmas Tours pours on early 20th century nostalgia for just $20, every Fri. & Sat., Nov. 24-Dec. 16.

(Heads-up! They always sell out — call 252-453-9040 to hold your spot.) Dash over to

questionauthority upfront

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startingpoint

The outer banks restaurant association’s

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Christmas in Corolla is a veritable North Pole of holiday fun, from Nov. 24 to Dec. 31.

Photo: Twiddy & Co.

gosurf outthere OBXTASTEOF THEBEACH.COM Sponsored in part by the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

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www.christmasincorolla.com for the fine print on all festivities. • It’s a weekend wonderland at Nags Head’s Kitty Hawk Kites, Nov. 24-25, as Hangin’ with Santa lets kids share selfies and gift requests with the man of the season. (Fri., 10am-2pm; Sat., 1-4pm.) And on Sat. evening, cross over to Jockey’s Ridge State Park as they light the Solar Christmas Tree before Kites With Lights strings the stratosphere with twinkling LEDs. More at www. kittyhawk.com. • On Nov. 25, spend the morning finding brilliant gift ideas and tasty baked goods at Nov. 25’s Dowdy Park Holiday Market. (9am-2pm.) Then come back that night from 5-7pm for the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony to share some holiday spirit, hot cocoa and carols — plus photos with St. Nick. Can’t make it? There’s two more markets on the docket: Nov. 30 (4-7pm) and Dec. 9 (9am-12pm.) See their Facebook page for the latest. • Need all day to nail the right present? Head to Comfort Inn South on Nov. 25, as the 11th Annual Outer Banks Entrepreneurs Holiday Bazaar posts up from 9am-5pm with a wild range of artists, crafters and vendors — plus door prizes, raffles, and holiday tunes by DJ Cowboy. Find updates on Facebook. • Or cruise with the OBX Jeepers as they take part in Nov. 25’s Wanchese Christmas Parade. Just bring your ride and some candy to Manteo Welcome Center at 12pm — plus $20 to help local families in need.

Spend a couple hours decorating vehicles, then float through the village flinging sweets.

Don’t got the right wheels but wanna help the cause? Head to area Dollar General stores between now and Dec. 1 and pop something in an OBX Jeepers Charity Gift Drive bin.

Message them on Facebook for details. • The good times keep rollin’ at Sanctuary Vineyards’ Big CurriShuck Festival, Nov. 25, thanks to an endless supply of steamed oysters and crabs, plus local beer and wine tastings, and lots of live music. 11:30am-4:30pm. $50. ($25 for kids.) Tix and deets at www.sanctuaryvineyards.com. • Then they keep on strollin’ — and glowin’ — when Hatteras Villages’ Holiday Trail Light Extravaganza cranks up the kilowatts along Eagle Pass Road, Nov. 27-Jan. 6. Follow ’em on Facebook for more illuminating info. • Winter’s no time to risk burning out. Head to one of Outer Banks Health’s Community Flu Vaccine & Wellness Screenings at Manteo Library (Nov. 28, 9am-12pm); KDH Library (Nov. 29, 9am-12pm); The Outer Banks Hospital (Dec. 6, 5-7:30pm; Dec. 18, 10am-1pm); and Children & Youth Partnership (Dec. 13, 10:30am1:30pm). Plus, Nov. 30’s Medicine Drop & Community Health Fair at the Fessenden Center offers the best place to dispose of unused and unwanted prescriptions and medications, plus screenings and flu vaccines (ages 18-64), and a free mobile grocery by Beach Food Pantry. (10am-1pm.) And on Dec. 2, pump up your fellow man with fresh plasma at the Outer Banks YMCA’s Blood Connection Blood Drive In (10am-3pm).

More at www.outerbankshealth.org. • Wanna see top athletes dunk on a deadly disease? Be at First Flight High, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, as the Good Guys vs Cancer Basketball Showcase pits local high school teams against nationally ranked college players, all to raise dollars for research and fund a community member’s personal fight.

See www.outerbanks.org for a full sched. • From Nov. 30Dec. 31, watch local saloons go balls out on holiday decor via the The 12 Bars of Christmas! Building on the early success of Jingle 12 (aka Lucky 12) — and last year’s fiery additions of Mama Klaus’ (Mama Kwan’s), Gooombrrs (Goombays) and the Broken Candy Cane (Bonzer Shack) — eight more favorites are hitching their sleighs to wacky themes: Deck the Hulls (Outer Banks Distilling); Christmas Vacation Station (Outer Banks Brewing Station); Poor Rudolph’s (Poor Richard’s); Jack Frost’s (Jack Brown’s); McCallister’s Corner (Two Roads); Holly Jolly Christmas (Jolly Roger); Aww Shucks (Blue Water Grill); and Sandy Claws (Blue Crab). Plus, the OBX Party Bus is offering VIP tours, so you don’t jingle all the way to the Abominable Icebox! (aka Dare County lock-up.) Find details — including karaoke competitions, ugly sweater parties, and other events — at www.12barsofchristmas.com. • Don’t trip! On Dec.1, Currituck Beach Lighthouse celebrates its 148th birthday by offering free climbs — and stunning visuals — from 11am4pm. Wish you could get that high every day? Score season climbing passes at www.obcinc.

U pcoming presents

Elizabeth City State University Concert Choir

Christmas Concert

Free Event

St. Andrews By-the-Sea Episcopal Church 4212 S. Virginia Dare Trail • Nags Head, NC

Sunday, December 3, 2023 4:00 p.m.

More information at

bryanculturalseries.org Our endowment managed by the

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endnotes org. • For a real holiday flashback, pop into Island Farm’s Christmas on the North End, Dec.1-2, where costumed interpreters celebrate 1850s style with cider and sugar cookies — bonfires and muskets — and quality time with an old school St. Nicholas. 3-7pm. $10 for ages 4+. More at www.obcinc.org. • And the non-stop nostalgia continues at Dec. 1 & 2’s Town of Manteo Christmas Tree Lighting and Christmas Parade! Starts Fri. evening, when families stroll the streets sipping hot cocoa — and maybe a hot toddy — while sharing carols, cookies and reindeer games before Santa sparks the ceremonial conifer. Be sure to come back for Sat.’s 10:30am procession of floats and bands — non-profits and Nobles — with a firetruck-riding Kris Kringle finale! March over to www.manteonc.gov for details. • As long as you’re milling about downtown, check out Dare Arts’ Fri. night reveal of Greg Bucher’s photo exhibit. (6-8pm; hangs through Jan.) And pop upstairs to see the Flat Tops Of Southern Shores show before it becomes history on Dec. 16. See www.darearts.org for full bios. • And the Pioneer Theatre will crank out holiday shenanigans all month long with family faves like Christmas Vacation (Dec. 1-7); Home Alone (Dec. 8-14); Elf (Dec. 15-22); and Polar Express (Dec. 22-29). Find a complete calendar on Facebook. • The municipality merriment continues on Dec. 2, when Town of Duck’s 13th Annual Duck Yuletide Celebration serves up live music, tasty treats and a visit from Santa before lighting their famous Crabpot Tree. (35pm.) And come back Dec. 3 for the 3-5pm opening reception for a new Rotating Art Show exhibit: 0001: A Collection Of Paintings By Tiffany Lindsey. Open Mon.-Fri., 9am-4:30pm, through Jan. 24. (Holidays excluded.) And Dec. 7, the Elizabeth City State University Concert Choir will hold a holiday performance in the Paul F. Keller Meeting Hall. More at www.townofduck.com. • Help keep our longtime creative community fat and happy, Dec. 2, when Swellsa’ Brewing hosts the 38th Annual Starving Artists Party.

From 12-5pm, score fine photos, cool paintings — and hot Cousins’ Oysters. And stick around, ’cause come 6-9pm, it’s the opening party for Ed Tupper’s month-long showing of black-and-white prints, paired with colorful tunes by a TBD artist. Follow @breakfast1 for sneak peeks. • Want to turn learning an indigenous skill into a new winter tradition?

Join Frisco Native American Museum for a Dream Catchers Workshop on Dec. 2. Then come back for Dec. 9’s Drum Workshop, where Gray Michael Parsons (aka Gray Hawk) shares his original songs — while you make your own drumstick. And Dec. 16’s Native Cooking Workshop shows you how to make Native American cookies and desserts part of any holiday spread. $20 fee includes museum admission. See www.nativeamericanmuseum. org for more. • Their presence is your present, when the Bryan Cultural Series sponsors a free ECSU Concert Choir Christmas Concert at Nags Head’s St. Andrews by the Sea, Dec.3. Learn more at www.bryanculturalseries.org. • Forget Sunday football. You should be out scoring a winning gift! Head to Soundside Holiday Market, Dec. 3, 10 & 17, where a team of 50+ artists stand ready to help tackle all your shopping needs — plus a campfire, food trucks and cameos by Grinch and Santa Claus. Strike early, you’ll still have enough time to catch the end of the game. 12-4pm. Updates at www.soundsidemarket.com. • Bird lovers enjoy an extended holiday, Dec. 8-10, when Wings Over Water’s Encore Sessions offers guided workshops covering everything from sandpipers in shorebreak to falcons over farm fields. (Sorry: no partridges in pear trees.) Find a full list of options at www. wingsoverwater.org. • Sadly, there’s also no Colington Christmas Carol — yet. But Theatre of Dare’s holiday production sounds like the next best thing, as The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical promises strippers, chair throwin’ and some good ol’ marker sniffin’. Runs Dec. 8-9 & 14-16 at 7:30 pm; Dec. 10 & 17 at 2pm. $20. Get all the dirty details at www.theatreofdareobx.com. • Think that’s a spectacle? Wait till you see Dec. 9’s Hatteras Island Christmas Parade. From 2-5pm, local bizzes and nonprofits — fire peeps and Coasties — come together for a high-stepping display of holiday spirit, capped off with cookies and cocoa. 2pm start. Email hatterasevents@yahoo.com with questions. • Meanwhile, the Colington Yacht Club Boat Parade, twinkles around the harbor, Dec. 9. (Rain date of Dec. 16.) And tack back Jan. 1, for the annual New Year Sail.

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SUNDAYS: DEC 3RD, 10TH & 17TH - 12pm-4pm Soundside Event Site, Nags Head

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More at www.colingtonyachtclub.com. • On Dec. 10, do some holy work for local homeless folks — while enjoying an afternoon of angelic tunes — when Gordon & Cathy Kreplin’s A Graceful Christmas Concert fills Nags Head’s Grace Lutheran Church with music and mirth to support Room in the Inn. 4pm. Find the full score on Facebook. • Schedule two more shopping layovers at Aviation Park as KDH’s First Flight Holiday Markets offer a landing pad of handmade presents and home baked goods on Dec.12 (4-7pm) and Dec 16 (10am-2pm). Find a full itinerary on their Facebook page. • Wanna strike poses for apex predators? Head to NC Aquarium, Dec. 13, for Outer Banks Health’s Namaste with the Sharks. From 5:30-6:30pm the Graveyard of the Atlantic exhibit area serves as a free yoga studio for all skill levels. Reservations fill quickly, so beat the frenzy by calling 252-4494529. • Or just enjoy a cold bevvie while hearing about hot environmental issues when OBX Green Drinks returns to Waveriders every second Thurs. during the offseason — Dec. 14, Jan 11, Feb. 8, & Mar. 14 — from 6:30-8pm. Follow their Facebook page for updates on speakers and topics. • Enjoy a jolly weekend of traditional carols from across the pond when the Outer Banks Chorus Presents Ye Olde English Christmas at Kitty Hawk’s Holy Redeemer Catholic Church (Dec. 15, 7pm) and Nags Head’s St. Andrew’s By the Sea (Dec. 16, 4pm). Details at ye olde www.obxchorus.org. • Rather boogie down with a bunch of salty types? Head to Rodanthe’s Outer Banks/KOA resort on Dec. 15-16, for the Shuck Hatteras II Oyster Festival. So far, this “two-day Shellabration of Oysters, Music, & Heritage” features local bands like Howell & Caswell, Hot Sauce, Carolina Sweaters, Anchor Blazer, and Yacht Dogs, with more acts TBA. Don’t wanna miss a beat?

Book a tent or cabin at www.koa.com. Then follow the Facebook event page for tasty updates. • At press time, it wasn’t clear if the Candy Bomber would make it this year. But Karin Edmond says she’s committed to keeping Col. Gail Halvorsen’s holiday tradition alive. So, bring the kids to Dare Regional Airport on Dec. 16 for an afternoon of treats and Santa. And if need be, she’ll “parachute candybars from the airport balcony!” (PS: Want to support this sweet mission? Send donations to Manteo Candy Drop, PO Box 1226, Manteo, NC, 27954.) • Don’t worry, Dec. 17’s 120th Anniversary of Powered Flight will still see the traditional flyover at Wright Bros. Memorial. Plus, the First Flight Society’s scheduled a morning celebration featuring speakers and ceremonies, where Walter and Olive Ann Beech will be the 2023 Paul E Garber Shrine inductees. Even better, the NPS waives the daily entrance fee (so your wallet won’t feel any lighter when you leave). Get the day’s sched at www.firstflight.org. • Calling all Griswolds! Still bumbling and fumbling to find the right gift as the clock runs out Christmas Eve? Head over to Dec. 24’s KDH Cooperative Gallery’s Annual Man Sale! From 10am-2pm, their highly trained staff of inhouse artists can direct you toward a foolproof present. More at www.obxlocalart.com. • Then it’s time to get stupid crazy, Dec. 30-31, as VusicOBX’s first ever New Years on the Banks turns the Hilton into a weekend madhouse of live music, starring The Movement,

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endnotes Little Stranger, Cultivated Mind, Dale and the ZDubs, and — biggest of all — Andy On Jan. 20, the Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts’ musical smorgasbord serves Tom Franco & The UN. Tix range from hotel packages to 2-day passes — assuming they ain’t Glynn’s take on 70s troubadours, with American Tune: Simon, Croce and Taylor, while sold out. But everyone can join the nuttiness on Jan. 1, as the New Year’s Polar Plunge: the Virginia Symphony Orchestra delivers a full score of classical favorites on Feb. 24. All Freeze With Frasco & Friends asks area psychos to cure their hangovers — and support take place at First Flight High at 7:30pm. Get tix and deets at www.outerbanksforum.org. • Vusic Heals — by diving headfirst into an ice-cold Atlantic. 10am start. Find tix and deets Rather perform as part of the creative community? Enter your photo, painting, textile, or at www.vusicobx.com. • Or pour all your energy into one night at The Outer Banks sculpture to Dare Arts’ 46th Annual Frank Stick Memorial Art Show in early Jan. Or just Brewing Station’s Annual New Year’s Party, where Funkamongus finishes off ’23 with a come out to the Dare Arts Courtroom Gallery on Feb. 2 at 6pm and mingle amongst the torrent of ragin’ tunes before a DJ spins the room into ’24 — and the beach’s best balloon area’s top talents. Hangs through Feb. 24. Learn more at www.darearts.org. • “Girls gone drop and champagne toast bubbles over at midnight. Learn more at www.obbrewing.com. • wild” takes on a whole new meaning, Feb. 3, when Town of Duck’s Rotating Art Show’s Looking for something a little more family friendly? Try Dec. 31’s Magic Midnight In Women and Wildlife Exhibit reveals eye-popping photos by Cyndi Goetcheus Sarfan, Manteo, where a Kids’ Zone keeps rugrats busy while parents party down to the Eve Turek and Joyce Edwards. Opening reception from 3-5pm; hangs through Apr. 24.

Riggsbee Radd Band — and everyone comes together for waterfront fireworks when the Mon.-Fri., 9:30am-4:30pm. (Excluding holidays.) Focus on www.townofduck.com for new clock strikes twelve. Stay tuned to www.manteonc.gov for full details. • Or go screaming into developments. • Think a twinkling sky is Ma Nature’s masterpiece? On Feb. 2-3, head to 2024 with the 34th Annual Tortuga’s Lie New Year’s Run! Just show up at 10pm on Dec. Hatteras Village for Starry Nights!, where an astronomer gives a Fri. afternoon presentation 31 and be ready to dash. No fees. No at the Hatteras Village Civic Center, registration. (And probably no and Sat. brings a portable planetarium hangover, either.) Follow ’em on to the Hatteras Fire House. And if you Facebook for updates. • As long as think winged birds are the cat’s pajamas, you’re up and feeling frisky on Jan. 1, come back Feb. 23-24 for the Hatteras why not join OBX Jeepers 1st Annual Village Waterfowl Festival. Starts with Polar Bear Jeep Run? It’s easy. Just Fri. night’s Fin, Feather and Bourbon meet at Jennette’s Pier at 8am then Social, which serves a tasty eve of wild caravan to Ocracoke for the year’s first game, small plates and local seafood for beach drive. (PS: From Jan. 28-Mar. 8, $65. Then Sat. sees a flock of bird head to any Dollar General to donate carvers, artists, vendors — and even a Easter toys for needy kids and nonlive raptor show — fly through town. perishable items for food-insecure For more information, email families.) Get all the true grit on their hatterasevents@yahoo.com. • On Feb. Facebook page. • Know a high school 10, work up a sweat chasing your senior who needs cold cash for college? sweetie — then enjoy an after party of Dozens of Outer Banks Community wine, cheese and chocolate tasting — Foundation Scholarships stand ready when the 7th Annual Love on the Run to help local kids enjoy a higher 5K celebrates Valentine’s Day early at education, be it a four-year college, Sanctuary Vineyards. (Dash over to nursing school or technical program. www.obxrunning.com for deets.) And ( Just ask any guidance counselor for keep things spicy, Feb. 11, when The apps starting in Jan., or get a head start Cajun Occasion blends jambalaya, live by researching www.obcf.org.) And jams, and fermented grape juice into Strike up the band! Everyone’s favorite springtime blast — Kelly’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade — blows down the don’t forget: the Dare Guarantee one blistering hot Mardi Gras party.

Beach Road on Mar. 17. Photo: Ed Tupper Scholarship Program will cover two Lingering details are available at www. years of tuition at College of Albemarle — including Workforce Development and sanctuaryvineyards.com. • Then everyone gets lucky at Mar. 16’s Running of the Career Readiness programs — for any recent Dare County grad. Act fast! COA spring Leprechauns 5K/10K, as they hand out medals and t-shirts to every finisher — plus special classes start Jan. 8. Find details and registration dates at www.albemarle.edu. • Ever heard of awards for the three fastest men and women. More at www.obxse.com. • Or just score a an “oyster shoot”? What about Old Buck? On Jan. 6, witness two of Hatteras Island’s oldest healthy buzz — and maybe some beer goggles — at Mar. 16’s St. Patrick’s Day Weekend — and wildest — traditions when Old Christmas fills the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Beer Mile. Be at Outer Banks Brewing Station around 1pm to register for a 2pm start Community Building with old salts and (hopefully) good shots. Watch www.

— then be ready to pound some pavement. (And at least four 10oz beers.) Stumble over islandfreepress.com for the latest. • On Jan. 19, witness the future of medicine at the 10am to www.obxrunning.com for details. • Then see the Beach Road party till their eyeballs community open house for the Outer Banks Health’s new Carol S. & Edward D. Cowell, “float,” Mar. 17, when the annual Kelly’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade draws everyone Jr. Cancer Center. Then support its efforts on Feb. 10, when Plateful of Hope: A from Shriners to Garden Hoes to Derby Girls for the finest — and funnest — display of Gourmet Experience To Go raises funds by selling portable Valentine’s dinners designed Irish culture and impish behavior in the whole damn state. 1pm start. Follow their Facebook

by Wes Stepp. More at www.outerbankshealth.org. • Let Theatre of Dare tide you over page for updates and ways to participate. • On Mar. 30, roll over to Elizabethan Gardens, through winter with a three-course selection of Tony-winning plays, including two meaty as Eastertide decorates the Great Lawn with a vibrant collection of eye-popping eggs, dramas — Beautiful Things ( Jan. 19-28 at Dare Arts in Manteo) and August Osage colorful contests, giddy games and vibrant vendors. 10am-2pm. Find more fresh details at County (Feb. 2-11 at the Kitty Hawk HQ) — and one scrumptious, musical comedy: The www.elizabethangardens.org. • And, finally, at press time we learned that Taste of the Drowsy Chaperone (Mar. 8-17 in Kitty Hawk.) All Fri. & Sat. shows at 7:30pm; Sun. Beach Weekend is set for Apr. 11-13. So, save space on your calendar — and more in your matinees: 2:30pm. Find pricing, tix — and audition info — at www.theatreofdareobx.com. • tummy. All tasty tidbits will be revealed at www.obxtasteofthebeach.com.

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