Midpoint

Both timewise and geographically, we're at the midpoint of our trip -- and a point is all that it is. We're on Ocracoke Island, one of the bits of land that make up North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Only fourteen miles long and mostly a stroll wide, it's barely a dot on the Atlantic.

Besides being charmingly beautiful, it's filled with history -- some of it dark, as Blackbeard worked these shores, luring boats onto sandbars then plundering their wares.

The photo above was taken near Teach's Hole, one of the places here named after the famous pirate (who was also known as Edward Teach).

Today's island population seems dominated not by pirates, but by much-too-tame ducks. Mallards have staked their claims nearly everywhere you look. A pair tried inviting themselves for dinner last night, only they weren't volunteering to jump on the barbie.

They didn't seem to get it when I said, "I don't feed ducks, I eat them." Still, they did begin to shy away when we mentioned hoisin sauce.

Starting today, we'll be heading north then west -- all part of the route that will eventually, we trust, lead us back to that other coast and home.