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Stranded on an island! In the middle of a nor'easter!

For a down-home, may-as-well-be-a-native Floridian, it was the opportunity of a lifetime for me when I was invited to spend an entire week at the Outer Banks. I've been to the Florida Keys numerous times, the Bahamas about four times, Acapulco once, and also on a weeklong Windjammer cruise from Grenada to Caracas, but I had never been to the Outer Banks. I had always wondered what all the hoopla was about when I heard people speak of this delicate chain of barrier islands off the North Carolina coast. What could possibly be the attraction? I would soon find out.

When the big traveling day arrived, my Delta flight landed in Greensboro on a Friday afternoon, and by early Saturday morning my friend and I were on the road heading east. His four-wheel drive Trooper was loaded down with so much gear and luggage that it almost felt as if we were going on a safari. It was a five-hour road trip from the middle of the state where he lived, but I thoroughly enjoyed every hour, as well as all the sights along the way. There were things I had never seen before; timber farms, tobacco and cotton fields, pecan trees and apple trees that went on for miles, corn rows, potato plants, and wildflowers that brightened the landscape. It was unbelievable!

We had some time to kill before the last ferry from Swan Quarter to Ocracoke Island would depart, so we took a leisurely drive through the city of Bath, which is the oldest city in the state of North Carolina, incorporated in 1705. What a quaint and beautiful town it was. I was so impressed with it that I even used it as a guide for one of the locales in my latest novel, Aniratak.

It was a gorgeous, sunny afternoon in early May 2007 when we finally arrived at Swan Quarter to catch the two-and-a-half hour ferry ride over to Ocracoke Island. On the way there, I remember seeing a street sign that said Sonny Boy Joiner Highway and I immediately felt right at home because my dog's name is Sonny Boy. Coincidence? Perhaps.

As I watched all the vehicles pulling onto the ferry, I had serious doubts about whether or not the huge boat would stay afloat, especially when I watched a big semi trailer truck drive onto the ramp. My fears turned out to be silly thoughts and I finally relaxed once we were on our way. Although the trip across the sound was long, in some folk's estimation, it was my first ever ferry ride, so I was soon having a blast, thoroughly enjoying the saltwater fragrance of the

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