Photo Contest Pictures

photo by Pat Bleich

Season is here ... really busy ...only have time to add some great photos sent in to the 2009 Photo Contest sponsored by Ocraocke Island Realty. Anyone can enter--no strings attached. Nothing to buy, nothing to sign up for. Read More.

photo by Judi Dudley

photo by Pat Bleich

Happy

I love this place. My husband gave me a card with a three night stay here anytime this year. I chose Fathers Day week and brought him along.

We have been very relaxed and are going to stay one more day. Miss Gladys has fixed us a wonderful breakfast every morning and we walk it off each day and do some sightseeing.

I have done some Christmas shopping and some birthday shopping too. Yesterday we went to the beach and worked on our tans for a few hours and then went to Cafe Atlantic for dinner. Fantastic.

The people at the Castle have been so kind to us and we are already planning on coming back this fall. When Jack asked me to write a short post for the blog I was happy to.

This island is a magical place.

Thank you

Happy Hannah

Spring is in full bloom...

Spring is in Full Bloom all over Ocracoke Island but it is especially beautiful here on the Castle Grounds. After a long, chilly winter, the various shades of green that comes with the season of spring are symbolic of life and optimistic hope. This annual event occurs in cooperation with Mother Nature and our gardener, Jose.

Mother Nature provides the surging life force energies that are visible through the sudden growth and flowering of trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs. It is Jose’s steady attention to the details of the planting that contributes to the lush landscape here at the Castle. You can find Jose pruning the trees; dividing the plants; trimming and mulching the garden beds; and of course always making sure they all get some water.

We also have a resident gardener, Jen, who has her eye on filling up the empty, overlooked spaces with greenery and color. She has been busy planting vegetables and herbs along the fence line; hollyhocks and gladiolas along the back fence and tucking new plants in among the old. Jen’s energy and aesthetic eye for color and texture have already graced the established flower beds. While the daffodils she planted in the fall have come and gone, we look forward to watching and sampling her new contributions to the Castle landscape.

So, how was your visit?

How was your visit? The answer to that question can make or break an Innkeepers day. Taking care of the Inn can sometimes be challenging, on second thought, I won't say sometimes, I'll say that it can often be challenging.

No matter how many times we walk around to check and double check things, the unexpected can always happen. The heat or air conditioning goes out or something like: it's 7:00 o'clock in the morning and someone forgot to stock the fridge for breakfast.

I think my favorite and always expected line when it rains is: "did you know there's a leak ______________ " (you can fill in the blank as to location in that phrase). It's pretty much guaranteed that when the wind is howling 35 knots and it's raining, we're going to have a leak somewhere. I should have a prize for the first person that walks up and says that to me.

I know it sounds like I'm some kind of nut when I go take a look and mumble "yes, that's a leak all right, haven't had one there before" as I wander off to look for something to catch the raindrops as they slowly fall from the ceiling. Fortunately folks understand. How could you not get a leak with a roof line that looks like this:



So, how was your visit? I've heard enough lawyers on Law and Order say "never ask a question you don't know the answer to". Or was that Perry Mason? I forget. But one thing's for sure, everyone has a different opinion of the Castle and we want to hear them all. It's not a standard phrase we just say. Good, bad or just plain ordinary, we really want to know.

We have a few of those guest books floating around the Inn. Occasionally guests will take the time to leave a note for the next guest. I enjoy reading them myself.

I've scanned a few of the notes in to share with fellow bloggers. A couple of the folks that wrote the ones below had some pretty interesting visits from what I observed while they were here. No, everything did not go smooth on all of their visits, but we took every measure to address their concerns during their stay. Seems like they had a good time despite the malfunctions we had along the way. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do.

Happy Holidays
The "Inn" Crowd

Celebrity Visits The Castle

Well I hope the subject got your attention. I know you were all set to read another post about my roaming about the castle and grounds but this is much more exciting.

I often wonder why some people come here this time of year. It could be 70 degrees one day and 35 the next and vice verse. Yesterday I was out working on the grounds in a tee shirt, and today it's raining, cold and the wind is howling about 30 knots. There's hardly any shops or restaurants open at this time of year. All that aside, the phone always rings with people that are happy to hear that we are open and "have room at the inn".

It's always intriguing to hear about what brings guests here this time of year. A couple of the guests this past weekend specifically came because they like to make their own fun. They relayed to me that they love the solitude that the island brings this time of year. They told me of their walks along the beach and Springer's Point. I truly felt envious. But then again, I enjoy the walk to the Community Store with my wife and the early morning rides on the beach in the jeep. So, I know just how they felt.

Anyway, there I go rambling again and I'm sure by now you want to know about this celebrity. Last Friday night I knew there was supposed to be some guests arriving from Englehard. I usually look to see where folks are coming from so I can guess their arrival time based on the ferry schedule. If I think it's going to be late I want to make their check-in as simple as possible. When they did not check in after the last ferry from Swan Quarter I became a little concerned.

We had an event going on at the Castle that night and we happened to be there late. I expressed to some co-workers that I was concerned that the guests had not showed up. I was happy to see my guests arrive at 11:00 pm. They explained that one of them had to work late and they had to drive around to the Hatteras Ferry to come to Ocracoke as they could not make the Swan Quarter. I was just glad to see that they made it OK.

It was late and they looked tired so I just showed them to their room and wished them a good night.

The next morning I had the pleasure of engaging in conversation with JD (He said his friends called him that so I guess it made it OK for me). He told me that his wife had drug him there because she thought he worked too hard and he needed to relax a little. Now I'm no expert but JD looked like a guy who was dedicated to his job. Then when I found out what his job was I thought, "WOW, that's about the most important job on the Outer Banks". Now JD seemed like a modest kind of fellow when I thanked him for doing such a good job and battling what seemed like impossible odds. He just smiled and gave me the impression of "that's just what I do".

In some ways I could look at JD and see that he was not sure how to relax, and this whole bed and breakfast thing, well the things you do for love, and I could tell that his wife was determined that he was going to relax in spite of himself.

I'll also have to point out that it was JD's birthday and this is why his wife chose to "drag" him to Ocracoke.

A group of guest's were sitting around on the front sun porch and JD and his wife walked by. For some reason I could not help myself, but I beckoned to this modest man to come back into the room so I could introduce him to the others. When I did, a round of applause and lots of verbal "thank yous" were given and I'm sure I embarrassed him but I just felt that his celebrity status should be recognized.

That morning JD and his wife were departing the Inn early and I invited them to stay longer, perhaps another night. They explained that they had to go because Mrs JD had to get back because she had work to do with Toys for Tots.

Their stay at the inn was because they had won a gift certificate from the Castle for their participation in the Relay for Life. Oh, I guess I have not told you what JD's occupation is yet. He works for the NC Department of Transportation, and he supervises the crew that keeps NC 12 open at Mirlo Beach (when they can), thus my opinion that he is one of the most important people on the Outer Banks. There are many of us who depend on that small passage.

I'm happy to have had Mr and Mrs JD as guests at the Castle and I hope they come back to see us again. I know that the "Castle Mug" I gave him for his birthday cannot repay the dedication that JD and his wife have made to the community, but I do hope that when they look at it, they remember the gratitude and respect that the small group of folks they met had for them. And the gratitude of the many folks that depend on them and others like them that often goes unspoken.

Thanks again Mr and Mrs JD, for all you do.

Happy Holidays

"The Inn Crowd"

The Landlord's Invitation

I'm sure a lot of you think I spend all of my time wandering around the Inn and you may be right. Now's the time to get the things done that we may have slid to the "back burner" when we were real busy or venture off into some area to see if you really did take care of something or had a dream about doing it.

I think part of my problem is that the Castle is rather distracting. Every hallway you go down has something on the wall that can stop you so that you can get another look at it. Even if you've looked at it a bunch of times.

Below is a photo of a plaque that hangs on the wall at the bottom of the stairs just outside the kitchen. For those of you that have visited us, you may have seen it. Then again, it's easy to walk by and not see it as the aroma of breakfast that Ms Gladys is cooking up in the kitchen is all you can focus on when you walk by.

I've often thought that the words on this plaque were some kind of "down home Ocracoke hoi toide" language or that perhaps ET had visited the castle and presented Sam Jones with the plaque. One thing for sure was that I had no idea what it said. Even going back for "one more look" never helped.

This past weekend I turned the corner and there stood two young ladies staring at the sign. "Ha" says I, "if you figure out what that thing says come and tell me because I can't". They let out a chuckle and I could see the determination in their eyes and never gave it another thought.

The next day, these two girls came into the den and made an announcement. "We've figured it out"! Forgetting about my conversation on the previous day, I thought that maybe they had figured out what Ms Gladys puts in her omelets that makes them so good. Then they lead all of us to the sign and commenced to reading it to us. It all made sense the way they said it. I can say that it did not feel good to be outsmarted by a couple of 13 year olds, but I sure was glad that the riddle for me was finally solved. The next time I see them I should make them a pie or something.

So take a look and see if you can read it. At least you'll see why it intrigues me.



Happy Holidays from "The Inn Crowd"

If These Walls Could Talk...

I'm sure there's a movie or a book out there somewhere with that title, but often it's the thought that goes through my mind as I walk about the Inn. It doesn't happen very often that the opportunity to walk about the building when there is no one else here becomes available.

This solitude brings out the "sounds of silence" so to speak. During this time of year it can get so quiet in the building that all you can hear is the ticking of the second hand on the clock and the light humming of the computer fan. I usually take advantage of this rare occasion to go "exploring" around the Castle and the grounds.

Actually, I'm just making sure that things are in order for the next guests checking in, but hey, it sounds more exciting to use the word "exploring". I enjoy opening up all of the room doors and roaming from room to room trying to imagine what it was like "back in the day".

A visitor to Ocracoke stopped by this fall and told me that his last visit to the Island was back around 1954 and he remembered seeing the Castle as it was undergoing construction and thinking at that time that it was going to be some incredible building for Ocracoke. He asked if he could look around so I gave him a tour and he told me about the way the island was the last time he visited so long ago, peaking my imagination even further.

There are newspaper articles and photos of Sam Jones and his friends hanging on some of the walls. Even though I've read the stories many times and stared at the photos, I always stop as I pass by them to look one more time in fascination. This architectural marvel never ceases to amaze me and the thought of how it came to be from the imagination of Mr. Jones.

Every photo I see is of smiling faces. There is one photo of a group of people around a piano and right in the middle staring at the sheet music is Ikey D, Sam's horse. In my mind they are singing the theme song to Mr. Ed, but in reality I'm sure it was something like "Get Along Little Dogies" or some other western classic.

My wife says if I did not talk so much, I would get home an hour earlier every day. She's probably right but once you get me talking about the history of this place, well they say time flys when you're having fun. So stop on by some time and let me talk your ear off.

It's time for me to go "exploring" or make my rounds as they say. If you want to come along and see the Castle through my eyes, just click on the video link below for a virtual tour. Today I'm just going check out the first floor which will include Mary's Room, Billy's Room, Patti's Room and of course Sam and Ikey D's Room in that order.

Until next time,
The "Inn" Crowd

Thanks to my good friend Rob Alderman for his talent with the camera and filming.

Click Here For The Video Tour