Kickin' around OBX

Thursday, August 29 - Today was a day to explore around the Outer Banks.  We heard that there was a surfing competition at Janette Pier in Kill Devil Hills, so we headed over there to check it out.  Unfortunately, the waves were not good enough (or as the lifeguard told us, the "had nothing to work with"), so we just poked around the beach and pier for a bit.

The logo and artwork for the event is pretty great, so here's a good look at it on the back of the stage on the beach.  (And, just like Where's Waldo, see if you can pick me out...)  After learning a little more about the legends of OBX -- like the fact that Blackbeard tormented the waters off the Outer Banks with his pirate ship, but ultimately met his demise here -- it made the artwork a little more fun.  Note Blackbeard on a board.

Janette's Pier is a well-known fishing pier, and reopened a couple of years ago when it was completely rebuilt after being demolished by hurricanes.  There are serious fishermen here -- no amateur tourists with fishing poles were spotted -- and they even have cutting boards right on the benches for cleaning the fish on the spot.  They also have 3 huge wind turbines on the pier - another Sandy G favorite.

A few additional beach rules to live by which we saw posted nearby:

• Rule number one: don't go number two.
• The seagull you feed today will crap on you tomorrow.
• It's a beach, not an ashtray.
• The minimum required distance between you and the next group is twice the diameter of the largest umbrella.
• For every hour you swim after midnight, please remove one article of clothing.
• If more than three people point at your body, it's time to put on a shirt.