Where to begin

So vacation was fun. It was hot and I guess was summer's last gasp, as least for us. We drove away from summer and came back to fall. One week a year just isn't enough. The dogs had a great time, walks every morning, swimming several times a day....and they seemed to reaaalllllyyyy enjoy the air conditioning, too much. Used to be, as soon as we got into a rental cottage, we turned off the AC and opened all the doors and windows. Nothing better in my mind than to have an ocean breeze whipping through the house and make everything sticky. But alas, the screens were being replaced so we couldn't open most of the windows. For two days I felt slightly claustrophobic, but the dogs were in heaven (we don't have AC at home, not even a window unit). On Tuesday or Wednesday the temp. went up to 93 or so with a heat index of near 100. The dogs didn't even want to leave the house to go swimming. They stood just inside the door and looked at each other, as I tried to beckon them outside. We went kayaking every day and saw lots of cool wildlife....deer, racoons, a snake, some terrapins, osprey, great egrets, great blue herons, skimmers. Too bad most of that stuff will be displaced after the construction next door of a 10-bedroom house with a pool.

Late in the week, my husband and I decided that we didn't think we would come here anymore. The level of excitement that we used to feel going on vacation just wasn't what it used to be, and the level of change that occurs from year to year is just too much and never for the better. What is it about the human race that leads people to just want to consume everything? Maybe we will try and go back to Ocracoke or maybe we will try and find something along the eastern shore of Virginia. Who knows. But watching something die a slow death from over-development and an overwhelming onslaught of obnoxious tourists is just too depressing. Yes, I know I'm a tourist too, but we aren't loud, we don't expect unreasonable accomodations, we respect the locals, and we actually enjoy seeing wildlife instead of calling someone to have it removed.