Winds hit the Outer Banks

It's been a windy, cold day as a cold front pushes through.  I sure hope this all clears out in the next month.

This video shows choppy waters on the sound side of Duck, NC.  It is almost full moon, the video was taken near high tide (~5pm) and winds are pushing water towards the east side of the sound.  All this adds up to water lapping against the boardwalk:



Thirty minutes later a nice sunset at the marina in Southern Shores (although still cold and windy).  That's an osprey nest on the post in the center:

My Trip Experience

Going to the Outer Banks was the most amazing trip. It was my first time to the beach and in the ocean. I had a lot of fun looking and collecting shells that we learned in class. I found it very interesting that all the shells that were washing up on the beach were actually old, since the Outer Banks is being eroded toward mainland. In this first picture the black clump being held is salt mash soil from the salt marshes that have been moved inward (I like to call it Spartina poop or marsh muffin).

The second pictures shows some class mates kayaking. This was also the first time i have ever kayaked. It was very fun to kayak through the salt marsh and look for Geukensia, Spartina, Juncus, and Littoraria, which we also learned about in class. This trip reinforced many concepts that we learned about in class and it was very interesting to actually see everything in the natural environment interacting with each other. This trip strengthened marine knowledge, friendship, and camping experience.