Monday, June 09, 2008

Home on the Island

So, here I am again...Home on the Island. The leaving is always difficult and busy, but once I am packed and locked up I am fine and ready to begin my adventure.
It took three days of driving as I took my time to enjoy the journey. I got caught in the storms in Pennsylvania the first night so stopped early.

I drove an old road through Virginia and thought of Adam the whole way as I passed through Confederate territory with signs every few miles. It was a stunning drive....highway 17 in case you need to make the trip. I arrived to a house full of folks and the pot luck supper and the auction. It was as if I had never left...good friends, good food..

Philip's cottage is as it was. Quaint...small...full of history. I felt at home right away!

The week end was the Ocrafolk festival out under the shade of the live oaks. The weather was hot as it was everywhere else, but tolerable. Philip and I did our old fashioned radio show as well as call the evening square dance. We sat by the hour listening to all types of music from jazz to folk to original pieces.

Last night after the festival we hosted the party. All the musicians came and filled up the old cottage with music....accordions, banjos, guitars, and even a keyboard. A new baby slept in the old bedroom while laughter and friendship was shared. The music went on until after midnight. Philip and Jim and I then sat out on the front pizer watching the half golden moon talking about how wonderful life is.

I did wake early this morning and biked down to the cold restored Community Store for coffee and conversation. I sat out on the porch in the early morning light and just visited with folks as they stroled by.

Today is unpacking, settling in...

It is lovely to be back...to be Home on the Island.

Lou Ann Homan-Saylor lives in Angola, Indiana which is nestled in the hills of Northern Indiana and spends her summers on the wind swept island of Ocracoke. You can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, a teacher, a writer, an actress and a collector of front porch stories.

Spring break in St. Pete...

  Adam and his pups! The late-night flight is full. Everyone is heading out for spring break. Students and teachers, moms and dads, kids and...