201 East

201 EAST is what the weathered driftwood sign outside my new house says. More specifically, I now live at 201 East Avalon Drive, Kill Devil Hills, NC. as of last night at 9pm EST. I moved here with my soul mate buddy, Michael, in hopes of finding a peaceful, slower and just maybe more important life.

There are so many names for the sandy ground I walk on here: The Outer Banks, Dare County, Avalon Beach, and I am learning more names every day. For now, I am just very excited to be calling it home.

When I first signed my lease, I was in Knoxville, Tn. and conversing with the landlord by email. "What is the mailing address," I asked her, thinking this was a simple concept. "You need a mailbox?" she asked, as if I had lost my mind. "Most people don't want to be reached who come here for the winter," she explained. I was moving to a remote barrier island in the winter time, something most people do to be loners not to be social butterflies.

I woke up this morning for the first time in my new home, having arrived late last night and completely exhausted after the nine hour drive. I donned an LL Bean fleece and set out to the beach, which is less than 100 feet out my front door. There was only one man and his Golden Retriever on the entire stretch of sand that I could see. This area is on it's winter schedule and coming into this town at this time of the year is unheard of. Most people flock here in the summer and fill their time with sunscreen applications, learning to surf, visiting pirate themed restaurants and spending a lot of cash. I come here to experience winter life in the slower pace of a local. I want to experience the real ebb and flow on the barrier islands at the most extreme part of their year. I will be here through May trying to find where I fit in, or if I fit in, in Kill Devil Hills.

My house is a small blue beach box. It has all the basic things that I need (dishes, beds, cable, internet, heat) and none of the ones that would make this experience "fancy" (hot tubs, pools, scented soaps, maid service - hell, I don't even have a mailbox!). I am on a serious budget and trying to get along in an off-season island economy along with everyone else. This blog intends to record my experiences over the next five months as I explore my surroundings in a very new place.