Manteo..First Friday

Manteo,NC on a warm Spring evening. First Friday. There is a Jazz band playing on the steps of the old Court House. Kaite and I dance a little. I'm sitting on a park bench next to Abbie eating her hot dog. It is possible to dance and sit. Katie stood of course how else could I twrill her? Steve and I strolled down by the docks. There are a lot more sailboats here than there used to be. And a house boat so big it could be a ferry. The ElizabethII across Shallowbag Bay shines on the water painting a quiet picture of our local history. A lone kayak's paddle breaks the surface of the water as it glides past the docks. You can hear the sound of the breeze blowing the sailboat rigging against it's mast and a little bluegrass music floating over from the old boat house. A little girl calls out to her mother on the playground "Mommy! Mommy! Look at me!" Someone is barbecuing a steak somewhere reminding us of summer and making us a little hungry.We greet neighbors and tourists as we walk. A photographer with a very large lens on his camera waits for a seagull to move off of a piling so that he can get a perfect photograph of the recreated lighthouse.This is perfect camera light in the nearly setting sun.We walk with the kids first to listen to yet another band. This one is singing Johnny Cash cover and Katie says "More Jazz." no Katie not jazz but you can dance to it. In the coffee shop we get ice cream cones. Abbie's sherbet matches her tyedye shirt.Grandad and Jon take the kids to the playground as I browse the bookstore. I talk to the shop owner Steve about my upcoming trip to Haiti. He is going to send some books along with me.
We walk back to the car. The daylight has surrendered. Moonlight Manteo. Small town on it's best behaviour.