Shore Leave

I realized on this Monday morning that I had not run for nearly two weeks - since that run at Niagara Falls - an exceptionally long time for me.  So it was with great joy that I got out the door and started down Marlin Drive on a five-mile run.  It was a little overcast but the temperature was perfect.

The ocean here seems to be a a lot more energetic than that at Atlantic Beach, where we stayed earlier this year, and I realized that was because we are facing due east, not south, and there is nothing between us and Europe.  The sun rises directly in front of our house, and the wind and the waves arrive unimpeded from the vast Atlantic Ocean in front of us.  We are are at the same latitude as Lisbon, Portugal (or a little south of there), straight out across the ocean.  "Bem vinda," Oh great Atlantic!

The Town of Duck is a perfect place to run, similar to Atlantic Beach, NC, but more interesting because in only half a mile you are in the heart of Duck on the pedestrian path along the highway.  I passed by all of our familiar places over 18 years of vacationing here:  that laid-back old shopping center Scarborough Faire, sprawling under the live oak trees; Fishbone, where we would always sample a cup of its award-winning Conch Chowder our first night here; and that semi-secret place we discovered years ago, a sidewalk at the far end of the Four Seasons development that goes nearly a mile out to the ocean.  The air was fragrant with honeysuckle, and I stopped to pick some rosemary, which grows in huge bushes out here (and will adorn dinner tonight).

The other great running opportunity here is the Duck Boardwalk, which extends nearly a mile along the Currituck Sound and can be accessed from the Town Park (centrally located - restrooms, water fountain) and other locations throughout the Town’s Village Commercial District.  I got on at the southern-most end, near Aqua Restaurant, and followed it all the way to the other end, the Waterfront Shops not far from Marlin Drive.

Mid-way, not far from the Town Park, is the Clinton Memorial Chapel, back behind the Methodist Church.  Martha's Aunt Lizette told us about it years ago, before the Boardwalk had been extended (it is now directly adjacent to the chapel). 

A morning run along the boardwalk - or, indeed, a visit to Duck at all - would not be complete without a stop at this quiet sanctuary to give thanks for life, for good health, for friends and family, and for the gift of running.