Volunteering Opportunities

I'm so excited! Last week I filled out an application to be a USO volunteer.  I've been to an orientation at the Jacksonville Center and I am in the process of going through their training modules on-line.

I am so impressed with this organization.  It goes without saying that they have a great mission, but I am also impressed with how they handle volunteers and train them.  If other non-profits don't already follow their lead on this, they should!

The Jacksonville USO center is the oldest one in the country.  It was started in 1941.  It has a cafe and tv/computer room, an auditorium and many programs for active military personnel and their families.

The building has inside, what used to be two phone booths where military people of another generation used to make phone calls to their loved ones while visiting the center.  Instead of tearing these out, they have plans to make them into something for more contemporary use.  Maybe a photo booth?  Who knows, but great that the potential is there.

They have so many programs I wouldn't be able to describe all of them here, but trust me, the USO is deserving of your support if you value the military and their families.

I can't wait to get started, but I have to finish the training modules first.  I'll let you know when I actually get to volunteer at an event.

First Days and Weeks

Elaina has been very gracious in taking me around to see some different areas beyond Jacksonville.  There are so many small towns (and I mean SMALL) all over this area.  Many farm houses, with or without an actual working farm.  There’s lots of cotton fields, that at this time are harvested and waiting to be plowed under.  Oh, and did I mention trees?  There are miles and miles and miles of pine trees. There are just solid trees along the roads and highways. I have always wanted to live in the country and driving through these areas, again, makes me emotional.  I know it sounds weird, but I felt like I was “home.”

Jacksonville could be considered a small town, but it has really spread out from town to areas where there’s all the shopping anyone could possibly want all in one area.  Jacksonville sits on the New River which is picturesque and has at least three small bridges that take you from one end of town to the other.  The surrounding areas are definitely “country.”  Jacksonville is home to two USMC bases, Camp LeJeune and New River where Elaina works.  I read that half the population of Jacksonville is from the bases.

Elaina took me (and Abby) to Topsail Island to walk on the beach.  Abby normally lays on the backseat of the car when riding, until Elaina gets near the beach.  Then Abby jumps up and starts smelling the air.  She loves the beach and can’t wait to get out and walk along the shore.  If she could be free from a leash she would probably run and run and have a blast.  The shells on the beach are so abundant that it’s hard to walk past them without looking for the best ones.

Elaina took me to the town of Beaufort.  This is a cute little seaside town with shops, restaurants and a museum. It has a history of being the home of Blackbeard the Pirate whose real name was Edward Teach.  The house that was his home is still there on Taylors Creek, which sits just in front of the Ocean. Beaufort has a cemetery called, The Old Burying Ground.  It dates from 1724!  We walked through it on a previous visit. We had a yummy lunch at the Boardwalk Café and visited a nice antique store.

We took a drive through Harker’s Island which is a fishing community and also known for duck decoy carving.  The dialect that the population there speaks is likened to Elizabethan English and is still being studied by universities because of the uniqueness of it.  They say the current population are descendants of the original settlers.  They refer to the people as “High Tiders” or “Hoi Toiders”.  The island was first settled in the 1700’s other than the first native people.

We visited the town of New Bern just before Christmas, which meant the town was decorated for Christmas and was full of visitors and shoppers. It’s a beautiful town even without the Christmas decorations.  It has the Neuse and the Trent rivers running through it which just adds to its appeal. We had some dinner at the Cow Café and walked through Mitchell Hardware, which is a hardware store/gift shop.  The building dates from 1912.

I love visiting all these places because there is so much history here!  Early American history!  We didn’t get much of this kind of history in California.   We visited Fort Macon on a previous trip here.  It dates from the 1700’s and has been used in many wars and battles since. It sits at the edge of the ocean, but sits below a hill, so that it is not seen from the ocean.  A good thing for a fort defending from attack from ships in the ocean!

That's it for now.  I'll keep writing about life here in the ENC.