From the Archives: A Couple of Days in Paris

Once awhile (well, rather often now), your airline schedule gets confused or abruptly changes. "You will be flying to Charles DeGaulle and your next flight out will be three days later. You said what? Well, OK, I can handle a few days in Paris. Who couldn't? But, um, who will pay for my hotel and food?

Regardless of the logistics, I had a pleasant if short sojourn in Paris in summer of 2009. Being an American in Paris is great fun, but I did not run into Gigi, Ernest Hemingway, or Ninotchka.  

The tourist office in the airport found an inexpensive hotel for me on the commuter rail line part way between the airport and the city center. 

Room with a view

Loo with a curtain

Not a bad room for a reasonable price (on Paris standards). The rooms looked like prefab modular units inserted into a building built for the purpose. The breakfast was basic, but the coffee and croissants et confiture put the vile offal at any American chain hotel to shame. 

The Seine River of history and literature. In preparation for the Olympics, it is clean enough to swim in again!

The Seine in 2001 (Kodachrome 64 film)

This photograph is from a previous trip to France. It is a medium format Kodachrome 64 transparency that I took with a Rolleiflex. Kodak made the 120 size film from 1986-1996. These slides were spectacular when projected. As I recall, Kodak announced that they would do one last processing of the 120 Kodachrome at their UK laboratory in Luton, so I used all my remaining stock that summer. Photographers from around the world sent their 120 Kodachrome to Luton, similar to the way that 35mm Kodachrome users sent their film to Dwayne's in Parsons, Kansas, in 2010 for the final processing.

On the left bank

Oh oh, another digression into the past. Once upon a time, we were young, energetic, healthy, and dressed reasonably well. And Notre Dame was still intact.

From the roof of the Musée d'Orsay

Lunch behind the clock at the Musée d'Orsay

Former rail platforms

The Orsay Museum, once a railroad station, contains the world's largest collections of Impressionist paintings and Art Noveau rooms, decorations, and furnishings. It is spectacular. Spend a day there.  

The famous independent book store, Shakespeare and Company, opened in 1951 in this spot in the Left Bank. (The side of a river is denoted when you are looking downriver, meaning towards the sea.)

Quiet afternoon in the left bank

This covers our short sojourn to Paris. All too soon, I had to return to the airport and board my flight to Atlanta. What a culture shock to return to the USA after a month in Europe.

Charles de Gaulle airport

Even CDG has some interesting architecture. I have always found it to be a confusing airport, partly because it is always crowded and the signage is difficult to interpret. 

Regardless, Paris is a gem. Book a small hotel on the Left Bank and spend a week exploring. Better yet, rent a flat for the autumn or spring. Get immersed in art, culture, and music. Eat a family-owned bistros, toss back a glass of wine. Live life.

From the Archives: Summer on the Beach in Calabria (Italy)

Cosenza study area

In mid-2000, two of my coworkers and I conducted a study of beach processes and structures along the west coast of the Province of Cosenza. The Provincial Government of Cosenza asked us to examine coastal structures and beach erosion. The beaches had suffered serious retreat over the years, and various types of seawalls, beach armoring, and detached breakwaters had not stabilized the coast. 

This is the rugged and mountainous part of Calabria in southern mainland Italy facing the Tyrrhenian Sea. The first major landforms to the west are Corsica and Sardinia. The Aeolian Islands, including the active volcano of Stromboli, are also west near the north coast of Sicily. I had never been to Calabria, so this was a geological, cultural, and culinary treat. 

Our hosts were fantastically generous. They provided some superb meals (Calabria has a distinctive cuisine), a helicopter, boats, and a van with a driver. He was a burly, friendly fellow. When he wore his sport jacket on certain days, he had a mysterious bulge under his left armpit. Hmmm...  But seriously, there were no security issues of any sort. Everyone we met was friendly and curious. 

Here are a few Kodachrome slides from our project, organized from north to south. There were many more slides, but I sent them to the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association along with thousands of other beach and marine photographs. 

Beaches and coasts

Marina di Belvedere view south

This aerial view of Belvedere Marittimo shows the complicated topography and modified coast in this part of Cosenza. In the foreground, the beach was massively armored with detached breakwaters but this did not result in an attractive recreation beach. One major failing: the engineers did not artificially add sand on the landward side of the breakwaters after initial construction. All of these types of structures need sand to be mechanically added.

Eroded sandstone and poorly consolidated riverine sediments south of Diamante

Near Diamante, the geology is a challenge. The rail line is perched between an eroding upland and a retreating coast. To prevent mud- and rockslides from disrupting the railroad, the engineers built concrete protective walls. But then sediment no longer enters the marine littoral system, contributing to sediment starvation on the beaches. But storm waves cause the shore to retreat. So, to protect the railroad, construction companies added huge rocks along the shore. The result: no beach and a vulnerable railroad.

Recreation beach at Guardia Piedmontese Marina

Here, you can see a sand and gravel beach, with the railroad embankment immediately behind. During especially rough winter storms, salt spray reaches the rail line and causes arcing across the electric lines. This is the main north-south rail line along western Italy, and service disruption has major economic consequences. 

 

On the way it to the beach, Guardia Piedmontese Marina

  Here, the rail line is reasonably safe because it is well above the level of the parking lot.

Historic houses, Marina di Fuscaldo

Marina di Fuscaldo is a resort village with a number of pre-1900 houses clustered next to the beach. Fishermen pull their boats up across the gravel beach. The road runs above a concrete seawall.  

Former railroad bridge near Marina di Paola

This railroad bridge is an example of the beautiful stonework by master craftsmen during the original construction of the railroad in the late-1800s. The original rail was run along the landward edge of a formerly broad coastal plain. In this area, the coast retreated almost a kilometer in a century. The new railroad bridge is a short distance behind the historic bridge. There is no more room for the railroad to relocate further landward. 

San Lucida, south of Paola

These monumental T-shaped groins near San Lucida are in too deep water, the gap is too wide, and the builders did not add sand. This section of coast is sediment-starved. 

San Lucida

Checking the catch at San Lucida

Reviewing beach measurements in San Lucida

The old town of San Lucida is up on the bluff. The plaza was secured with a monumental concrete buttress and wall. 

Typical Calabrian lunch

What do you do after a morning of surveying the beaches, riding boats, or flying in a helicopter? Well, of course, you eat a giant Calabrian lunch. Add a bottle or two of wine.....

Little Cars

Ready for a ride, San Lucido

On the beach, Guardia Piedmontese

We were surprised that the tiny Fiat 500 cars (the Cinquecento) are popular again and are being restored. Fiat produced them in various models from 1957-1976. These were a brilliant way to help Italians motorize in the post-war era, and they remained in production into the 1970s. Nice! 

Motoring in Cetraro

Addendum

If you are interested in more technical details, here is the Coastal Sediments '03 conference proceeding. It is a .pdf file that the link will open. 

Footloose in Costa Rica 2000-2001

Some 24 years ago, the family and I took a 3-week Christmas season trip to Costa Rica to look at birds and nature. Wilderness Travel of California operated the trip via local guides and drivers. We had a great time. We visited both coasts, stayed in the rain forest, tromped through the jungle, ate black beans and rice, drank coffee at 05:00, and flew on small propellor planes. Our fellow travelers were friendly and the guides knowledgeable. I had not been to Latin America since my oil industry years in the early 1980s, and it was nice to get back to the foods, smells, sounds, and vivid colors of the low latitudes. Here is a small sampling.

San José

We flew into San José and were immediately whisked off to a luxury hotel. Wait, I prefer to be downtown where one can wander around and look at the shops and stalls. San José is a bit rough - possibly the trip organizers were concerned about security issues. Or maybe the typical American tourist does not like to mix with the locals. Before we returned to USA three weeks later, we opted to stay in a hotel downtown, and we spent time walking around.

Supplies and soda

I think they like Coca Cola here

Sunglass Hut San José style

Don't forget your Coca Cola

Well, San José is a bit beat-up. We had to constantly scan the sidewalks where we walked because often paving stones were missing or there were construction holes. I can't recall where we walked or where we ate, but it was fun. The city does not have ominous overtones like San Pedro Sula or Guatemala City. The local citizens were cheerful.

La Fortuna

La Fortuna is a nice little provincial town in the central highlands. It serves as the gateway to rafting on the Arenal River and to visiting Volcan Arenal. 

Kapok tree near La Fortuna

You occasionally come across one of these astonishing kapok (Ceiba pentandra) trees. They can grow over 200ft high. The tree produces pods that contain seeds. These are surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fibre that was formerly used in pillows and life jackets (therefore the term kapok jacket that you hear in World War II movies).

More chance for a Coca Cola

Waiting for a call

Monteverde Cloud Forest

There is the Resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) - way up there

Taking milk to market

There is the Violet Sabrewing hummingbird - way up there

The Monteverde Cloud Forest is an astonishing biological preserve of hundreds of species of birds, mammals, and insects. It rains often, like every day. Pack your rain gear and camera protection. What do you do there? Arise at 05:30, drink a strong and delicious Costa Rican Coffee, don your boots, and head off with your group to looks for birds. It does not get much better than this.

Costa Rica is a fantastic destination. Book a trip with a company that provides a naturalist, buy top grade binoculars, and have fun. And be sure to drink the coffee and eat the fresh fruits.

I took these photographs on Kodak Gold 100 film via an old Nikkormat FTn that I borrowed from a friend. The Nikkormat was a beater and I was not sure if the back was still light tight. But some electrical tape ensured a safe seal. For color slides, I used my Nikon F3. But after all the dampness and rain on this trip, I opted to send it to Nikon USA for a thorough cleaning and checkup. I scanned these negatives on a Plustek 7600i film scanner operated by SilverFast software.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina and Life-Saving Stations

Background

The Outer Banks of North Carolina are a summer playground for millions of visitors. But before the era of paved roads and gasoline automobiles, the Outer Banks were a wild, remote, and storm-tossed wilderness. Fishermen inhabited a few settlements and occasional visitors came by boat. 

Around the turn of the 20th century, Americans became interested in the beach. As urbanization and congestion increased in cities, affluent people escaped to the seashore for healthy air and recreation. Resorts arose to accommodate them. But until the age of the automobile, these resorts remained small isolated coastal enclaves tied to the hinterland by railroads (for example, Atlantic City, New Jersey) or by ferry boat. The technical revolution of the 20th century brought electric trains, automobiles, gasoline-powered pleasure boats, labor-saving devices for the home, and a new era of leisure to a prospering nation (Morison and Commager 1962). Electricity provided convenient power to energy-poor barrier islands for lighting and water pumps for drinking water. Changing morals allowed people to sunbathe and enjoy the hedonism of the beach experience (Lenček and Bosker 1998). By the 1920s, automobiles let beach-goers follow new paved roads to the coast.

But the Outer Banks remained remote and wild until the early 1920s. Victims of shipwrecks were often stranded with no water and food, and often with no way to signal for help.

Diamond Shoals and Cape Hatteras, view north

View north to Buxton and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse at its original location.

The US Life-Saving Service and its Stations

During the sailing vessel era, the Outer Banks of North Carolina were a dangerous and remote expanse of coast with no safe harbors of refuge. Because of the many shipwrecks that occurred in these treacherous waters, the US Government allocated funds for a life-saving organization in 1848. The fledging organization lacked budget and training, but the brave men did what they could with limited resources. Finally, in June 1878, the US Life-Saving Service became an independent unit of the US Treasury Department with a mission statement and more adequate funding. The US National Park Service has a succinct summary of the service and the amazing and heroic work that these men performed to save victims of shipwrecks. 

From the National Park Service:

The first Outer Banks Life-Saving Service (LSS) stations were built and manned in 1874. They were, from north to south, Jones Hill (later with the more familiar name “Currituck Beach”), Caffeys Inlet, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Bodie island (renamed “Oregon Inlet”), Chicamacomico (now village of Rodanthe) and Little Kinnakeet (just north of today’s village of Avon). In 1878, eleven more stations were added. These included the now famous Kill Devil Hills station, which assisted the Wright brothers, and the Hatteras Inlet station. Still more were added, eventually totaling 29, averaging about six miles apart on the North Carolina outer coast from the Virginia line (Wash Woods LSS – 1878), to the South Carolina line (Oak Island LSS- 1886). In 1915, all these became Coast Guard stations.

United States Life-Saving Service stations on Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands – includes the area in 1953 which became the Cape Hatteras National Seashore – were Bodie Island, Oregon Inlet, Pea Island, New Inlet, Chicamacomico, Gull Shoal, Little Kinnakeet, Big Kinnakeet, Creeds Hill, Cape Hatteras, Durants, Hatteras Inlet and Ocracoke.

Life saving stations, from the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, via the Encyclopedia of North Carolina 

Here are a few 1990s photographs of some of the life-saving stations, going from south to north. Some have been restored since then and are now museums or visitor centers. Not all of the 1800s stations exist now. Some, like Big Kinnakeet, were demolished after damage caused by hurricanes.  

Little Kinnakeet

1904 Coast Guard Station

Tower of the 1904 Coast Guard station

1874 original life saving building before restoration

Little Kinnakeet is just north of the town of Avon and is in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. This 1874 station was one of the first seven life-saving stations erected on the Outer Banks. It operated from 1875 to 1915 and then continued as a Coast Guard station until 1954. The 1874 building has been restored since I took these Kodachromes, but the 1904 building is in poor condition and now fenced off.

Chicamacomico

The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station in Rodanthe is the most complete life-saving station left in North Carolina, according to the National Park Service. It was first commissioned in 1874 and operated until 1954. In the first photograph above, note the water cistern to the left of the door. Drinking water was difficult to secure on the Outer Banks.

Chicamacomico Station has been beautifully restored and includes an interesting museum.

Oregon Inlet

1898 lifesaving main building with 1979 dormitory

This Quonochontaug-type building was the third station at Oregon Inlet. The US Coast Guard used the station from 1898 to 1988. In 1990, the Coast Guard moved to a new dock and facility north of Oregon inlet in Pamlico Sound. The old building sat empty for a number of years, during which it suffered vandalism. In 2008, the State of North Carolina funded a repair and rehabilitation, which included raising the historic building onto piles and demolishing the 1970s dormitory. 

Kitty Hawk

Oops. Years before, house lots existed on the seaward side of Hwy 12 (to the right in the photograph)

Kitty Hawk is famous as the area where the Wright Brothers did their pioneering experiments with powered flight early in the 20th century. But this part of the barrier island is also highly vulnerable to beach retreat caused by storm waves and a lack of sediment supply. In some stretches, Hwy 12 now runs along the beach because former house lots on the seaward side have been washed away. I do not know what happens to property rights when the land is washed away. It is a complicated problem that is sure to plague communities in the future in the face of sea level rise.

Kitty Hawk sunset

On this part of Kitty Hawk, land owners (or the county?) have placed sand fencing to trap wind-blown sand. And bulldozers have pushed sand up in front of the properties to protect them. But the lack of vegetated dunes shows that this beach is not stable. This part of the barrier is sediment-poor. Shoving a limited amount of sand around with tractors will not cure that problem.

Part of the former Kitty Hawk lifesaving station is now the Black Pelican Restaurant.

Duck

Duck is a fashionable town north of the frantic intersection where US 158 crosses the intersection and diverges south to Kitty Hawk. The only road to Duck is on NC Highway 12, and in summer it gets backed up with tourist traffic. Duck has some stable sand dunes with huge old oak trees. The presence of mature oak trees means this part of a barrier island has been stable for years or centuries. But further north, developers have raped the landscape and built miles of vacation homes. 

The US Army Corps of Engineers Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory operates the Field Research Facility (FRF) just north of Duck. The tower houses cameras and laser measuring equipment. The laboratory conducts experiments on beach processes, wave action, and sediment transport. During WWII, the site was a US Army bombing range. 

Corolla

The town of Corolla is the northern end of NC 12 on the Outer Banks. The only way to reach the mainland is to turn around and head south back to the US 158 causeway (a long drive). Some homes have been built north of the end of the paved road. Their owners or summer tourists use 4-wheel drive vehicles to get around the sand roads or the open beach. 

My friend, Bill Birkemeier, former director of the Field Research. Facility, described the recent history:

While there were always people living here, modern history probably began in 1967 with the development of Carova Beach with 2,300 plotted lots. At the time, there was an expectation of a paved road from Virginia. When the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge closed off access in 1974, interest shifted to a permanent road from the south. A private, partially paved road connecting Corolla to the south was opened in 1975. The It included a guardhouse to limit access only to property owners (at the time there were just 12 permanent residents).

The State of North Carolina removed the guardhouse in 1984, opening the area to the visiting public.

Then in 1988, medical waste washed ashore in New Jersey, closing the beaches there. Many New Jersey shore vacationers discovered the Outer Banks. They found beautiful, undeveloped, empty beaches that were free to visit (many New Jersey beaches have access fees). They also found real estate prices that were significantly lower than in New Jersey. The real estate market and the number of new homes took off. More recently, the area experienced another development bump, this time Covid-related.

Although the number of permanent residents has increased—most of the homes are vacation rentals.

The Walehead Club was an exclusive and luxurious Art Nouveau mansion built between 1922 and 1925 for two very wealthy duck hunters. One was female and not allowed to join any of the other hunt clubs, so they built their own. In those days, visitors crossed Currituck Sound from the mainland by steamer or motor launch. The building has been restored and is open to tours. Don't mind the "wild" horse chowing out on the grass. 

The horses are of Spanish and English origin and were left behind by early explorers. The Corolla Wild Horse Fund has a history.

Ferocious wild horses chilling out in the surf and avoiding mosquitoes

Tourists like to watch the wild horses. They are reasonably mellow but are not domesticated critters - definitely not to be petted. They have adapted well to their sandy environment. When the flies are bothersome, the horses walk on the windy ocean beach. When the weather is hot, I have seen horses wallow in some of the canals on the sound side, like little hippopotamuses. Smart critters.

Heidi instructing coastal scientists and engineers on beach processes in Corolla.

Further north, a gate blocks the border between Virginia and North Carolina. A few old-timers who lived in Corolla in the 1970s had keys to open the gate. They could drive north to Virginia Beach to buy groceries. 

This has been our quick tour of the Outer Banks. Go visit this fascinating geological phenomena. (But visit in the off-season to avoid the traffic).

I think my friend, Bill Birkemeier, for helping me with background information on some of the lifesaving stations. 

References

Lenček, L., and Bosker, G. 1998. The Beach: The History of Paradise on Earth. Viking, New York, 310 p.

Morison, S. E., and Commager, H. S. 1962. The Growth of the American Republic. Fifth Ed., Oxford University Press, New York.