Dare County Shrine Club-Outer Banks Beach Bums Rides in the 2009 Kelly's St. Patrick's Day Parade

We started at 8:30, gathering at the Dare County Shrine Club for some breakfast. Scrambled eggs and link deer sausage, locally harvested. After breakfast ensued the wait--would the rain let up or worsen? Surprisingly, the Roanoke Island contingent, the son's of men who braved 30 ft. waves in wood boats, were not thrilled at the prospect of getting wet. The "beach" contingent, I supposed being used to the beach, and therefore, water, and by extension, wetness, lobbied hard to ride--rain or shine. As the photo's below depict, we did the smart thing and broke out the rides.

As always, the Kelly's St. Patrick's Day Parade was a lot of fun. This year's event was #20--quite a long run. A not-too-well known fact is that Kelly's Parade is the largest St. Paddy's Day parade in the entire State of North Carolina, eclipsing those of much larger metropolitan areas. You can't beat down that OBX spirit.

This picture below is of the group that won best overall, the Counter Culture Garden Girls. These ladies pushed green lawn seeders, which they transformed into percussion instruments and performed marching band maneuvers. Click any image for larger views.




Next we have "Moon" Tillet on his mini-boat, Linda Gayle, the Shrine's famous two-fronted car, which can drive forward, backwards, and sideways, and yours truly in a Palm Tree car, decorated with huge, ugly bare feet.



Next, Jay Hart rides one of our two land-based jet skis.



A mini-train and another small car with feet....



Finally, the kids favorite shows Brian DeFosse riding our land shark, complete with movable jaws, teeth, and fins.