#4 - I've Never Been to a NC Beach

This past weekend Mike and I went to visit our good friends the Blevins family who recently moved to Oak Island, NC. Mark, Anna, Madeline, and Audrey have only been gone for a few weeks but we miss them like crazy. Mark has a new job in Brunswick County which he likes, so we are very happy for them. However, we were having a little withdrawal so we packed in the car and headed east to hang out.

Oak Island is a beautiful, sort of sleepy beach town. Pretty much where ever you are on the island you are within a few blocks from the beach. So of course the beach was a main attraction for us over the weekend. We arrived Friday at noon and were at the beach a few hours later. It is beautiful! I have been to the beach hundreds of times in Florida, a couple of times in South Carolina, but never North Carolina. I was pleasantly surprised! The sand was so nice and the beach grasses were beautiful.

The first time we went the waves were a little large, but the best way to describe it would be powerful. Even though I have been to the beach so many times, I still get a little nervous in rough waves. I would like the ocean if it had a pause button between waves. That way I can get my feet back under me, wipe my eyes, and get prepared before pressing play. Alas, this is not true. Mike and I had a great time jumping the waves with Madeline and helping her “swim” back and forth between us. I got thrown around a little bit, but toward the end of our time I got dunked a few times and lost my sunglasses. Worse, Anna was holding Audrey and they ended up under the waves. They were fine, but we decided it was time to go.

The second time we went we spent more time digging in the sand than we did playing in the ocean. My favorite part was digging for these very small critters in the sand. I’m not sure if they were crabs, oysters, or what type of shelled creature they were. We were putting them in a bucket and comparing shells on the ones we found. Audrey had a great time “freeing” the ones we caught from the bucket while we weren’t looking. I was having such a great time I kind of forgot about sunscreen and ended up a little toasted.

On our last day at Oak Island we took a trip back to the beach to say good bye. Apparently the dolphins knew we were leaving because they came by to greet us! I have never seen dolphins like this in the wild before! I tried to get a picture, but they were too fast and smart for me. It was a little gray at the beginning of the day because of rain the night before, but it soon cleared out and was a wonderful day at the beach. The ocean was calm and much easier to swim in. Before we knew it we had to say good bye!

I am so happy that my friends found such a great place to live. Although I am sad to see them move away, I will be visiting frequently after such a great weekend!