we didn't, exactly, have burgers for breakfast.
but i said it on our first day
(as that was a day two out of four of us did -
mainly due to habitual late-sleeping),
and it stuck.
this was our Beach Week,
if five days is a week.
~ ~ ~
and it was
HOT
SUNNY
HUMID
and there was lots of sand
we had a great view...
of the very hot, sunny, humid, & sandy beach.
mostly, we ventured out at night.
well....
that's a bit of an exaggeration,
but we are a bit sun-shy.
the nearby pier had some good offerings.
in case you are in need of some Man Rubber
....or Lady Rubber.
news to me that rubber comes in different genders -
exciting! revolutionary! and very informative.
we were glad to see this sign,
as our hotel (and swimming beach)
was two doors down from the fishing pier.
did i tell you
it was HOT ?
and the ocean was very, very still.
you could see the waves
through gaps in the pier boards, though.
yep, good old Vitamin Sea!
in the light of day,
spelling errors are so much harder
to ignore.
(sigh)
so, yeah...
we did have burgers one day -
and for two of us,
that was "breakfast."
mostly,
we spent our time
applying sunscreen.
 |
| the official Toe Photo |
when looking up Things To Do,
we were directed to this
little-known cluster of 'rocks'
(called Coquina)
that can only be explored
at low tide
towards the end of the island.
it was pretty nifty
(and a bit slippery)
at first, we were almost the only ones
 |
| Samuel, King of the Rock |
& how to get down from there
i was on a quest
for wildlife
& found this stone crab
hiding out.
it finally decided the tide was not in its favor
and scuttled under a rock.
i know it was a stone crab
because i happened upon
a UNCW research scientist
harvesting small snails from some of the rocks,
showed her the picture,
and she declared it a stone crab.
she pointed out the retracted sea anemones
around the base of many of the rocks,
and i was on a mission!
found one!
i, then, used my hands
to describe exactly how
an anemone looks
when it unfurls.
soon,
we were not the only ones
looking for the elusive sealife
at the coquina.
one of the anemone we found...
this was a BIG one!
me harassing a smaller anemone
gorgeous beach sunset
 |
| Samuel, King of the Pillar |
but, mostly,
we put on sunscreen
and hung out in the air-conditioning
eating food.
when we figured we had on enough sunscreen
to venture outside during daylight,
we often found amazing things!
like this plant,
which i fondly recall from my childhood.
i need to google it, as i do not know what it is
and i would like to plant it in my yard.
i recall, as a child,
obsessing (true) over the fruit-like seeds -
plucking them, squashing them, rupturing them
to see what was inside.
 |
| isn't it fabulous?!? |
oh,
and we played pool at the pier....
you could say
we were
pool sharks
a dollar a game
and
air-conditioned
there was a small arcade around the corner
from our motel, too.
side-by-side,
shooting hoops
on the path to
redemption
 |
| cashing in from the big wins |
the Things To Do
also suggested a short trail
at the end of the island,
which lasted all of twenty seconds.
first, we were greeted by buttresses
of orb weaver webs.
next (and last), we were attacked
by swarms of mosquitoes and sandflies.
twenty seconds.
so, instead,
i took pictures of pretty things
while we re-grouped.
dragonfly, trying to hold on
so, we re-grouped
and headed to the marsh
to walk the concrete levy
into the sound.
apparently, people somewhat frequently
become stranded on the small island
at the end of the levy,
the tides submerging their escape route &
resulting in a serious freak-out.
i believe he is frantically gesturing
to ensure i do not suffer the same fate.
as we were walking back,
i saw a little crab scuttling across the sand.
until it froze
and all four legs and its head
disappeared.
this was no crab!!!
 |
| little flipper marks, with a tail path in between |
one determined little turtle!
it became stuck
trying to surmount both the steep levy
and get through the stiff grasses.
we tried just flattening the grass,
but to no avail.
after a brief but vigorous
discussion about changing the course of evolution
(by ignoring survival-of-the-fittest).
we couldn't stand it & helped the poor little turtle
over the human-made obstacle
and down to the water.
there was a black-headed seagull nearby -
but, by all reports, the turtle
made it into the thick seagrass
and (we hope) lived to see another day.
after relative quiet,
we drove to party central
at Carolina Beach
on our last night.
a little bit of wagon wheel
and a child i do not know
going down the fun slide
a kid i DO know
enjoyed a funnel cake
on our way home,
we stopped to have lunch
in the town of Wake Forest.
here are some of the essentials
required to prepare the food we ate.
and, don't forget the....
if you know geography,
you know that town is NOT on the way back to our home (exactly).
it is, however, on the way to my in-law's home,
where we visited before landing back in our own beds.
 |
| at Granddaddy & Grandmama's house |
i refuse to believe
this means
summer might
come to an end.
