More From The Crystal Coast!

Stormy weather in Paradise!

This area of the Outer Banks of North Carolina is referred to as The Crystal Coast. Emerald Isle is a quiet strip of Atlantic beach with colorful houses lining the shore, no high-rise in sight. The beach itself is soft sand, no rocks, and not too wide an expanse to the water. To me, it is the perfect beach. It's never crowded, even on the hottest summer day. Here, you can really appreciate the natural environment of the ocean and the shore. I'm mesmerized by the sea, always looking out there for something...and still searching for dolphins in the distance.

Rows of colorful beach houses!

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A beautiful home-away-from-home!!!

We've been enjoying late-night lightning shows with dramatic rumbles of thunder. Unfortunately, the accompanying rain decided to hang on long after the light show ended, and we woke up to a soaking rain that just now (5 pm) stopped. The forecast calls for a lull and then more rain headed here for the remainder of our vacation. We were house-bound most of today (and if you have to be house-bound, this is the house to do it). After a short shopping trip to pick up a few things for Will's apartment in Charleston, Anne, Will, and I stopped at the grocery store to pick up ingredients for tonight's dinner: chicken marsala. I'm very excited to make this favorite dish tonight. I hope it comes out well. We're having baking potatoes (Idaho or sweet) and green beans, so it should be a really good dinner.

Anyway, rain has put a damper on the day, but we've really had an amazing time here. So far we've had two great beach days, and lots of fun at night with dinner in, and craziness afterwards! Ben and I started it last night with a dance-fest that started with one spontaneous song and ended up going into the wee hours with all of us joyfully dancing like fools in the living room! Anne captured it all in video on her phone and I hope no one ever sees it! It did provide lots of laughs today! I told Anne that if I am ever in a bad mood, all I have to do is watch that video and it will make me laugh out loud!

We've had some memorable experiences so far. We were very fortunate, last night, to witness just-hatched baby sea turtles making their way to the ocean for the first time. The original hatching/migration was three days earlier, and last night we noticed a bunch of people gathering on the beach. I went to see what was happening, and a woman told me that she was part of a group that would be excavating the nest, to count shells left behind and see if there were any babies that hadn't made their way out of the nest. There were two (of about 120-180) still needing a little help and direction. They were lifted out of the nest and started down a cleared path toward the ocean. There were probably 100 people on both sides of the barrier quietly cheering these little babies on. It was very exciting, but at the same time, unsettling to think what might happen to these little guys once they entered the water. I was anxious as the first waves pulled them into the sea, and then pushed them back up onto the beach, only to pull them back out and into the deeper water. It's amazing to see the instinctive pull that guided these sea turtles toward their destiny. I went to bed last night worrying about them, hoping they survive to adulthood and make their way back to this beach one day. The odds are not in their favor, but I'm pulling for them!

Waiting for the babies to appear and start their journey...

Baby Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Ocean-bound!

Look who I met on my walk yesterday...

Pretty mosaic of seashells...

I'm going to get outside while the rain holds off, and hope to bring you new photos of our vacation and the recipe for tonight's chicken marsala in my next post.

Have a lovely evening, my family and friends!

Natural Beauty

There is so much natural beauty here in Emerald Isle on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina.  There are no high rises on the horizon, no major shopping malls.  The beaches are lined with houses, some rentals and some belonging to full-year residents.  This particular neighborhood seems to be a mix of rentals and private homes, and the developers were sensititve to maintaining the natural surroundings, leaving an unspoiled habitat for wildlife.  Deer can be seen by the ponds at sundown, and they feel safe enough to continue grazing as cars drive by.  Sea turtle nests line the beach, and while we missed the baby turtles annual migration to the sea this year, we've seen it other years, and it is an amazing natural wonder. 

This is a quiet place to vacation.  There are no chain restaurants along the high way.  If you choose to have dinner out, locally-owned and operated restaurants are available, though there isn't an abundance.  We choose to eat in every night, and since I love to cook, and Anne and John are in the process of renovating their kitchen at home, a dinner around the table is especially appreciated right now.  We ordered pizza and wings for dinner last night, just to take a little break, though Anne said it didn't seem the same without me creating in the kitchen!  Something was missing!  Tonight we're going to do a regular cook out, and I'll be making my sea shell macaroni salad with tuna and egg.  We'll have one more big cooking night tomorrow, and then something simple Saturday night before we have to (sadly) leave this amazing place Sunday morning. 

Here are some photos from yesterday's day at the beach, and more.  I know I'll be coming back to these posts again and again, especially in the middle of a northeast winter, to re-live the warmth and sunshine of EI, NC.

Wednesday's photos - click to enlarge!

Beach Day

Yesterday was a beach day, and a good one.  We had a relaxing start, and soon we were all ready for a slow, easy day at the beach.  After his bike ride, John went down and set up the cabana/tent.   We made sandwiches, packed a cooler and took the short walkway to the beach where we settled in for the afternoon.  The water was great, not too cold and not too warm, either.  Perfect for bouncing around in the waves.  After the beach we came back and hung out in the pool.  After showers,  Anne and I headed out to the shrimp stand to buy 3 lbs. of large shrimp for our (now annual) shrimp scampi dinner.  It was sooooo delicious.  I made a lot for the nine of us, especially four nephews between 18 and 26 who can eat!  Romaine salad and garlic bread rounded out our meal.  It's so simple to make, and I can't think of anything with more flavor -- butter, lemon, garlic, white wine -- or more satisfying after a day at the beach!

Here's a look at our day in photos, ending with a collage of the spectacular sunset.  Tonight we're serving marinated London Broil, corn on the cob, and ratatouille. I'll share that with you tomorrow!

All set up...

Frisbee

Hot tubbin' it

Chilling in the pool

Jack and Patrick

Kids doing the dishes!

Sunset over Emerald Isle

Sigh....

It's Saturday night and we're all ready (physically, not emotionally) to leave the beach house tomorrow morning.  We had a dinner of especially good left-overs (scampi, grilled chicken) and salad.  Anne and I emptied out the refrigerator and cabinets of all that we can't leave behind.  The last load is in the dishwasher.  Beach towels are in the dryer.  It won't take much for any of us to pull our things together tomorrow and be on our way.  We had our last beach day today, a few hours under a cloudy but friendly sky.  The waves were strong and quick, and I was tossed but landed on my feet.  I didn't stay too long in the waves.  There was quality time to enjoy under the canopy.  We could see the rain coming in from the sea, a sheet of gray transparency approaching from a distance, and it arrived too soon, sending most beach-goers packing, and quickly.   It was a good beach week -- we were able to spend a good amount of time there every day -- and the rain was polite enough to wait until we had all had a good time.

After the beach, Anne, Kristin, and I stopped at a local shopping center.  I wanted to find a little something for Henry, and an even littler something for his October-arriving baby brother.  Last year I found Henry little Crocs that he wore until they were just too small.  This year, I found a navy blue zip-up hoodie with "Emerald Isle" embroidered on the front.  New baby gets a onesie with a lobster on the front that says "got butter?".  Cute.

Anne and Will are playing checkers right now, and she just triple-jumped him.  There was whooping and holloring that could be heard a mile away!  Now they're back into the game, contemplating the next move, and the move after that.  I can feel the tension!  Checkers is a wonderful game, and we always play it at the beach house.  I seem to never play it anywhere else. 

To wrap up this wonderful week, here are some pictures that will provide me happy memories for a long time to come.

Beach House Entry

John Peeling Shrimp

Seashells Against a Dune Fence

Nightstand Books

Patrick and Frisbee

Will being Creative

Midnight Golf Cart Ride (who knew we had no headlights?!)

Bishop Boys Stargazing

(They saw a bunch of shooting stars!)

Row of Beach Houses

So long, Captain's Quarters!  Good-bye Emerald Isle. 

Thanks for a GREAT vacation.

You will be missed!

Photos:  by me

Lovin' It Here!

It's Friday already. Hard to believe.  I fly home Sunday, so that "end-of-vacation-is-near" awareness is all-too present. My nephew Patrick leaves the beach house today, continuing on to Florida State University where he starts classes on Monday. I'll miss him. We had quite the checkers match last night. He's the reigning king of checkers, but I gave him a run for his money! In the end, my last three options for moves were all fatal, so he won, but it was a good battle!

The storms of the previous night gave way to a hazy day, so yesterday afternoon we decided to go to the beach. Rather than pack a picnic and take the canopy, we took only our chairs and towels this time. The water had cooled considerably, the waves were bigger, and the lack of bright sunshine made for a different beach experience, but equally enjoyable. We still used sun block as if the sun were blazing. My dad always used to say that a hazy day was worse for a sun burn, for whatever reason. The beach was busy, with a lot of people in the water. Every few minutes, a flock (is it a flock?) of pelicans flew overhead.  Patrick and Will played frisbee and we all jumped in and out of the water, read, sat, relaxed, and took it all in (see picture below).

Patrick and Frisbee

The Boys Bishop - My Handsome Nephews!

L-R: Jack, Patrick, Will, Ben

For Patrick's fare well, we had an incredible dinner last night: slow-cooked baby-back ribs, barbequed chicken, corn on the cob, and potato salad. We had been marinating the chicken for a couple of days in an Italian/Balsamic dressing which flavored it beautifully. I can't remember ever having had ribs. I never order them out, and I never make them, so they were a treat for me. John had used a dry rub, seared them on the grill, and then slow baked them in the oven. When we got back from the beach, I made a chunky potato salad with little red potatoes and lots of celery. The kids loved it. It was my favorite dinner so far. The best part about dinner here at the beach house is eight of us sitting around the table, enjoying a meal together, and lingering for a long while after dinner.

It's about time to say good-bye to Patrick.  I'm going to miss his affectionate and sharp sense of humor.  He's a lot of fun to have around.  Fortunately, his three brothers are all equally good company, and I will enjoy every second with them until we all leave on Sunday.  Checkers, anyone?