Unfortunately as we head into the last few days of March, some cold weather has found us.
Still, the third week of March was the most spectacular March beach week that I have seen here on the coast. It was a great first taste of spring.
Our temperatures were mostly in the seventies and eighties until late in the week when they dropped into the sixties.
I have decided to take all the weather changes in stride. There is really little you can do about the weather except wait for it to change.
Aside from that, a little dreaming about moments from summers in the past is always good medicine this time of year.
It was a great chance to explore the Point at Emerald Isle and see how it has changed,
I followed the first hike up with an even longer walk along the edge of water at the Point on the second weekend in March.
I really had a great time mapping out the Point and seeing the sand all the way to the horizon. It is amazing to me that there is now 1400 feet of sand where the ramp had washed away, and there was only water In November 2007.
The big changes that I noted in June of 2010 have continued.
My beach walks were great, but I also managed to hike almost daily in our neighborhood at Bluewater Cove. Even the view from office window was almost spring-time perfect.
I didn’t make it to this year’s oyster roast, but I did get to the Emerald Isle festival.
I have posted a few pictures of the festival on my Picasa Web Albums site.
We had friends from Canada arrive the afternoon of the festival. When they got here, our Bradford Pear trees were already starting to lose their blooms.
It was hard for our Canadian friends to adjust to trees with leaves since when they had left home, there was 5.5 feet of snow on the ground.
During their visit, the strawberries started blooming, and even our centipede yards began showing a touch of green.
I even caught a small hake. It is a fish that I have never before brought to the boat.
I even had to ask what it was. We didn’t have a great deal of action on the water, but it was fun just to be out there.
That day the water temperature reached an early season peak of 68 degrees.
The next day, late in the evening, I took my kayak out for the first kayaking adventure on the White Oak River for the 2011 season.
When I left the house at 5:30 PM the temperature was in the seventies. It was then that the weather started to change.
I can still remember the splash of sunlight on the oyster rocks as I paddled out into the river.
The temperature dropped over twenty degrees in the hour that I was out on the water.
Still our early taste of spring was beautiful and warm while it lasted.
If you need more information about the area, check out my new Swansboro area travel guide or if your plans are to head to the beach, I have an updated Emerald Isle Travel Guide.
I also have posted a PDF with area information, suggestions of things to do, and a simple map of the area.
Why we love it here?
It is hard to say that any place is perfect. There always a balance between what you like and what you don't like. That also changes as you age. At one time I was close to homesteading in Newfoundland.
Today I would steer you to my articles, Ten ways Carteret County met our needs, Why I love living in Carteret County, and to the Crystal Coast Electronic Village Homepage as answers to why we have chosen this area.
My Crystal Coast, Salt Water on Your Feet site has a number of articles for people considering a move to the Crystal Coast.
There are also links to lots of pictures and information at my new Crystal Coast Life introduction page.
From that reading it is easy to understand why we enjoy living in a small subdivision near Cape Carteret. It is what we were looking for in a place to live. It is close to services and close to the beach but not on the beach. We have a dock behind the house and are close to some great trails. I can ride my bike in the neighborhood and not face a lot of traffic.
I also use my kayak on the White Oak River and have learned to love exploring the river and surrounding waters with our skiff.
This area also has some great festivals like the Newport Pig Cookoff, the Emerald Isle Saint Patrick's Day, the Swansboro Mullet Festival and the Swansboro Oyster Roast. We continue to be impressed with the Emerald Isle Christmas Parade.
It is a friendly area with a great future. So right now it is the spot for us. I often write about the area in my other websites. If you are a very avid reader, you might find some similar content on multiple sites, but usually the content is fairly specific to the sites.
These are additional sites where you can find even more information.
Crystal Coast Life
Ocracoke Waves
Crystal Coast Life Blog
Crystal Coast Blog 09
Crystal Coast Blog 08
Some archived articles