Well there are finally some signs of green on the Tideland Trail.

Unfortunately the green is an explosion of poison ivy.

I would recommend that anyone dogs be very careful. The poison ivy is growing along some of the rails and is close to being in the trail in places.

Even as a hiker, you have to be careful since the poison ivy seems to be everywhere. It is pretty easy to get poison ivy from touching your pet after they have rubbed fresh poison ivy.

My wife often got it from one of our casts.

I am hoping the park folks get to work soon and knock back the evil poison ivy.

Going to the beach was a pleasure after watching each step to make certain we did not brush any juicy poison ivy.

Tags: Plants, Hiking

Today we were over at the western regional beach access in Emerald Isle.

There were lots of piles in the ground and plenty of treated lumber stacked up. It didn't take us long to figure out that the lumber and piles are part of Emerald Isle's project to expand beach accessibility.

Emerald Isle already provides beach wheel chairs on a first come, first served basis from the fire station.

Adding some additional ramps to the beach where there is plenty of parking and a paved lot is a great way to open our beaches to people who cannot climb the steps up and down the dunes.

From what I have heard the project is expected to be finished in three weeks. I also noticed that Emerald Isle is doing some paving in their annual campaign to look good for all their visitors.

I am actually starting to look forward to seeing something beside spring break beach visitors. This week seems to have been the New York week.

I am sure that in five or six weeks I will be complaining about the tourists clogging up the restaurants. Actually since I know how important they are to our economy, there will be no complaints from me, but I will hold out some hope that we might see some folks interested in coastal property this year.

The prices have not been this low since 2004 so it is a great time to buy. Just call me at 252 646-8689 to get started looking.

Tags: Beach, Accessibility