We have had some humidity, but this is the South. Humidity is part of the equation in the summer.
It is one of the reasons we live by the water, and spend much of our time on it, in it, or around it.
The water is the answer to the heat.
From what I am hearing from some normally reliable sources, the last two weekends have been great weekends for tourists.
Most of the homes on the island have been rented both weekends.
The even better news is that even with the large numbers of visitors, the beaches have remained uncrowded.
As you will see if you click on this link to a picture I took from the eighth floor of the Grand Villas in Indian Beach, the beaches still have plenty of room for more people.
Last Sunday my wife and I stopped by Third Street Beach on Sunday afternoon. There was only one car in the parking lot. It turned out to someone that we know who works for the same company.
I also made a trip out to the Point to enjoy the elements and was a little surprised by the absence of people.
On my previous trips, I had practically been flown back to the dock by high winds. As you can see from the picture, it was pretty calm on my last trip.
On Thursday we also went out to fish on the White Oak. I am not sure what our problem was, but we could not seem to get past all the small croakers.
The water temperature was high. Also about fifteen minutes after we started fishing, five bottle nosed dolphins made a swing by our skiff. They came within five feet of the bow.
Their visit actually made the trip. They probably scared any fish to the other side of the river.
I am pretty sure that I was fishing with realistic stuff since a seagull kept trying to steal my lure.
Besides this serious looking storm cloud, we were surprised to find some new showers installed beside the boardwalk.
The storm seemed to be east of us, so we had a good time wandering around Emerald Isle.
We even made it by the Sweet Spot where we replenished our supply of Jelly Bellies.
Almost every rocking chair in front of the store had someone enjoying ice cream.
Today was one of those days. If you were traveling Highway 24 and headed east between noon and three PM, you probably had to wait a few minutes in Cedar Point.
Our visitors were streaming into the area, and that single lane of traffic across the bridge can only take so many cars.
It was cleared up just before 4 PM, so I doubt that people were inconvenienced very much, but it was still a pain if you were trying to get to the Island.
I know we found a way around the traffic, but some folks had no choice but to wait it out.
We were even brave enough to visit the Swansboro Arts by the Sea Festival today.
Based on what we saw when we first tried to visit at around noon, I think Arts by the Sea is at its maximum attendance until they find some additional parking.
We drove around for fifteen minutes and were unable to find a parking place anywhere within reasonable walking distance.
Given the humidity which was so high that I think I saw a school of Pompanos swimming down Front Street, there was no way that I was going to walk to downtown from the Piggley Wiggley.
We did come back at 4 PM when the Festival was starting to shut down. We had plenty of time to see everything, and parking was no problem.
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It was still plenty humid, but by the time we got home, a storm was building. It hit us full force about six PM.The temperature differential was so great, that the cool rainwater created instant fog when it hit the very warm waters of the White Oak.
The water cooled quickly, but it still was neat. We managed to get eight tenths of an inch of rain in just a short time.
The amount of rain is almost perfect. We will not have to water the grass for a few days, and all those soybeans that were planted this week will start growing immediately.
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Last weekend, we got to enjoy the Cape Carterert 50th Anniversary Birthday Party.The light mist and cloudy skies actually made for a more pleasant time touring the booths than the sizzling sunshine that we had today for the Arts Festival.
I snapped this last picture at the Point over on Emerald Isle.
It is one of my favorite places since it is where the land ends and the sea begins.
I always enjoy going, and I always come back refreshed.
Of course living at the beach keeps me pretty relaxed anyway.
If you have not planned your beach vacation, do not delay any longer.
We still have room for you.
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.
From that reading it is easy to understand why we enjoy living in a small subdivision called Bluewater Cove near Cape Carteret. It is what we were looking for in a place to live. It's 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, and the Swansboro Oyster Roast. We were also 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 content on multiple sites, but usually the content is fairly specific to the sites.
View from the Mountain
Ocracoke Waves
Crystal Coast Living Blog
Crystal Coast Blog 09
Crystal Coast Blog 08
Some archived articles
More Crystal Coast Info