I managed to have a great time, and there were several other people out on the beach enjoying it as well.
The whole day was a welcome relief from our recent weather which has featured too many clouds and cool temperatures.
I worked until early afternoon, but I still managed to do a beach walk, go on a bike ride, and finish with some kayaking on the river.
Those extra hours of daylight helped. I posted some slides of my great day at the beach and on the White Oak.
I certainly prefer the white blooms to the white flakes of snow that we have seen a couple of times this year.
With the warming weather, it is great time to enjoy the beaches without a hint of crowds.
I feel like that I can definitely say that we do not have crowds and certainly have no traffic which should be of concern to visitors from urban areas.
I say that since we spent nearly two hours last Sunday leaving Washington, DC. We were in five lanes of traffic heading south. For all but fifteen minutes we averaged 17 miles per hour.
I suspect we saw more traffic in that two hours than the Crystal Coast will see this century. Getting away from that traffic is just one of the reasons it felt good to get back to the peace and quiet of the Crystal Coast.
The Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum was a treat, but it is a good thing I did not know about the traffic when I was planning the trip.
It was a much more successful kayaking trip than my earlier March attempt which was spoiled by high winds.
I did see some fish jumping, and the peace on the river was just what I needed to restore my sense of balance with life after all than Northern Virginia traffic.
My time on the river was so much fun that I barely made it home to my backyard kayak ramp before dark.
The air is still cooling off at night so it felt nice and cozy when I finally got inside to the warmth of the house.
As I watched the small boat in the picture zoom up the almost dead calm waters just off the beach, I could almost feel the warm air on my face and the excitement of a fish hitting.
Of course another part of me knew that the folks on that early March boat ride were either well dressed or freezing since doing thirty miles per hour in a boat is the same as having thirty miles per hour of wind chill.
As far as I could tell there were birds, college students, dogs, and plenty of young children along with us more senior folks all sharing and enjoying the beach that day.
It was if someone sent out a message that the beach was ready for humans to really enjoy it once again.
I think we were all ready for some beach time. I am glad our area visitors got a taste of what of weather should be like in a normal March here on the coast.
With the festivals like last weekend’s Emerald Isle Saint Patrick’s Day event and this weekend’s Swansboro Oyster Roast, I think spring is officially here on the coast.
We drove by Buck’s Corner Farm’s strawberry fields the other day. I can report that the strawberry plants are blooming. That means we are probably on track to having some fresh berries in the middle of April.
Our travels have also taken us through central North Carolina and to the mountains of Virginia. I can report that spring is in good shape even in the mountains.
While their daffodils might be behind ours, their bluegrass and fescue is greening up much faster than our centipede which is just starting to wake up. I count that as a good thing since we can start mowing on the coast a month or more later than the mountain dwellers.
All things considered, I think we might have survived another winter.
If you are interested, I am giving a free “Digital Scrapbooking Seminar” at Emerald Isle Parks and Recreation next Wednesday. Registration information is at this link.
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