In fact you would have to be insane to sit inside when the weather is nearly perfect as it has been this week.
The week of June 8 was really warm and a great week to be on the beach and in the water.
I think that I went swimming in the ocean four times that week since the pool was much too warm.
Some of that heat lingered into the early part of the week of June 15, but by Tuesday it was only a memory.
We went out Bogue Inlet and cut down in front of Hammocks Beach in hopes of catching some Spanish Mackerel.
We were fishing a couple of trolling rods and using a "bird rig." All had Clark spoons on the end of the leaders.
I had done some practice trolling earlier in the summer, but this was my first serious attempt.
We ended up having some luck with gold spoons on the bird rig. A put up a few slides of our trip except for the fishing part where things are a little busy.
The first slide is of a bottle nosed dolphin who met us just as we got into the White Oak.
We decided to catch some live bait before going.
Fortunately my partner in Spanish fishing, Alex, is pretty good with a cast net so we quickly got some live shrimp and minnows. We even caught a baby flounder which we threw back.
The shrimp were so young that they were translucent.
Our second trip out was unbelievable. The water was without a ripple. We found a pod of eight to ten bottle nosed Dolphins just outside the inlet.
I put up a lot of slides of our Mackerel Morning or more specifically the trip out to the ocean, back to Swansboro, and up the White Oak, but once again I was too busy fishing to take pictures when we were in the ocean.
We were much more successful, and I have already enjoyed a nice mess of Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish.
Lots of other things have been happening on the local scene. Ballyhoos is now doing a Sunday breakfast. Andy's in Swansboro is now serving some wonderful frozen custard. and the water in our neighborhood swimming pool has cooled to the comfortable point.
We also got to enjoy the Swansboro Arts Festival. It was a perfect Saturday for an event along the water.
Back on the homefront, Raymond's Gut in Bluewater Cove has greened up for the summer. The pool and the access to the White Oak make Bluewater Cove where I live a really special place.
Things are going very well down here in Paradise. The tomato crop is outstanding, the fish are providing some nice meals, and we have have replaced our Sable Palm tree that died.
The new one looks great.
We even have a good idea of how to keep this new one from meeting the same fate.
We also have captured another Pennsylvania couple who will be moving down to the area.
Finally yesterday we got some much needed rain.
See you in the water.
(This was written quickly, and I have to get to church so tolerate the mistakes until this afternoon.)
Coastal Paradise
Our area, the Southern Outer Banks, is a wonderous place to live and one of the best kept secrets on the east coast.
I have posted an article about why Carteret County turned out to be the right spot for us.
There is another one where I talk about the small town feel of the area and the things that I love about Carteret County.
I am thankful to those who came before us and helped make this such a great place to live. I am also one of those people who has lived in the mountains and finds life on the coast near the beach a wonderful experience.
Our spot on the Crystal Coast is one of the least crowded beach areas in North Carolina that has year around inhabitants and a full range of services.
Since I am a Realtor®, I have a number of listings posted for those interested in browsing the property available in our end of Carteret County. It is a great time to buy. You can be certain that I will work hard finding you the right spot.
If your fear of hurricanes is keeping you from considering Carteret County as a spot for a second home or retirement, you might want to read my post on hurricanes. I find the risk here acceptable and something I am willing to take in order to live in one of the great spots of North America.
Pictures are a great way to view our area, and I have created a web page dedicated to slides shows and images from the Southern Outer Banks. A few weeks ago we visited Tryon Palace, I did pictures of the gardens which have their own pages.
If you want a quick tour of what it is like to live on the coast, check out this link to a brief tour of my first year on the coast or you can check my posts on Carteret County this year.
I also have another web page with some of my favorite posts and recipes. I even have a special Carteret County blog done using a Macintosh which offers more pictures and thoughts using Apple's .Mac service.
I have some web galleries on Mac.com for those of the Macintosh persuasion.
I try to post favorite photos regularly. One of my favorites is called morning waters. You can also catch a selection of my photos shown by WITN's Marvin Daugherty.