Beach Fun

Southern Shores

We enjoyed a nice week at the North Carolina shore recently where our rental house was conveniently located a short distance from the beach. My daughter's happy family headed off to the ocean every day with their load of equipment.

Granddaughter Sophie is a joy to watch as she jumps over waves and frolics in the surf.

All week we had lucky weather and a calm ocean.

The smooth sea allowed paddle boarding near shore.

Annabelle sat in her pool with grandma.

Sometimes Annabelle even used her float in the ocean.

Sophie and Keegan launched a kite with boundless energy.

Sophie was fascinated by swarms of small crabs continually scurrying on the beach and popping in and out of the sand. She displayed crab parts on a beach chair so I could see the ones she collected.

One pleasant evening we strolled along the Duck Boardwalk where attractive scenes near sunset included: an isolated tree backlit by the setting Sun, seagulls on a wharf, a sunlit ripple pattern, and an osprey nest.

Some nice folks were kind enough to take this family portrait in front of the colorful sunset.

Back at the beach house we worked on the traditional jigsaw puzzle. Ellen and I became obsessed with completing the puzzle. We couldn't walk past without stopping to put a few pieces in place.

We chose a beautiful thousand-piece puzzle with lots of clearly defined lines and edges. (Last year's uncompleted puzzle, with lots of undifferentiated blue sky, was a nightmare.) This year we were happy to finish, although three pieces were missing in the end.

On our last morning Sophie wanted to see the Sun rise over the ocean, so the family went to the beach before dawn. Fortunately, the sky was clear down to the horizon, so sunrise was visible.

We've had two good years at this beach house and hope to return next year.