Karl isn’t much of an ocean guy (yet) so this year we enrolled him in the Trinity Center’s Sound to Sea Environmental Camp. They explore the various habitats on Bogue Banks. Today, they explored the maritime forest and learned about the animals that live among the cedars, live oaks, pines and vines. Tomorrow, they will use dip nets in the sound and pond to find out more about the biology of the various creatures that creep, swim and crawl around on a barrier island. Karl is keeping a journal of new discoveries.
While Karl was at camp, the rest of us enjoyed the beach, here. The surf is choppy due to the wind, but no one seems to mind. The wind keeps the flies and mosquitoes away. There is a nice sandbar to swim to at low tide.
Lindsay: Do they have a life saver thingy here?
Me: You mean a life guard? No.
Lindsay: No, I mean one of those rings that pops out of the deep end. It has a button. And the ring just floats to the top.
Me: What? No.
Lindsay: OK. Just checking.
What was that about?
Billy, the over-achieving swimmer, is required to wear a life jacket at all times. I admit to always wanting to have a child who loves, loves, loves the water. But this is a little nerve-wracking.
Food update
This is one of the best parts about being in Eastern North Carolina. We bought 4 pounds of shrimp and 1 pound of grouper from Willis Seafood this morning. We left our slop bucket with them for the day, with the hope that they would have a few fish heads for us with which we could bait the crab traps. Alas, no fish heads. But, they were nice enough to give us a few near-rotten halibut. Woo-hoo!
We boiled the shrimp and baked the grouper (it started raining just as the grill was getting warm). Happy, happy, joy, joy!
Things I always forget after I’m away from NC for a while
- Water boils super-fast.
- I spend the first few days here thinking everyone loves me! That Southern Hospitality gets me every time.
- People wave at you even when they don’t know you.
- It can rain and steam at the same time.
- The service at stores and restaurants is FANTASTIC. I’m a chronic over-tipper outside of NM.
- The helicopters seem to fly very low.
- Rust occurs overnight.
I forgot my camera today. Instead, please enjoy these videos of Karl’s Trampoline Madness.
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