Well, I'm Back

We got home Sunday evening from our annual trip to Emerald Isle, North Carolina. That place is so beautiful, it's really difficult coming back here afterwards. I've barely been online since I came home, so it took me awhile to get here to post.

The weather was gorgeous, warm but not too hot. It only rained once, and that was from a small storm that blew through one evening, so by the next day it was clear again. The water was warm and the waves were beautiful.

I spent a wonderful amount of time just sitting on the beach doing nothing. We saw bunches of dolphins this year, even saw one leap up out of the water several times. We went to Shackleford Banks, and I got to see some of the wild horses, and we found some fantastic shells.

Well, since a picture's worth a thousand words, and I do tend to go on and on, I'll just get to the pictures.

The beach house we rented ... appropriately decorated right after we got there.

I love this place! It's right next door to the one we got last year, and identical, except for a few minor things that make it better. One is that the vertical slats in the upper and lower decks are closer together, so Tyler can't get through them. Last year at the other house, they were just wide enough apart that he could fit through, and I spent the whole week terrified he was just going to leap off the lower deck or accidentally fall off the upper deck (his eyesight is going, and he's been known to just walk off the edge of things before now). This year, with no worries about that, we spent a lot more time out on the decks.

Tyler enjoying the beach. He seemed to have a pretty good time this year, and enjoyed hanging out on the beach (especially since this year we had a beach umbrella, unlike last year).

A couple of the ponies on Shackleford Banks.

Tubing in the surf.

We had a fleet of pirate kites this year.


One night we did full pirate regalia, and went down to the beach.

Why is the rum gone? ... oh ... never mind.

And then of course, the main attraction:

Not only are we sure we're going back next year, but I'm desperately trying to think of a way to afford making this a semi-annual trip, going back in the spring. A year is too long to wait. (Six months is too long to wait, but I am pretty sure I can't afford it any more often than that). Since I got the new office at work, I've increased my hours slightly, and am considering increasing them a little more ... with the right tweaking, I think I can make this work.