Oak Island, NC

All of you know how much I love my home and where I live, but there is another place in North Carolina that comes in at a close second- Oak Island. Growing up, I always went to the South Carolina beaches for vacations with my family. I didn't think I would ever love any other beaches until I worked at a camp on Oak Island when I was in college. I fell in love with the natural beauty of this place. After visiting me at camp, my parents felt the same way. They eventually bought a home there and the love affair continued. All of my children's beach vacation memories center around this wonderful place.

We were able to go this weekend to have our yard sale which turned out very successful despite the threat of early morning rain.



After getting rid of some of the clutter in my house at the yard sale, I felt free! Everyone should declutter once in a while. It's a good feeling.



But an even better feeling comes from standing on the dock overlooking the beautiful Inter coastal waterway that separates our little island from the main land.



Some of my girl's earliest vacation memories are of bike rides to the crab dock to watch the sun shimmer on the water.



When the tide is high, the view is magnificent. When the tide is low, the birds and crabs steal the show.



The other side of the island overlooks the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. In the fall we enjoy some of the most beautiful sunsets over the water. Most people that I share that fact with don't believe me since the sun sets in the west. However, because of the curve of the beach it is possible.



When my girls were little we would spend weeks at the time at the coast. Most of that time was spent on the beach or riding bikes. They didn't need to shop or go to arcades to have fun. They were pretty content to just be.



Occasionally, we might go antique shopping in Southport or throw in a game of Jungle Golf, but who needs that when you have an entire ocean for a playground?



When my kids hear friends talk about going to the beach to do things like shop, go to amusement parks, or go to water parks, they don't understand. I am thankful that they have always been content just wasting the day away under an umbrella, reading a good book, while listening to the tide roll in and spending the evenings under the stars waiting for a turtle nest to hatch. I can't imagine a day at the beach spent any other way.