Vacation 2009: The Beach

When you wake up with the sound of the waves hitting the shore you know it is going to be a good day. It is Monday morning, and after a small breakfast and a few cups of coffee on the deck overlooking this scene of a single beach chair waiting for its owner to again claim it for a day of sun worshiping, I was ready to start the day.

It took a few trips to set up our “base camp” of two umbrellas, four beach chairs, a cooler full of beer, a few books, a number of MP3 players, towels, boogie boards and some writing material (for me). But it didn’t take long before we all wanted to jump in the salty ocean and ride the waves.

I took a number of pictures showing what we all do here on the beach. This obviously doesn’t exclude anyone here. The number one activity if you haven’t already guessed it is being in the water. Once you get used to the salty taste and the burning sensation when the water goes up your nose, it is all good.

The waves today were big enough to body surf and the ocean floor was all sand which most times you are walking through a patch of seashells of all sorts.

Here I am after a body surf attempt getting back out to where the waves come crashing down. It is a blast and when it is really hot out you keep to the water as long as possible. Today it was in the upper 90’s, but with the cool sea water and a refreshing breeze coming from the east off the ocean it was great weather.

The second most popular activity is reading that novel you bought specially for the trip. And it is totally a given that at some point you do this because with the sound of the waves in the foreground you can so concentrate on the book.

This is a random shot of one of our condo neighbors relaxing and enjoying a book. And yes it is a girl as I am not too keen on taking photographs of guys. What would you think of me? Does it look relaxing? Feet buried in the sand and the waves flowing through your toes and a good book makes for a day of total downtime.

I also wanted to post a shot of the condo we are staying at. Not the fanciest or the most extravagant on the island but I love it here. It is a perfect setup for what we plan to do here at Emerald Isle. We chose the top floor for a number of reasons. The number one is the view. You get a great look up and down the coast. At night it is easy to view the stars and if your lucky, as we have been, you find yourself witnessing a meteor shower over the ocean which is a memory to cherish.

I could post a hundred pictures for the first day on the beach as I do literally have that many, but it is time to wrap this up. Tomorrow we plan to visit Fort Macon and do some souvenir shopping to get that out of the way before we dedicate the rest of the week to resting here right on the beach.

g~