Emerald Isle Vacation July 29-August 3 2018

Sunday - July 29, 2018

We got up and left Scott's house in Bowie, Maryland at about 9:00 am.  We had stayed at Scott's for about 10 days helping him get some things ready to move next month and visiting and playing with the kids. 

Elli and Oscar are ready for some beach fun!

We drove 2 vehicles because Scott had so much stuff to take with him. Elli and Oscar rode with us and Scott drove his van.  We ate lunch in the car and got to our rental house on Emerald Isle, NC at about 4:30.  We got there just a few minutes after Eric and Serena and their kids. This rental had 4 bedrooms with a total of 6 beds, 2 bathrooms upstairs, one outdoor shower/bathroom downstairs, and 2 outdoor porches.  We were able to see Bogue Sound from the back and the ocean from the front. The house was  one row over from the beach and just 2 houses down from the beach access.  It was almost as good as being directly beach front.

View of the Atlantic from the front porch

View of Bogue Sound from the back deck

Kids playing in house before heading to the beach

Elli helping Lilith walk

We got everything unloaded and went to the beach before we fixed supper.  There was a red flag warning for high wind and rip tides while we were there so we stayed in very shallow water. We played on the beach and in the water for about 2 hours before going back for dinner.

Elli, Isaac, and Caroline playing in the waves

Oscar looking for sand fleas

Lily loved the sand

Carson loved building sand castles

Mike had cooked spaghetti and steamed vegetables while we played.  After dinner we played Mario cart some then called it a night.

The boys playing Mario Cart

Monday - July 30, 2018

We all slept in then had bacon and eggs for breakfast.  After breakfast we all got ready and had some beach time.  Scott and Eric surf fished some and got some bites.  They caught some small fish and sand fleas for bait.  The kids got more comfortable about playing in the shallow waves.  Isaac went back to the house and found a skimming board to try out.

Scott, Lilith, and Oscar hanging out on the front porch

Elli loved playing with Lilith

Lily

Oscar digging for sand fleas

Elli, Caroline, and Carson playing with the little fish

Scott hooked one fish

Eric and Serena digging a place for Lily to play

We went back to the house and had leftovers for lunch.  After lunch the kids napped and rested and Scott and Eric took the canoe out into  the sound for fishing.  After resting, Serena, Mike, and I took the kids back to the beach to play some more.  Weather forecasts had called for a lot of rain this week, but it was clear often enough for us to play and fish.

Serena and all of the grandkids

Having fun playing in the sand

Serena and Lilith with Mammy in the background

Mammy and Grandpa Mike with all the grandkids

Caroline with her shells

Carson is having a blast

Oscar is having fun

Grandpa Mike, Caroline, Carson, and Mammy looking at shells

After playing on the beach for about 2 hours, we went back to the house and Serena grilled some steaks for dinner.  They were really good.  Scott and Eric did not get back until after 9:00.  They had caught a few fish, but didn't keep any.  We played some games then called it a night.

Tuesday - July 31, 2018

We got up and all had cereal for breakfast.  It was raining so we went to the North Carolina Aquarium that is on the island around 10:30.  We spent about 3 hours at the aquarium.  They had some dinosaur replicas that moved as well as the typical aquarium displays.  The kids really liked it. 

Mike and all the grandkids in front of the T-Rex

Caroline and Elli playing around in a 'dinosaur egg'

Grandkids inside the shark jaws

Eric and Carson looking at the sharks

Lily liked the aquarium

 

Ell, Oscar, and Caroline touching the rays

Isaac in front of the alligator

Serena got a selfie with everyone in it (even if it only got Mike's arm)

We went back to the house and had lunch and rested before going to the beach. It had cleared off so we could enjoy beach time before dinner.

Playing in the water

Eric and Lilith

Isaac using the boogie board

Elli, Oscar, and Caroline digging in the sand

Lily was one happy girl

More wave jumping

Oscar was really having a fun time

Eric watching Caroline and Elli jumping waves

Lilith and Caroline playing in the sand

Scott and Mike talking about fishing

A shot of everyone (except Serena)

Scott went to the seafood market and bought shrimp, blue crabs, trigger fish, and flounder.  We ended up cooking everything except the flounder with corn on the cob and potatoes.  A low country boil.  It was all really good.  After getting the kids to bed we played a board game then called it a night.

Wednesday - August 1, 2018

We got up fairly early and had cereal for breakfast again. Scott had rented a pontoon for the day so that he and Eric could fish and everyone else could play on an island in Bogue Sound.  We picked up the ponton at about 9:15.  The owner drove us out of the dock area and gave Scott operating lessons.  After dropping her off, we headed to an island that was supposed to be good for kids.

Isaac and Carson

On the pontoon on the way to the island

Serena and Lilith

Carson is ready for the boat ride

Mammy and Oscar

Beach Hair - Don't Care

We anchored off of an island and waded through the water to the island.  We set up on a beach where there was some shade.  The water was shallow, even during high tide, so all of the little kids could play and swim.  It wasn't the best for Isaac because it was so shallow.  It was the clearest day that we had.  Serena and I stayed on the island with the kids while the men stayed on the pontoon fishing.  Scott and Eric were finally able to catch some blue fish. 

Serena and the kids playing in the water and catching bait for the guys

Lily playing on the beach

The water was kind of shallow for Isaac

The girls had fun with face painting

A view of the beach on the island

A view where we set up in our little bit of shade

We went back to pick up the owner at 4:30 and got back to the house at about 5:00. It was warm and tiring but a very fun day.

Some sleepy kids

Being driven back to our cars

Scott cooked flounder and blue fish for dinner and made crab cakes for me and Serena from the leftovers from the previous night.  It was a really good dinner.  We played some more Mario cart before going to bed.

Oscarand Lilly playing before dinner

Elli and Lily

Thursday - August 2, 2018

Our last day at the beach!  Mike cooked eggs with leftover potatoes and sausage and I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast.  It must have been good because it all got eaten up.  It was raining so we all went souvenir shopping with the kids.  After they all bought something, we ate lunch at the Hwy. 55 Diner.  It was good hamburgers and hot dogs.  By the time we got back to the house, it had stopped raining so we all got ready and went to the beach.

We spent several hours jumping waves, body surfing, boogie boarding, skim boarding, and fishing.  We all really had a good time on our last day at the beach.

Isaac, Lilith, Carson, Oscar, Caroline, Elli

Scott and Isaac building a sand castle

Carson in the finished product

Eric and the kids in the sand castle

The kids had a blast jumping the waves

More wave jumping

Oscar on the boogie board

Isaac with the skim board

While everyone else stayed at the beach, Mike went to the store and got pizza for take out.  We didn't want to have to clean up after dinner again.  The pizza was pretty good.  While everyone else sat around Serena and I took Elli and Caroline to look for ghost crabs on the beach.  We only saw about 4 as well as a couple of blue crabs, but had a really good time.  When we got back to the house, the kids went to bed, and Isaac, Scott, Eric, and I played Mario Cart one last time.  We got to bed fairly late after playing and getting everything ready to pack up in the morning.

Friday - August 3, 2018

Leaving day.  We had a quick breakfast, packed up, and were ready to put canoes on the cars when it came a downpour.  Eric and Scott got thoroughly soaked and had to change clothes before getting in the cars.  Caroline is going with Mike and I, so she and Elli rode in our car and Oscar rode with Scott.  Everyone was so tired and the weather was so yucky that it took us a long time to get back to Scott's.  This was a really fun trip.  We'll have to take everyone to the beach again.