What do the Adams' do while at the BEACH in December?

A view from our room at the Islander Inn

Hello Blog Friends!!!!!   How are YOU?   As I write this post on a cold,  January day in Tennessee,   I am yearning to be back at that beautiful area NOW!!!!!!  George and I love going to Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina,  and we try to get there almost every year in early December.

This year,  we visited  George's son and family in Florida for Thanksgiving --and then headed to the beach,  by way of Savannah and Charleston....  It was a great 11 day trip for us --but it was nice to get home to enjoy Christmas with family and each other!

Our trip this year at the Islander Inn in Ocean Isle Beach was between Dec. 2-6...So today's post is a look at our time there.   What did we do on this amazing vacation????    Sit back,  grab a cuppa and enjoy!!!!

What do we do?????   We love watching the sunset from our balcony.

What do we do?????   EAT of course;  This was my dinner of shrimp and scallops from the Dockside Restaurant at Calabash,  NC

What do we do?   We walk the beach --at least twice a day.  It's wonderful to have the beach all to ourselves.

We love watching the waves around the Fishing Pier

What else do we do???  WELL---we love walking at our favorite park in the area,  Sunset Beach Waterfront Park.  

As we walked in Sunset Park,   I just had to go down to the water's edge and search for any alligators.... They say there are alligators in the area,  but we've never had the 'privilege' of seeing any!!!!!

Nobody on the beach except us and a lot of water BIRDIES!!!!!

What do we do????   Not only do we enjoy sunsets from our room/balcony --but we also got up early enough each day to see the beautiful SUNRISES.... (This is the time of year to be here --in order to see both sunrises and sunsets.)

Another day--another walk on the beach.... You can see the Islander Inn in the distance.  It's a perfect place to stay --if you want a vacation ON the beach!!!

 What do we do?????    Of course,  we EAT again (and again)!!!!!!!   ha ha....We enjoy another delicious meal (Prime Rib and Garlic Mashed Potatoes) at the Boundary House in Calabash!!!

A walk on the beach on a VERY cold and WINDY day!!!!    I always post a picture of the big house in the distance --since we have taken pictures of it for many years,  since we watched it being built!!!!  I always say that it is 'my' house!!!! ha

What do we do?  WELL---we just had to visit CALLAHAN'S of Calabash while there...  They have the BEST  Christmas store I've seen in a long time.... Some little goodie always just calls my name,  when we are there.  This year a cute little OWL jumped into my arms and begged me to bring him home...  Of course,  I didn't want to disappoint him!!!!!  He's so cute.  His name is Hooty!!!

My new baby --HOOTY,  the Owl!!!

There are so many Christmas things to see at Callahan's.  Here's an 'upside-down' Christmas tree for you!!!!

Every time we walk on the beach,  things look different each and every day...I love this picture with the sun's reflections on the water....  The water looks like a sea of diamonds.

What do we do?????   WELL---after a nice walk along the beach,  we enjoy a little rest on the Gazebo!!!!

Another gorgeous SUNRISE

WELL as you can see---we picked a gorgeous week to be here....  I'm a 'mountain' gal at heart --but LOVE getting my Beach Fix--at least once a year.... Hope you enjoyed a visit to the beach today....

Have an awesome week, my friends.

Hugs,
😁BETSY💕

A Short Visit to SAVANNAH

Beautiful Live Oak Trees complete with Spanish Moss in Savannah, Georgia

Dear Family and Friends,   Late Fall plus the holidays was very busy for us,  and due to this crazy schedule,  I am WAY behind on posting about some of the wonderful things we have seen and done.  SO--bear with me today,  as I go back in time to  the evening of Nov. 30 and the morning of Dec. 1st to show you a little bit from SAVANNAH, Georgia.

After leaving from our terrific Thanksgiving time with George's son and family on Nov. 30,   we headed to Savannah for the night.... Traffic was HORRIBLE --so we didn't get to Savannah until it was time for dinner...

Delicious dinner from the Sweet Potatoes Kitchen

Once we got to Savannah, we checked into our motel. By that time we were ready to eat!!!  George and I enjoy eating at local restaurants in specific areas when we travel.  SO-we searched YELP for recommendations. The one we chose  was the SWEET POTATOES KITCHEN.

We both enjoyed some Pecan Crusted Chicken with Sweet Potato Butter.  For my veggies,  I chose a Sweet Potato with Pecan Butter and some delicious cooked apples. For his veggies,  George choose Corn Pudding and Mashed Sweet Potatoes...  Everything was delicious --including their  "famous"  Banana Pudding (which we took back to the motel to eat later).

The Wormsloe State Historic Site,  Savannah, GA

We didn't have a lot of time before heading on to Charleston, but we wanted to see something special in Savannah which neither of us had seen.   SO-- we chose the WORMSLOE  State Historic Site.  Noble Jones arrived in Savannah in 1733.    The plantation built in 1828  (which is private) was originally spelled, Wormslow.  In the mid-1800's,  Noble Jones'  grandson settled on Wormsloe as the standard spelling. This archway was erected in 1913 to commemorate Noble Jones' grandson's son's coming of age.

The picturesque roadway leading us through the property

Seeing and driving on this amazing road was the HIGHLIGHT of Wormsloe to me..  (You can see this beautiful road as I chose it for my Blog Header Picture this month.)   Noble Jones'  grandson planted more than 400 Live Oak trees in the early 1890's to commemorate the birth of his son.   Being here in person to see it was AWESOME....

We enjoyed hiking around the Wormsloe Property...  This is a picture of a hardy Saw Palmetto bush...

A neat area showing what Colonial Life and Living was like to those early Georgia settlers.  

This lady was sharing information about Spanish Moss to some children who were there visiting

See me in the window?  This little 'daub' house has one room,  a sleeping loft,  and a chimney for cooking and heating.  A 'daub' house was made with a combination of wet soil, clay, sand,  animal dung,  and straw.Wooden strips in the form of a lattice (called a 'wattle') are used to 'daub' the sticky mixture together... 

Inside the daub house --where I just HAD to check out the fireplace!!!!

Jones'  Narrows is no longer a strategic water channel for large ships,  since the water has been directed to the Intracoastal Waterway which was created in the 1960's.  Now---Jones' Narrows is inaccessible except for very small boats.  

I told George to get down there and pick that leaning tree up!!!!  For some reason,  he laughed at me!!!!! ha

Some of the remains of  Noble Jones'  Tabby house;  The 8 foot high house protected the family from attacks by the Spanish and their Indian allies --between 1739 and 1748.  

After our nice walk around the facility --we headed back down that amazing road as we left Wormsloe.  

Well--- that's our visit to Wormsloe State Historic Site in Savannah, Georgia.... IF you ever get to Savannah,  we both highly recommend you seeing this beautiful place....Seeing the rows of Live Oaks is worth the trip!!!!!

Have a great week.

Hugs,
😁BETSY💕

A Sunny Florida Thanksgiving

Robert and Melissa's awesome backyard

Dear Family and Friends,   I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving Holiday WEEK...  George and I certainly did!!!!!  We enjoyed a few days with George's son,  Robert,  and his wife Melissa (and their family) at their beautiful home near Tampa, Florida.  They 'ordered' some fabulous weather while we were there --and I'll admit that that warm Florida sun felt GOOD!!!!

Both Robert and Melissa are AWESOME cooks ---so you can only imagine what they fixed for our delicious Thanksgiving Dinner...  Here's a list of some of the dinner choices:  Ham,  Turkey,  Dressing,  Gravy,  Green Bean Casserole,  Macaroni and Cheese,  Mashed Potatoes,  Wild Rice Casserole,  Rolls/Butter,  Cranberry Salad,  and for dessert----Robert's homemade  PUMPKIN CHEESE CAKE....  Oh My Heart and Soul!!!!!!  (Glad Calories don't count on Thanksgiving!!!! ha ha ha)

Today I'll share with you a few pictures from our visit with them (Nov. 27-30)!!!! Hope you enjoy seeing more of our wonderful family!!

Their gazebo --up close and personal!!!

More of their backyard --including several water treatments!!!

Along the back fence

All of the beautiful vegetation in their front yard 

George and son Robert at the Thanksgiving Dinner table

George and his grandson,  Sean (Robert's son); We were amazed at how tall Sean is now.. He is a Sophomore in high school.

"The Parents"  enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner;  It was a 'running joke' that we were not only the 'parents' --but we were also the OLD PEOPLE.... ha ha ha

Besides Robert and George,  I introduce you to Melissa with the yellow shirt on and her daughter, Kayla and two of Kayla's 3 children.  The baby and Daddy stayed home because the baby was quite sick... We missed seeing them this trip. 

The other end of the Thanksgiving table;  It was a marvelous day and we were blessed to be able to be there,  although many family members couldn't be there with us.  Melissa has 3 sons: (1 in Basic Training for the Navy; other two are in North Carolina).  Robert's other son lives in Colorado now.  Melissa's mother lives in North Carolina.   George's daughter (Kelly) is visiting with Rob/Melissa this coming week.

What does one do AFTER eating that big Thanksgiving Dinner?????? 

WELL---this shows what I really did!!!!  NAPTIME!!!!   (How many of you take naps after a big meal????? ha)

We left Florida on Saturday,  Nov. 30 and headed north to enjoy more of our special journey.  We had one night in Savannah and one night in Charleston --and now are at our favorite beach (Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina)...   We love the beach at this time of year since there are very few people around and we seem to have the beach all to ourselves!!!!  LOVE it.  I will do some upcoming blog posts on these areas of our trip I'm sure.

Have a great week --and enjoy this wonderful, happy, joyful month of December...  George and I are still so very THANKFUL for our families and for good health... Thanks be to God for all of the blessings we receive each and every day.

Hugs,

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