Our Ocean Isle Beach Trip -May, 2013

George and I made our annual trip to the beach from May 4-11 this year.  We are basically mountain people---but we love going to the beach once or twice a year.  What we love about the going there:
-SEAFOOD  (very important since we can't get good seafood where we live now)
-Islander Inn (where we stay --with a room and balcony RIGHT on the beach)
-The beach itself (walking, collecting shells,  sunbathing, reading, RELAXING)
-The sky (sunrises/sunsets/pretty clouds/moon/rainbows, etc.)

Today I'll share with you some of our photos from this trip.  If you want to see photos from other trips,  you can go to my sidebar and scroll down to some of the different Ocean Isle Beach trips.  We see different things each time we go. Above is a photo taken from our room --on an evening when the sun was setting and reflecting on the waves.

Be sure to click on the photos for enlargements.

Here is a photo of George as we walked along the beach the first day we were there.  As you can tell (from the sweatshirt),  it was cool and windy that day.  BUT--we enjoyed our walk.  We averaged at least 3 miles of walking on the beach each day we were there.

George took this picture of me in front of the Islander Inn sign.  Note my new t-shirt--which he surprised me with one day.  That is Bryce Canyon from our trip there in 2011.  George took the photo and had the t-shirts made.  Isn't it beautiful?

This picture showing some of the waves near the fishing pier was taken during one of our walks along the beach.

Here is a picture George took of me during another of our walks toward the fishing pier.

I took  this picture of George as we were getting ready to eat dinner at our VERY FAVORITE  seafood restaurant in Calabash,  the Dockside Restaurant.

There are lots and lots of sea-birds ----so I managed to take this photo of another visitor who was feeding them one day. 

We love to sit on the beach ----SO one day,  George took this picture of me chatting with my son, Mark, on the phone!!!!!

We love Dockside Restaurant so much that we returned THREE different times for dinner.  We've tried other seafood restaurants --but this one is our favorite one. There is a pier next to Dockside where they bring the fresh seafood right up to the pier!!!  SO---we KNOW that food at Dockside is very, very FRESH...

The storm clouds were nearby ---but we only had rain ONE NIGHT that entire week.  SO---we were definitely pleased with our weather.

Here is one happy man ---eating dinner at Dockside.  We LOVED the fresh fried shrimp and those huge scallops... YUM... (I'm ready to go back for more!!!)

Who is this lazy woman ---relaxing at the beach????  The sun was warm --but since we use sunscreen,  we don't get much of a sunburn...  SUCH JOY --and REST!!!!!  As you can tell from these photos,  we go to the beach in May --ahead of the summer crowds.  We have the beach almost to ourselves the week we go--and we love that.

I love taking sky photos ---and this one turned out really good since the sun was shining on the big clouds over the water.   Neat one,  don't you think?  (Be sure to enlarge it.)

Proof that I got my feet in the water---even though it was quite cold...  There were some people swimming ---but we just continued to enjoy walking.

Here is one of my favorite photos EVER of the fishing pier --with the sun's reflection on it.  I have a trillion photos of the fishing pier --but this is my favorite I think.  Do you like it?

Finally,  Here is a picture of us taken from our room ---showing the ocean in back of us.  It was a wonderful week ---and we hope to return for a few days in late November or early December.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Hugs,

Emoticons

Different Views around our Yard in May

Here is a leftover post from MAY that I've had in the 'hopper'. I've given you all kinds of views in and around our yard,  showing off many of our flowers/plants/trees.   In May (before the roses and lilies bloomed),  I just walked around the yard and took photos of the entire yard from various viewpoints.  Hope you enjoy seeing our yard in May...  Most of the photos were taken on May 13.   Be sure to click on the photos for enlargements.

The photo above is a view that I feature throughout the year---showing our total home from a street view.  When compared to the last photo I put on my blog (click HERE and look at the last photo) from this angle,  you can tell that spring has really sprung.  BUT----there's much more to see blooming from this angle  as evidenced by looking at my new June Header  (roses,  lilies,  daylilies,  azaleas,  etc.)...  The yard changes daily!!!!  SO--you'll see this view again --many times!!!!

Here is a photo from the other direction.  I was standing near the garage on the driveway ---and took this photo looking across the front yard toward the road.  You can see all of the growth on our rose bushes in May... I had a hard time waiting until they bloomed! ha

This photo was taken from the 'upper' side of the yard --looking across the yard from that angle.   The next photo will give you a good look at our English Ivy and Periwinkle ground cover.

We started the ivy and periwinkle several years ago with a few little sprouts...  Look at it now!!!!! George wanted some ground cover in the areas throughout the yard where mowing was difficult... The ground cover has definitely done the trick for us!!!

This view shows the upper side yard ---looking toward the backyard and deck.   The side flowerbed contains  Daffodils, Crocus, Hyacinths,  Tulips, Irises,  Lilies and Daylilies.  There is more of the groundcover (Periwinkle) here also.

I like this angle --looking through some of our many large trees.   I was standing at the corner of the house looking across the yard from that angle.

Now--I am on the opposite corner,  looking at the 'lower' side of our yard.  There is another rose bed in this area, plus our Daylily bed.   The big rock bed is in this area ---and a shady side yard toward the back where our large woodpile is,  and our compost.  (The roses are really blooming in this bed also now---and the Daylilies are about to bloom.)

AND----here is a view of this lower front yard from the opposite direction.   You can see the Daylily bed on the left and the rose bed on the right... You can also see the bench which George added for me several years ago so that I could sit out there and enjoy the roses and lilies.  To the right of the bench is our Clematis --which is just now beginning to grow up the telephone pole wires... I hope the Clematis blooms this year!!!!!  If not,  we'll take it out and start over with another one!

Here's a photo of the 'lower' back yard.  You can see the woodpile in the background  and our Periwinkle ground cover.  AND---you can see a tiny bit of our Rhododendron blooms.

Finally,  here is a picture of our backyard and deck.  There are Azaleas and Rhododendrons along the back ---and in the flowerbed on the right,  those are Irises blooming.

WELL--I took you all of the way around the house ---so you have seen all of our yard in May of 2013.   (I will give you a June look soon.) Much has changed since Fall, 2002 --when we bought the home...  I'll close with a picture from 2002.  You won't believe the difference!!!

What our home looked like when we bought it in 2002

One of the first things we did after buying the house was to put our name on the mailbox!!!!!! ha ha ....  We were so excited!   Hope you have enjoyed the TOUR...  Wonder what this house and yard will look like in 2024?????  Wonder if George and I will still be here to work in the yard??????   Well----we certainly hope so!!!!  But--it's in God's hands--not ours!!!

Have a wonderful day.  And please click HERE to check out a beautiful Iris photo on my Photo Blog today!!!!

Hugs,

Emoticons