Carolina, Beaches!

On Sunday we drove from Durham to Wilmington, about a 3 hour trip. I know, I know, for those of you in cars, it is just over 2 hours. For those of us in 11 tons of RV (plus stuff and water and gas and…) and towing 2 tons of Jeep, totaling 60 feet in length its at least 3 hours. I have been learning a whole new level of patience and a different tempo. As the person who would see how long it would take to get from one place to the next on the Waze app and consider the ETA to be a TTB (time to beat) I now see the Waze ETA and add at least 35%. Gaining speed, slowing down, making turns, gassing up, it all takes extra time. So God is teaching me patience in the form of Dericka and Rodita and time spent with my loved ones. And lots of it.

Driving to Wilmington was an easy stretch of Interstate, especially after we left the Raleigh/Durham area. As we got to Wilmington, I-40 ended. Yes, it just ended. We went from 65 MPH to 35 MPH into a school zone. Weird. We essentially ran out of earth as we neared the coast of North Carolina. We drove another 20 miles to the actual beach where the road hit the beach.

We got set up on Sunday night in the rain and enjoyed dinner and some good rest after having moved for the first time in almost two weeks. We are at Fort Fisher Air Force Recreation Area at Kure Beach (Kure is pronounced “Curry” we have learned. ) Big Daddy is with us and we are able to stay at a FAMCAMP, which is nice and much cheaper than most commercial campgrounds but is only available to military personnel and their families. Thank you for your service, BD!

On Monday we got up and Mar and I did some work under heavy fog before heading out to see what the area had to offer. We enjoyed some seafood lunch with fresh catch sea bass and shrimp (yummo!) and got some groceries. After lunch we the fog and clouds lifted and we decided to take Lilly to see if we could find a beach. We scored big and found Jeep access to the beach and took Rodita out on the sand. (And no, we did not have to be towed out, thank you!) The girls played in the surf, Big Daddy and I enjoyed the sun and the sand. Lilly is a big fan of the beach!!! She loved the surf and ran and ran, eventually refusing to get back into the Jeep to leave! We decided we would stay at least another day since we were having so much fun.

Yesterday Mar and I got up early to catch the east coast sunrise. There were some clouds but they eventually gave way to a beautiful start to the day. It was breezy and then we went back to Dericka to walk Lil (who was moving slow after her beach day), have breakfast, and do work before heading out to the NC State Aquarium in the afternoon. The aquarium is really neat and they had 3 divers doing a live program underwater. We were also there for their daily fish and weekly shark feed which was cool. They also had TONS of decorated Christmas trees on display (gorgeous) which were part of a local benefit plus a tree of hope where we were able to hang an ornament in Rodney’s honor.

Today we will work and then head to the Fort Fisher Civil War Museum. We have elected to stay here overnight again and will leave tomorrow to head to New Bern to see family who lives there. What a difference a day makes- yesterday it was 70 degrees and Sunny- we ate lunch outside and met our neighbor who is retired Army and was a UMC Pastor in Littleton and Colorado Springs. Today it is 50, overcast and windy with a small craft advisory. Brrr! Happy Hump Day, Friends!