Beach and Blast 2012

In the morning, we woke up, broke camp, and headed to Fort Fisher State Recreation Area to begin our beach day. It was already getting hot at 9, so we quickly set up our shade canopy on the beach and then took a dip in the ocean to cool off. After how warm it was the day before, I didn't think I could feel too cold. But after about 30 minutes or so in the ocean, I started to get a bit chilled, so I got out and warmed up in the sun (very quickly!). John, who doesn't care much for water, was flying his kite on the beach. With a 1/4 to 1/2 mile of string, the kite was so high, it was barely visible. Somehow, the kite managed to crash into the water and broke. We all started helping to reel in the kite along with help from others on the beach, which was quite a task given the length of string. After that, I spent some time in the shade before we headed out to hike the Basin Trail. The trail starts just behind the visitor center and wanders through beach and salt marsh out to the southern tip of the area.

Along the trail, we saw many little Fiddler Crabs scurrying in and out of the sand and marsh.

At the end of the trail is an observation dock, with beautiful views of the Basin and Zeke's Island Coastal Reserve.

A great spot for birding, we saw pelicans and egrets in the water here.

On the way back, we stopped to see the World War II bunker, where the hermit of Fort Fisher, Robert E. Harrill, lived for many years.

Then we headed back to the beach for one more refreshing dip in the water before packing up. We stopped back at Carolina Beach State Park, where several people were planning to camp again, to take a shower and wash off the sand and salt. Then we headed into Wilmington and had dinner at the Reel Cafe. After dinner, we staked our spot along the waterfront and waited for the fireworks to start. They were only about 20 minutes this year, but it was a great show. Several of the fireworks exploded in the shape of stars! After the fireworks, we quickly headed back to the car and battled traffic to get out of Wilmington. But once out, the traffic was light heading back to Raleigh.