Sunrise Hike on the Beach

Sunday morning, we woke up early for a sunrise hike on the beach.  We walked down to the beach while it was still dark and found a nice spot to watch the first light of the morning.

Soon, the sun poked up over the horizon.

It was a very beautiful sunrise.  Here's a video of it.

Sandy went back to bed, while I started hiking north on the beach.  It was a beautiful hike in the morning light with the waves crashing.

Heading north, I soon crossed the fence to where driving is allowed and entered Currituck National Wildlife Refuge.  I saw a couple wild horses up on the dunes but couldn't get a good picture.

I hiked down the beach for several hours.  I had initially planned to go as far as the state line, but it was quite a bit further than I thought.

I went as far as Carova Beach and turned around there.

It had gotten quite hot on the hike back and there's absolutely no shade on the beach.  I'm glad I didn't try to go further.

At the beach house, I went to beach with the in-laws and played in the water for a while.  Then Sandy and I went for another hike at Currituck Banks Reserve to get out of the sun.  We spotted some Indian blanket flowering.

We just went for a short hike and enjoyed the beautiful maritime forest for a while.

Heading back to the house, we had barbecue for dinner.  Corolla was having their fireworks on Monday, but we could see fireworks up and down the barrier island.  Some people were illegally lighting off fireworks on the beach as well.

Independence Day in Corolla

Thursday morning, I woke up early and headed down to the beach before sunrise.  The beach was just beautiful in the early twilight and I started hiking north.

The sun rose just as I crossed the fence to where beach driving is allowed.

Not too many vehicles and few people this early in the morning.

I went north several miles, past the homes and followed a sandy path into Currituck National Wildlife Refuge.  I was hoping to spot some wild horses but no such luck.

By 730, it was already hot and humid and the flies were bad in here, so I started hiking back.  Crossing back to where beach driving is prohibited, there were a bunch of pelicans and cormorants on the posts out in the water.

The beach was really getting crowded now, but it was just another mile to Corolla Light.

I got back to the house and rested in the air conditioning for a little while and then we all headed to the beach to play in the waves.  There were some boogie boards at the house to borrow and pretty good surf to ride the waves.  After playing in the water a bit, Sandy and I had lunch and took a dip in the pool.  We grilled burgers for dinner, then I went back down to Historic Corolla Park to watch the sunset over the sound.  Too many clouds for much of a sunset, but clear enough for fireworks.  After the fireworks, we went to bed.