The last of summer 2013

It is hard to believe that the summer has flown by so quickly and we hadn't made any trips to the beach! It was our last chance before Fall, so we quickly put together a weekend in Wilmington after Labor Day, hoping most of the people would have been gone by then.  We drove in on Friday, and once there we found our reservation at the hotel had been mixed up! There was some panic on my part, as it looked like most things were all booked.  They found us a room for Friday, but we were going to have to scramble for the rest of the vacation, hoping for cancellations.  We spent a restless first night, but planned on making it up all day Saturday lounging on Wrightsville beach.

View from our hotel at Shell Island Resort

First look at the beach

Found some rentals so we could really lounge

People watching

Sunday we went to Airlie Gardens.  It was hundreds of acres and so beautiful.  The day was hot, but we stayed to enjoy as much of the gardens as we could.

The beginning of the over 1 acre path through the gardens

Frog sculptures throughout the gardens made for a fun scavenger hunt

Bird watching frog; we had fun  finding them all

After Airlie Gardens, we drove down to the Cape Fear River to see the museum of poisonous snakes.  Ugh! I think Chris could have stayed there all day, but I had to leave after a while.  Snakes make my skin crawl.

We had to move rooms, and then hotels when we would come up with a cancellation.  Sunday we moved to the Holiday Inn just down the road from Shell Island Resort.  Our room was so much nicer, and we had a fantastic beautiful deck facing the ocean.

Our balcony view from Holiday Inn

Sunday evening we wanted to go body surfing, so we suited up and grabbed our snow boards as a substitute.  Chris was terribly embarrassed to be seen with those snow boards, but I didn't care.  I figured they would work just as well! In truth, they weren't all that great, didn't support our weight properly, but we made do and played, catching some good waves!  Right at the last minute, Chris caught a huge wave from behind and it knocked his glasses right off his head.  It ended our otherwise fun evening at the beach.  Monday morning we found an eye masters and had to get a new prescription and glasses for Chris!

And finally, his new frames!

Once that ordeal was finally over, could finally get on with the fun stuff, the aquarium at Fort Fisher.

That night we took a long walk on the beach, just marveling at the surf and sand and waves and horizon.  We started out in evening and were able to see the sunset while we walked.  Thinking we might want to swim in the ocean again, I didn't bring the camera.  Next time I will have to make sure I have a waterproof disposable for all the in-water shots! We enjoyed every moment of our last night on the beach.

Tuesday morning we got up early and headed out for our last stop before home, the USS North Carolina Battleship, docked in the Cape Fear River.

And so ended our summer vacation to Wilminton NC! Looking forward to many more summers there.