Just Another Boring Day In Paradise (Topsail, NC)

Beth And Marisa Smiles

6:45

Hot Tub Hayden

Both Beth and I are up at 6:40, as we seem to sleep in later each day.  I realized this morning that we need clouds to have a spectacular sunrise.  The last two days have been cloudless, just a hazy blue, thus a boring morning photograph.  By the way, I am not complaining.

Cruising On The Atlantic Ocean

It's now our fifth day, the house, beach, sun, and sand seem normal.  We are getting used to waking up to the sound of waves, the whiteness of the breakers, the vastness of the beach at low tide, and of course, the waning of the day, as the ocean disappears into darkness, on moonless nights.  Yesterday, however, was different for six of us, as they went on a fishing charter out of Wilmington while the rest of us, Evie, Beth, Mitch, three of the girls and me, held the fort here at Topsail.  The group left about 10:45, dropped Tyler off at the Wilmington airport, then went fishing from 12:00 to  5:00.  We would get occasional texts like,  'buy the soy sauce and wasabi for sushi', or 'pick up a special recommended breading for frying the fish.'  It was, however, a long, hot day on the boat, with long stretches of boredom, and I think they are glad to have gone but would not do it again at this time of the year. They caught 18 Spanish mackerel, all about 12 to 15 inches, about the only fish biting this time of year.  The mackerel is, however, great for sushi and to fry.  They got home sunburned and tired around 6:00 and couldn't wait to shower and get that first beer or glass of wine.

Nick and Hayden

Catch Of The Day

As they fished, the rest of us had your typical beach day, hitting it around 11:00, returning at 1:00 to relax, get out of the sun.  The girls were happy to play on the beach, and I did some body surfing and read, while Beth and Evie spent hours looking for shark's teeth.  It's fun to watch the girls amuse themselves as they always seem on the same page, no arguments.  They will beach it for an hour, then disappear to the hot tub, then take a shower, then go to their rooms, get something to eat, put their suits on again, and come down to the beach, a normal day for them.

Beth Shark Tooth Hunting

Granny And Her Girls Looking For Shells

The Gals With Their Shades, Marlena, Marisa, And Halle 

Around 3:30, the six of us went shopping, to get things for our dinner and it was a riot.  The two girls took the "customer training carts" around the store, filled with a watermelon and a few other things.  They, of course, wanted anything sweet on the shelves and Evie usually acquiesced to their desires. Grandmother's can never say NO.  A couple of hundred bucks later, we emerged from the store into the late afternoon heat, always a shock because of the air conditioned store.  We then hurried to put away the goodies and put on our suits, to take advantage of low tide, the good waves and tide pools until 6:30 when it was time to start dinner.

A Fried Spanish Mackerel Dinner

While everyone stood in the kitchen drinking wine or beer, Evie and I fried the fish while Beth and Mitch worked at filleting the Spanish mackerel into small bite size pieces for sushi, an onerous task because the fish was thin and the knife was dull.  They managed, however, and the sashimi was excellent, as it should be having just come out of the water.  Earlier, Beth and I made a large bowl of tartar sauce, so with some lemons, we were ready for a fish fry.  We had french fries and cole slaw as sides, and the fish was sweet and tender, just the way we like it.  Everyone enjoyed it and we even have a few fillets leftover for lunch today.

No Fish For Us! Chicken Nuggets And Fries, Yum!

We then watched Shark Tank though most were very tired, so everyone went up to bed before it ended.  I walked the beach around 9:30, in the utter darkness, one of two people on this blanket of sand, with one bright star, Venus I think, in the southern sky.

Today, we are back to normal, no doubt hitting the beach on and off during the day, with occasional breaks for food, hot tub, or in my case, a nap!