Enjoying the View

Today was a cool day here on the Crystal Coast. Tomorrow our high temperature is forecast to be almost fifteen degrees lower than our normal November high of sixty-five degrees. While western North Carolina has received some light snow in higher elevations, most of us on the coast take little pleasure in knowing that other places are colder. We would rather have our nice warm weather. While today was cool, it was still a day when we enjoyed the out of doors, we just picked our places and took pleasure in the warm sun.

While this unusual cool spell has kept all but the most dedicated fisherman onshore, it certainly has not driven us all inside. I was in shorts and working outside on Saturday. Today I had on blue jeans and a sweatshirt.

The winds were fairly quiet, and the sun was shining brightly through our clear blue skies. When that happens, it is pretty easy to find a nice spot along the Crystal Coast. Since we had been over on the beach yesterday, we decided that our daily outing would be on the mainland.

As we were driving through Cedar Point, I noticed how nice the White Oak River looked so we decided to take a quick walk on the river walk that Swansboro has installed just across from First Citizens Bank.

As you can see from the photo in the post, the view from the river walk is one of the nicest water views that you can find. The walkways are well done, and it is great place to get some fresh air with very little effort.

There was a fair amount of traffic on Highway 24 so I suggested we find a quieter spot to enjoy the water. One of my favorite sheltered areas is Hammocks Beach State Park. This time of year the ferry to the beach is not running but you can still enjoy the mainland area of the park.

It is only a short drive from Swansboro to the park. The road into the park is one of my favorite spots with live oaks providing a canopy for the road.

If we had been facing rain, we might have taken advantage of the museum, but with cool temperatures and a warm sun we walked down to the dock and enjoyed the view of the Intracoastal Waterway and beyond that Huggins Island.

The dock where we enjoyed the view is probably the best kayak launch point in the area since it has two specially designed floating launch points with rollers to make it easy to slide your kayak into the water.

We then took a short hike over to another pavilion where we could see the pontoon boats used to ferry beach goers to Hammocks Beach during the summer. It was pleasant spot to enjoy the setting sun.

As we got back in the car which was parked near another beautiful live oak, my wife commented that the sun warmed car felt especially since we cooled ourselves along the water.

On the way back home we got to enjoy yet another golden Carteret County sunset. It was just another pleasant afternoon here on the Crystal Coast.