The Beach Walks Are Back

Wednesday was a magnificent day here on the Crystal Coast. This morning after the fog burned off, the skies turned a deep blue, the sun warmed the air, and the winds dropped to almost nothing. It was one of those days where everyone has to sneak a little time outside to restore their soul. I was lucky since I had worked yesterday morning and could spend most of the afternoon outside. After fighting cool temperatures, dark skies and winds, March 18 restored my faith in Carolina weather. Thursday is supposed to be even nicer before we have a cool weekend. I am making a promise to myself that I will somehow get to enjoy some of the great weather. If I can just soak up enough heat, I can survive one more cool weekend.

When I went out to get the paper Wednesday morning, our house seemed to be lost in the fog as I turned to come back. However, the air smelled like spring, and by eleven AM, we were rewarded with sunshine.

I had a number of things to do before we could sneak away from the house, but before 3 PM we were on our way to the beach. We were not expecting really great weather over on the beach since recent trips have made our sweatshirts feel very cozy.

So I was very surprised when I walked down an access road to the beach, and the first thing I saw was someone walking by in a bathing suit. I will admit to being a little shocked, but as I walked onto the beach, it became clear that while the guy in the bathing suit was a little optimistic, I could have gone with shorts and a tee shirt and still have been comfortable.

There were several people on the beach including some very young children playing in the water. I noticed a few college age young folks sunbathing. There were some dogs being walked, and even someone with a fishing pole stuck in the sand.

It appears the beach is open for business once again. Now we will have cool days and probably more wind than we want, but this wonderful warm March interlude makes winter seem like a distant memory.

After a short beach walk, we headed home, and I took advantage of the warm weather to go for a bike ride. Due to travel I had not been on my bike in about ten days, so it felt great to get some exercise and enjoy the warmth of the sun.

When I got back to the house, I calculated that I had time to paddle my kayak out to the White Oak River to catch the sunset. When I got out there, it was so peaceful that I had a hard time coming back. In fact I made it back about five minutes before dark.

Wednesday, March 18, was one of those days that I will remember for a long time. Here are some slides of my perfect March day.