Well, my Aunt Ann and Uncle Tom moved to Wilmington, NC several years ago (three years, is it? four?) and have been singing the praises of their new home ever since. We decided it was high time to pay a visit. Besides: our kids have never been to the beach in their little lives!
They have a completely lovely, graceful house in downtown, historic Wilmington. Isn't that porch inviting?
This is probably the aspect of the porch (and perhaps even the whole house) that our kids enjoyed the most:
They were in that hammock early int he morning and as late as we'd let them in the evening.
I wasn't prepared for how Southern a city Wilmington is. I had only been to Durham in North Carolina before, so I wasn't ready for the Spanish Moss and the Palmettos that greeted us!
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| It was like a smaller Charleston |
On Friday morning, we decided to put off the beach until it warmed up a few degrees. Instead, we took a family loitering walk around downtown.
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| Anyone know what kind of trees these are? I thought they were so cool. |
We tarried on the Riverwalk...
Do you love this work of art? It's called "Southern Hospitality" and it's a Venus Fly Trap. Ouch.
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| We would later have a closer encounter with the U.S.S. North Carolina |
In the afternoon when Adele woke, we could wait no longer. To the beach!
In our three days at the beach, there was a slightly different arrangement of clouds and light for each. Actually, the view changed almost hourly. Each seemed more lovely than the last.
As I've said to friends, the weather was in the 70s and was what we in Rochester would call "partly cloudy" so residents were frequently apologizing to us about the weather. I assured them that this was the most extraordinary October day I've had in a good 10 years.
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| October? We don't see any October! |
In case you are wondering, they both enjoyed it enormously, but in their separate ways. Miles was just straight ecstatic. He'd chase the waves, laugh infectiously when they chased him back, gather seashells and then laugh again when he was surprised by a wave, dance spontaneously and make incoherent sounds of glee. I have video of this and I will included it in the sequel to this entry.
Adele loved the experience too, but differently. I have described before her consistent fear of big bodies of water. It's not just the waves; she has hated pools from the first, and would have nothing to do with Lake Ontario. She made an exception in her freak-out rule for the ocean. She'll gaze at it with great enjoyment as long as she is being held. She will not suffer it to touch her.
Sand is, apparently, approved unreservedly. She was quite happy and busy in the sand.
I can't believe we took this long to visit the beach. Perhaps next time we'll go in swimsuit weather.
Can you spot the osprey? We saw him dive like a stone and produce a fish out of the water like a rabbit out of a hat. It was thrilling.
The great thing about the beach in the off-season, though, is the space between people. We had so much room for the kids to wander. It's such a luxury to be able to take one's eyes off one's small children once and a while! When they were ranging over the sand, we could have whole conversations!
I think the beach is our whole family's collective happy thought, now.
(To be continued...)
Love.love this. It takes me back to our kids first days at the beach and life-long love affair from the beginning. If you can ever take time during the week in the summer, I'd love for you to head to our condo in Rockport. We're too selfish to give it up during the weekends but during the weekdays its' usually available and best part -- free :)
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