Tagged With: Ocean Isle

Ocean Isle Pier

Ocean Isle Pier

Ocean Isle Pier

It’s been pretty hot but this is the beach. I like this nearly monochromatic image of the ocean and the pier to the east of our house.

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Beach Umbrella

Beach Umbrella

Beach Umbrella

This is a beach umbrella reflected in a thin film of water on the sand. I like it as an abstract image.

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The Dawn Comes Up Like Thunder

The Dawn Comes Up Like Thunder

The Dawn Comes Up Like Thunder

Sleeping in is one of the nice things about being on vacation. That being said, getting up at 6:30 has its advantages, as well. It isn’t exactly the road to Mandalay (and there were no flying fishes, as far as I know) but even in North Carolina, the dawn sometimes comes up like thunder.

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Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

We spent the better part of the day driving to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina today. We were delayed a little by a flat tire and the time it took to get that replaced but better to have it happen near home that when we were traveling 70 MPH on the highway. Traffic between the Occoquan River Bridge and Fredericksburg was as bad as ever. Actually, worse. Generally the GPS says “Fastest route despite delays” but today it not only told us to get off of 95 onto US 1, it twice took us off of Route 1 onto smaller streets. I’m not entirely sure that saved us any time and the delay added about two hours to the drive, but we did finally make it to the beach and were able to relax a bit. As you can see, we arrived to fine weather and a calm Atlantic Ocean.

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Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

We had a pretty sunset this evening. there was not a huge amount of color but on the horizon it was very nice and I thought it looked especially good through the dune grass growing between our cottage and the beach. We had a nice day with a very calm ocean for swimming. I’m a fan of body surfing and although it was quite calm, there were occasional waves that were good for riding. Cathy prefers using a boogie board, which is fine, but I like the feel of the water.

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Silas On The Beach

Silas On The Beach

Silas On The Beach

It’s interesting how differently children react to things. Take the beach, for instance, and the waves from the ocean. Silas seems to really love the water and is happy sitting at the edge of the surf, letting the water come to him. His cousin is more apprehensive. I have no doubt that Kaien will grow into a love for the water to match his father’s but for now, he’s not so sure. Of course, a year from now, Silas might have traded his enjoyment for a more cautious approach. Every kid is different and even one kid changes from year to year. But for now, this little man is enjoying the beach.

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Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

Generally you look west in the evening to see the sunset and the best colors are often in that direction. This evening the best view was to the east, as seen here. Although we’re on the eastern coast of North America, the coastline runs almost due east-west right here. So, rather than the sun rising over the ocean and setting over land, it rises to the left on the beach and sets to the right. Although I took a lot of pictures, mostly what I was doing was enjoying the reflections of the light as each wave receded, leaving a very flat, highly reflective surface on the lower beach.

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Sunrise, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunrise, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunrise, Ocean Isle Beach

Today was the first day this week I went out to take pictures of the sunrise. I thought about it two other days but didn’t go out. There are often nice sunrises here but I simply didn’t feel like it. Today I did and was rewarded with some nice pictures. When I first went out it was very blue. The clouds and the ocean were various shades ranging from pale to dark. Eventually, the sun actually rose and a fair amount of orange was added to the sky and the reflection of the sky in the water. This photo doesn’t really show much of the blue.

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The Family At The Beach

The Family

The Family

As usual, we took a family photo at the beach on the last day when everyone was still there (George and Carmela left shortly after the photo was taken). Tsai-Hong and Cathy had gone for a walk and were a long time getting back, which created some tension. Of course they were understandably not anxious to sit for a picture the moment they got back. They had walked to the far end of the island and back, covering over eight miles. The weather cooperated, though, as the light overcast meant we didn’t have to squint into the sun or put our faces in shadow by facing away.

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Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

As our week at the beach came to an end, Brian from next door came over to let me know there was a nice sunset and that I should come out with my camera. There was this single cloud, far out to sea, lit by the setting sun, surrounded by the blue of the ocean, the sky, and the other clouds. I’m pretty happy with this picture as a relaxing reminder of a mostly relaxing week. Being with family for a week, it’s inevitable that there will be little things but for the most part, it was very nice and that’s how I’m going to remember it. The cottage we were in this year was good, in terms of layout, giving us the space we needed to spread out. Having the pool was a bonus and more enjoyable that I would have expected. It was shared with the three connected units, but that hardly mattered. One of those units was our cousins and it was nice being so close to them. If nothing else, it meant they could stick their head in our door and let us know about sunsets (and, as it turned out tomorrow morning, leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) hatching at the end of our path to the beach).

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Changeable Weather at Ocean Isle

Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

We arrived at Ocean Isle Beach yesterday, after a relatively smooth and uneventful drive. We even managed to get to Richmond in two hours, which on a “beach Saturday” is something to be pleased and amazed at. Because I’m no longer forcing myself to take a photo a day, I didn’t bother with any yesterday, although we did go out on the beach. It was actually nice to be able to enjoy the beach without having to worry about that.

Beach weather can be changeable and the two photos I have here illustrate that. This first one, looking east, was taken at 4:06 PM.

Storm Clouds, Ocean Isle Beach

Storm Clouds, Ocean Isle Beach

The second photo, looking west, was taken twenty minutes later at 4:26 PM. Of course the clouds to the west were already starting to show up when I took the earlier photo but they were moving to the south at a pretty good pace. In the distance in this photo, just beyond the high rise at the end of the island, it’s already raining. As the clouds moved out and covered more of the island, most people moved back inside. Some, like me, stayed out to watch the clouds until the rain started coming down. At that point, there were lightning strikes within a mile, so it seemed like a good idea to be off the beach.

It rained very hard for a while. When it had passed, Cathy, Dorothy and I walked east to the pier and back, enjoying a quite spectacular sunset.

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