Life on the Crystal Coast

The hours are slipping by quickly here in Cedar Point on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina.

The campground is spacious, the sites seem mostly level, the bathrooms are clean but without electricity to use your hairdryer but that's alright because there is electric at your site.  No water and no sewer, but what do you expect for under $30 a night in a prime location?  Sites in neighboring campgrounds might include wifi and cable, but they also run about $75.

The kitties weren't too crazy about the ride down in the truck but they have settled into the camping lifestyle nicely.  They sit at the door and meow to go outside, and today they started running at trees and climbing up!  Thank goodness for those leashes or we might never see them again!

The best part of Cedar Point is walking right over to the marsh at any time of day to check out what is going on over there.

We've also explored outward a little, including a trip to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores.  Cory loves aquariums, and Wayne enjoyed the visit too.  He even got into petting the shark in the touch pool.

The best thing about this aquarium is their outdoor exhibit which housed a snake area, box turtles, and of course watching the birds and crabs in the marsh.

Wayne counting the box turtles, Cory spotting Mud Crabs

There is plenty to see indoors as well, as much as at other aquariums we've been to and for almost half the price.  We paid under $35 for all three of us and I didn't regret a dime.

Spider crab

We got advice from a worker on where to find stuff out in the wild and learned about the sea turtle nesting season that is just beginning.

Sea turtle skeleton

Cory's favorites are the jellies and I was happy they didn't have them lit up like a disco show.

Back outdoors I've seen a few very small lizards, this one below and a bright green one on the boardwalk at our own little marsh.

The beach is not our thing though.  We stopped by today to see what all the fuss was about and my men were so unimpressed they didn't even leave the walkway.

I made it as far as the tideline and checked out the shell shard collection for a few minutes.  We plan to get out to one of the little islands instead, these kind of beaches are for sun worshippers.   It's not really in our DNA being Newfies and all.

I am going to be spending some time in the parking lot just behind the campground over the next few days trying to get some shots of the osprey nest there.  Here's a teaser, I only had time for a few quick shots of what I assume is Papa standing guard so far.

I've been too busy reading the book "Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver.  Here's the one sentence lead in synopsis  In what may be the first novel to realistically imagine the near-term impact of “global weirding,” Barbara Kingsolver sets her latest story in rural Appalachia . In fictional Feathertown, Tennessee, Dellarobia Turnbow--on the run from her stifling life--charges up the mountain above her husband’s family farm and stumbles onto a “valley of fire” filled with millions of monarch butterflies.  Such a great book I couldn't put it down and read it in 2 days!  Filled with scientific information but in a way that is natural to the story of the lives of the characters who are so well imagined.  The author studied biology in college and her knowledge of animals blends into the story so seamlessly from the butterflies to the sheep and collies on the farm of the main character.  Loved it!

So that's life on the Crystal Coast so far, kitties are enjoying the view and so are we.