Beachbound at Last

Aaahhh...... We saved the best for last -- he best few days of summer, that is!

Doing what he loves best...

...boogie boarding!

A very sweet and generous friend helped us find a great little condo at Atlantic Beach. It is one beach that neither Chi nor I have been to, and it is in an area that we have been wanting to visit for awhile now. Ooohh...it was totally worth the wait.

Let me give it a try

Tunneling in the sand
A few summers back, my sister Susan's friend invited her to vacation at his beach house on Figure Eight Island. Susan asked Chi, the boys and I to join her and John for a few days. The First Little Nguyen is old enough to remember this amazing trip, and unfortunately he now thinks that all of our visits to the beach should involve a weeklong stay on multi-million dollar beachfront property. So, we were so happy to plan an affordable getaway to Atlantic Beach. And the Little Nguyens were so excited with our cute little condo, their bright and colorful bunkbeds, having a TV/DVD combo right in their bedroom, and, most importantly, being able to step out on the balcony for an instant view of the Atlantic Ocean. Not only did the place have a gorgeous 24-7 view, but also all the comforts of home. We were able to cook some yummy breakfasts there as well as enjoy dinner (and a few bottles of cold Pinot Grigio for Chi and I!) at our condo in the evening. Surrounded by the wonderful family-friendly activities the area has to offer, it is a wonder we have not discovered Atlantic Beach before now. It is just far enough away from home to make us feel as if we had escaped, but it didn't take a day of travel to get there. For some reason, that always makes it so much easier for us to relax.

Big floppy hat and lots of sunscreen, even in the morning

Preparing to dig to China

Who doesn't love being on the beach first thing in the morning? That is exactly where we were each day...enjoying the breezes, sand and surf before the sun became too much to bear. Personally, I love the beach, but I hate the sun. So, our leisurely morning walks and romps in the cool waves were much more enjoyable to me at that time of day. Chi pitched our little SPF (Sarah Protection Factor) 50 clamshell tent thingy (I have no idea what it's called, but you can see it in the background in the picture above), and it's a perfect place in which to sit and read, talk, or drink a cold beverage while we watch the Little Nguyens do their beach thing for hours on end. It's the best $39.99 we have ever spent.

Who, me?

Writing a message in the sand

Finally...in the ocean.

Wonder how much sand is going to be in those trunks?!

I guess I didn't ever really think about it before, but kids need to escape every now and then, too. Our few days away was proof of that. Although they generally get along pretty well, the Two Little Nguyens do get on each other's nerves now and then. They argue like most siblings do from time to time. During our time away, there wasn't much of that, though. It was a vacation for Chi and I from having to repeat things like, "I want you to go upstairs and tell him how that made you feel." and "The best thing to do is use your words to solve that problem." It was an escape from Tattletaleville for us. Everyone was happy. Deep breath in. Aaahhh....

Aahhh...refreshing! Hmmm...what's this?

Too rough! I'm out!

Handful of sand...

During our trip, we completely got our money's worth out of the boogie boards we bought earlier this summer on a day trip to Wrightsville Beach. The first day on Atlantic Beach, the surf was a bit rough due to a storm rolling in. But the next few days were perfect for the Little Nguyens to try out their boarding skills. Although they came home with a whole oceanful of sand in their britches, they had so much fun. That's what the condo had an outdoor shower for, right? An outdoor shower at the beach = a mother's dream.

My two cuties

Brothers in the dunes...

Sandy toes...

When they had had their fill of the ocean on any given day, the Little Nguyens would relocate their play to the sand dunes directly behind us. The dunes became Clone bases on the planet Hoth from Star Wars, and they were Clone Troopers fighting off the Separatist Forces. Oh, the imaginations of little boys... Their play was suspended temporarily one afternoon while we watched two ginormous (is that a word? :)) naval ships set out to sea. One was an Aegis class cruiser, and the other was what Chi thought was probably a supply ship. Of course, watching them prompted lots of questions from the Little Nguyens about Chi's days in the Navy driving the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. I have to admit, I love hearing those stories, too. In many ways, it's a whole different side to Chi that I really never knew. Maybe that's better. You know what they say about sailors... :)

Relaxing with Daddy after a long day at the beach

Mommy & the First Little Nguyen

We did do more than just sit on the beach while we were there. It was Pirate Weekend in Beaufort! Of course, I forgot the camera that evening when we were walking around downtown. It was a quaint little town right on the water, the type of place where you can pull your boat up to a dockside restaurant and have a bite to eat. We had no boat, of course, but we did eat dessert before dinner, enjoying some yummy ice cream while we were strolling around the waterfront historical district. Beaufortians (is that what we call people from Beaufort?) take their pirates very seriously, and there were all sorts of people dressed in period costume. We spotted about 39 Blackbeards in a 15-ft. radius. The Little Nguyens were a bit freaked by all the people in strange costume, I think, and didn't want to hang around there for too long. So we looked in shops instead and just enjoyed the evening before having dinner at a sushi place. I know, I know. No fried fish. How could we go to the crystal coast and not eat fried fish?!

A Visit to Fort Macon
Two Little Nguyens and one tall flagpole!

Entering Fort Macon

About a mile and a half down the road from our condo was the entrance to Fort Macon State Park. Ft. Macon is home to an old Civil War fort. It was constructed in 1826, if I remember correctly, and was restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930's. After the outbreak of WWII, the US Army manned the fort with artillery troops to protect nearby assets on the coast. Ft. Macon is surrounded by water on three sides - the Atlantic Ocean, Beaufort Sound, and Bogue Inlet - and has the most beautiful views. There are a variety of historical displays, from clothing and food to furniture and weaponry, displayed there. Because it was so hot that day when we were visiting, we enjoyed walking in and out of the different exhibits because they were air-conditioned! Whew! I can't imagine how those soldiers must have felt in their "cooler" summer uniforms, dressed from head to toe in light wool in this stifling Carolina heat!

All locked up in the stockade!

Contemplating the enormity of it all...

Investigating...

Balance!

Peace...

Oh, hooray...shotguns.

Whatever we were looking at must have been really interesting!

My little monkey

A nervous moment for Mommy...hey, it's a LONG way down!

My Three Nguyens - Ft. Macon with the Atlantic Ocean in the background

Walking around at Ft. Macon reminded me a lot of my dad. He loved history and was always reading historical fiction or biographies from the Civil and World Wars. He would have loved looking at all of those exhibits, taking a walk through history. I can only imagine the war stories it would have made him want to tell us. I think I inherited his love for stopping at every roadside historical marker and museum, too, and Chi is completely perplexed as to why someone like me would like to. Now we know where I get it! There were wax dummies in one exhibit dressed in army and naval uniforms from various periods in American history. Looking at the clothing from the 1940's was especially poignant...Dad wore the same things in all of the old pictures I have seen. It's funny how we can suddenly have these experiences in life that instantly reconnect us to the people we knew and loved, how things we never really gave much thought to before suddenly become important. It was one of many moments I have had these past few months that felt exactly like that. It also made me wish I had been a better listener when Dad shared his treasure trove of stories. He was full of so much more information than I could ever gather visiting a place like this.

Last Evening at the Beach
We start 'em out early here in the South...it's lemonade in a fancy glass, of course!
Mr. Nguyen looking playful and mischievous...I love that look! This one...not so much! Once a sailor, always a sailor!

Game time!

Here are a few random shots from our last evening there. Everyone wanted to stay in that night, so Junior Monopoly was preceded by Pinot Grigio and cheese, which was followed by a pasta dinner. And there was crab hunting on the beach! It's one of the Little Nguyens' favorite nighttime beach activities. But, alas, we found none (I think it was low tide), and no baby sea turtles, either. The stars were bright...much brighter than at home in Raleigh, where we are surrounded by the city lights. Too bad we didn't have our telescope with us! Or the camera.... Sorry, no pics of crab hunting!