While out shopping with my friend Barbara and her granddaughter, we took a beach break at Sunset Beach, NC. This sea turtle sculpture at the entrance to the beach is dedicated to Carmel Zetts for her efforts in educating those who come to the beach about Sea Turtles. (Carmel Zetts is NC Div. of Wildlife, Beach Coordinator.)
Speaking of endangered species, Sunset Beach itself has been (up 'til now) spared the development that has come to so many of the Carolina's beach communities. The only way to get there is to cross the Intracoastal Waterway
on the one lane Sunset Beach Bridge. It's a wooden-deck pontoon bridge: the single lane of traffic crosses on a barge-like vessel. Every hour on the hour, except when low tide prevents navigation, that part of the bridge is moved so boats can pass.
It's probably the last one of its kind, and it's scheduled for replacement with a modern, 65' high arc bridge (non-draw, non-swing) that will eliminate the need for a bridge keeper, and will provide for a continual flow of vehicle traffic on and off the island, and water traffic on the Intracoastal Waterway. And another peaceful quiet beach ... well, you get the idea.

The next week we worked in Carolina Beach. I was all excited: there's a history site and an aquarium and of course the beach itself, and a state park. I drove down Lake Park Blvd. until I found out how it got it's name.

I parked the motorhome and walked around the park, enjoying the sun, the spring-like day, and the freedom from pain my recent visit to the podiatrist had brought. I stopped to watch the diving ducks - now here's a challenge. Watch the video and count the ducks.

(No I haven't done it, so I won't know if you got it right.)

I drank from an endangered species: a working public water fountain.



So many places no longer have them at all, or they are there but in disrepair. I detoured across the road to visit the beach.



I ate lunch at lakeside.


Then I returned to the store to nap before work. And got the flu. So much for visiting the aquarium and all that - it will be there when I get back in a week or two.

I've been working, working, sneaking visits to the new kid, working... Then work got to far away to visit the baby so I spent the weekend with my friend Barbara in Whiteville. THIS time, when we went to Mama Rita's, it was open. At last I get to eat at the restaurant in the parking lot I told you about in a post last year.


We took her granddaughter and went to Chadbourn's park - now this just makes me want to shrink to kid-size and play. Actually, the swings there are so high off the ground that I had trouble getting in them and I had to get Barbara to push me to get started. I don't know how little kids use them.