A Trip South

We left for Jacksonville, NC last Thursday for an extended weekend visit to Carl's sister and her family. Both Becky and Ron are stationed at Camp LeJune (actually, Ron just retired after 20 years in the Navy).
Jacksonville is a fast growing Military town. As the Government continues to consolidate bases more and more troops are being sent to larger bases like LeJune. The main drag in Jacksonville is crammed with fast food restaurants, motels, pawn shops and tattoo parlors, pretty typical fare for a military town. However new houses, and shopping plaza's sparkle just a few miles outside of town. Becky and Ron live around the corner from new Food Lion which is right around the corner from a... Food Lion. So the growth is explosive, at least compared to sleepy, no let's be honest, completely- asleep-with the little "z's" coming-out-of-townhall Pulaski.
We didn't spend all our time in Jacksonville. Becky and Ron took us via boat to a small barrier island. The water was warm and shallow. I'm sure there is some geographical name but I can't remember 4th grade geography at all. If only I could find my salt dough maps! Anyway, this little secluded spot was fantastic. Grace and Marsahll could crawl and run forever! On one side was a small lagoon that was like swimming in a giant bath. On the other side we had the waves from the ocean. And the best part, we had it all to ourselves! We ate cold fired chicken on the boat and watched as a storm rolled in. The cutest part of the day was dipping a very sandy and naked Marshall in the water!
My family used to vacation on the Carolina Costs when I was a little girl. Some of my earliest memories are playing on the slopping sand dunes and small tide pools. The barrier islands and inter coastal waterways are beautiful. If I had all the money this is where I would live. Hurricanes and all!
Another superb bonus about Carolina Costs is the great seafood! Yum!!!! Yes the seafood here is actually fresh caught that day and you can find a fish monger on every corner. We bought red snapper, shrimp, scallops and clams. It was all FRESH! We cooked it all up for a giant seafood dinner for Becky's birthday. It was far, far better than anything we would have ordered at a restaurant. Last year we vacationed in Delaware and all the seafood places brought their stuff in from other places. Super expensive and oh, so disappointing! And, no hushpuppies, just fancy-schmancy breadsticks that were really crackers!

If you haven't been to NC be prepared for hot and humid! At 8:30 am I walked outside and it felt like I walked into a wet wool blanket! Afternoon showers and storms occur almost daily adding more moisture to an already saturated atmosphere! We saw the local HS football team practicing in full gear at 2:30 in the afternoon! Ugh!

Thanks Becky and Ron for a great time!