>I gotta tell you from experience, October is THE best beach month in the Carolinas as long as you don’t get unlucky with a freaky early cold snap or a tropical storm of some kind. Of course, I am a cold and stormy weather fan so I don’t necessarily mind those. The high temps at the Carolina beaches usually range in the 70s to lower 80s and the water is still warm enough to swim if you really want to. I just like going in up to my knees.
The main activity I like at any beach is hunting for treasure. My treasure is not what other people generally look for on the shore. Sure, I’d love to find a gorgeous shell or a shark’s tooth or piece of sea glass. But my favorites are usually passed over by the other beachcombers because I love the worn, starfish and worm eaten clam shells. My imagination takes my miniature self exploring through their tiny cavern systems. If I’m really lucky, I’ll find that some coral has built upon the shell, creating yet another layer. Texture and layers, those are what I crave these days.
I was at Topsail and Wrightsville Beaches as the guest of my awesome friends Jojo and Lauren. Jojo and I go back to babyhood together, and Lauren is a new friend. Jojo is a talented singer/songwriter, and Lauren is an amazing chef. It was a lovely weekend, other than a few physical problems that stopped us in our tracks on Saturday night. Jojo wasn’t feeling well, I got sunblock in my eyes, and Lauren had a pretty bad surprise allergic reaction to the seafood we feasted on that night. But by Sunday morning we were well and rested and went out to the beach again.
On Saturday there was an arts festival at Topsail Beach, which included a tour of the Sea Turtle Hospital. These are turtles who have been injured by boats or have a physical defect, and their shells are repaired and whatever other medical services performed that can help them return to the ocean. Some of them are extremely rare and endangered, such as the Kemp’s Ridley turtles (the first photo). I’m glad that I took photos because I was really half blind when I was there.
Lauren prepared a lovely picnic for us on Wrightsville Beach on Sunday. She also rescued a dragonfly and carried it for thirty minutes so that it had a chance to clean itself and fly away. I love kind hearted people.
slowly she turned 