North Carolina Trip June/July 2014 - Highlights

(from the It's Better In The Carolinas department)

Hi everyone,

We've been on vacation for the last few weeks.  Here's a few snaps.

First up - Flag Day in Old Salem (June 14th, 2014):

Dana sure looks patriotic, doesn't she?

Next Dunkin' Donuts had a special Father's Day "#1 Dad" donut - I ate a few of them.  Here it is:

After spending some time with Dana's mom in Winston-Salem, we headed to Sunset Beach on the coast.  On the way there, we saw some amazing sunsets:

After our arrival at Sunset Beach, I found the perfect spot for my brother just a few miles away in South Carolina:

Donuts, Ice Cream, Fireworks, 

and there's a Waffle House in the background 

Rare shot of Dana entering a Dunkin' Donuts

David, Rena, and the cousins Alan, Amy & Eric flew in to join us.  The next day, we caught a ferry and headed to the Fort Fisher Aquarium, where we were joined by Dana's brother Nick:

One of the few moments Rose stopped running around the ferry

The whole gang at the aquarium - with butterflies!

Rose gets a little crabby

After we visited the aquarium, we headed to the boardwalk at Carolina Beach, to visit one of the finest donut shops in existance:  Britt's Donuts

They only make one type of donut - glazed - but it's amazing.

In an Ideal Deal Copy Blog exclusive, here's the masters at work:

Sunset on the ferry back

Dave, Rena and the cousins got to spend a few days at the beach with us.  Here's the cousins interacting:

(from L to R, Eric, Rose, Amy & Alan)

Amy caught me taking pictures

Dave joins them - how did Eric's shirt change?

Rena catches up with the outside world

Next, we went to Calabash, NC to get some seafood:

Rose runs from the shrimp

Fresh from the boat!

While we were there, on July 3rd, Hurricane Arthur passed close by.  We got a chance to see it:

Luckily, it was long gone by July 4th, and we had a great day grilling and visiting with Dana's friends.  Finally, on July 5th, Dana, Nick, Rose and I got ice cream at the Calabash Creamery.  Good stuff!

Nick and Dana define cool!

Rose enjoys her chocolate

Rare self portrait

Cheers,
Paul

Butterfly Rose

(from the All You Need Are Wings department)

Hi everyone,

This is just a quick photo of Rose that Dana took. Enjoy!



Cheers,
Paul

Rose finds the North Pole

(from the Trip to the North Pole department)

Hi everyone,

It snowed in Winston-Salem, NC on Christmas Day (Dec. 25th), 2010. We went out the next day to play in the snow, and I recorded this video of Rose journeying to the North Pole.

Enjoy!



Cheers,
Paul

Blowing Bubbles at Sunset Beach

(from the Always Blowing Bubbles department)

Hi everyone,

Here's Rose and her uncle Nick sharing a moment blowing bubbles at Sunset Beach, NC. This was shot on September 2nd, 2010.

Doesn't Rose look like she should be in an old Shirley Temple movie? I think it's the sailor hat. We found that at a gift shop at Sunset Beach and she loved it. If we'd had her tap shoes with us, I think we could have starting filming a musical!

Cheers,

Paul

Surf's Up!!! Hurricane Earl passes by Sunset Beach, NC

(from the My Name Is (Hurricane) Earl department)

Hi everyone,

Shot some video this afternoon as Hurricane Earl passed by the coast. There was no danger here - Earl was far offshore - but the sea was definitely stirred up, and the surf was larger than usual.







UPDATE: It occurs to me that it might be useful to see what the normal surf looks like. Here's a video I took a few days ago on 30-Aug-2010.



Cheers,
Paul

More North Carolina photos!

(from the You can never get enough of a cute family department)

Hi everyone,

More from our NC trip:

"I like to have a bottle of milk while I'm driving my car!"


"Stars are fun too - not to eat - but to point at!"


"Great-grandpas are cool!"


These last two photos were taken on Sunset Beach on the morning Hurricane Hanna hit the coast of North Carolina.



There's still another roll (or is that memory stick?) of NC photos! More soon!

Cheers,
Paul

Rose at the beach! (2nd day)

(from the Cute Baby In The Water - Redux department)

Hi everyone,

Rose had such a great time at the ocean yesterday that we brought her back again. These pictures were taken Thursday, September 4th, 2008 in the Atlantic surf of North Carolina on the island of Sunset Beach.









Unfortunately, I don't think Rose had as great a time as yesterday. First, she got her first tooth this morning, so she's been a little fussy all day. Next, she developed an instant rash from the sunblock we put on her - you might be able to see it in the last photos. It went away an hour after we washed the sunblock off - and this was baby sunblock, to boot!


But - at least we did manage to get a family photo at the beach.




By the way - that surf back there? That's caused by Tropical Storm Hanna. It's still miles away - but it's headed in this direction. I wonder what this beach will look like after it hits? Don't worry - we'll be long gone before it gets here.

Cheers,
Paul

Rose at the beach! (1st day)

(from the Cute Baby In The Water department)

Hi everyone,

Well - Rose finally got to meet the ocean. Be prepared for cuteness. These pictures were taken Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008, in the Atlantic surf of North Carolina on the island of Sunset Beach.









She seemed to enjoy herself, I think.

Cheers,
Paul