Thanksgiving at the Shore

    We're starting to establish some traditions down here in Durham.  As I indicated in my last entry, we took a trip to celebrate my birthday for the second year in a row.  Last year we went to the beach to celebrate Thanksgiving, and this year we did the same.  This year, however, we went to Oak Island which is 26 miles south and a bit west of Wilmington, NC.  We found a dog friendly hotel just across the road from the beach and spent four nights by the beach.  There was a kitchnette, so we even cooked a small turkey(Well, I did, Nan roasted veggies).  The accommodation didn't rate 4 stars, but it offered easy access to the beach.  Actually we had the place to ourselves the first couple of nights.

     The beach is one of those long unbroken strands that seems like it goes on forever.

     We took advantage of being close to the beach by taking long walks with the dogs and jogs on the broad sandy shore.  The weather was great, mid-70s most of the time.  Nan even went in the water twice. Beautiful sunset and very few people.  The east end of the island feature a lighthouse built in 1958 and a Coast Guard Station.  We visited it the first night we were there.  Being there at sunset we heard them play "Taps" at the station when the sum went down. 

     Our second day we drove 12 miles north of Oak Island to the Old Brunswick/Fort Anderson State Historic Site.  Old Brunswick was an early port city on the Cape Fear River.  It was a home of the Royal Governor for a while.  Eventually it lost its prominence to Wilmington, particularly after it was burned by the British during the Revolutionary War.  As a result of a large archilogical dig in the late 1950s and 60s, many home sites were unearthed and have been preserved.  Additionally the walls of an Anglican Church (St. Philips) remain.  It was completed about 1760.

       A paved walkway takes you through the village on a path which was one the city's streets.

     During the Civil War the area was converted into a fort for the defense of the port of Wilmington.  The eathworks remain and the path continues through the fort.  The only action it saw was in Feb. 1865 after the fall of Ft. Fisher to the south.  The Union forces and advanced up river and eventually captured the fort.  After a long bombardment, the Confederate forces withdrew and left the fort unoccupied.

     
      I got in 18 holes of golf the next day on a par - 3 course owned by the town.  I had it all to myself so I played 2 balls.  It was amazing how much better I scored on the second ball(10 pars).  If I could play golf with 2 balls all the time and only count the second ball I could be pretty good.

      One of the best things about the trip was that we finished each day with a glorious sunset.  Here are a few examples.