NC Fun

The beginning of the week in NC before I arrived was obviously a whole lot of fun!

I arrived at 10:00 am on the 4th, and we headed right to the beach! :) The water was warm and there was a lovely breeze but the surf was incredibly strong and we all got tumbled around and roughed up in the waves, so we actually didn't spend as much time in the water as I had anticipated. Still, Sam and Neenie had fun building an ancient village in the sand while Pip and I took a walk on the beach before we headed out for what is now the traditional Boombalatti's stop after a morning at the beach :) A good way to kick off my few days down in NC!

Thursday morning, I got up early for a run. It was 75 degrees, 94% humidity with a dewpoint of 74. Basically it was like going for a swim! I ran the cart paths from my parents house, and was soaked after a mile. The highlight of the run was the beautiful, large and delicious high bush blueberries that I stopped to pick along hole #13. Yum! (6.1 miles)

Sam wanted to go over to the food pantry that my parents manage at their church and stock the shelves and pack up bags for distribution next week, so we spent an hour+ there after breakfast doing just that. She says, it's not work, it's fun. This girl warms my heart 💗

After lunch, Sam and Neenie made a delicious fruit tart for dessert... yum!

...and then we headed up to the pool for the afternoon. It was so hot out that the water felt really good and we stayed up there for a few hours before heading home for dinner and to enjoy a delicious dessert!

Friday morning was pretty much a repeat of Thursday in terms of weather conditions, but I wanted to get in a few more miles, so I worked to keep the pace nice and easy so as not to overdo it. I headed out to the River Lodge and caught the sun rising along the Northeast Cape Fear River - so pretty. I stopped at several of the water stops along the way and did a loop along holes 11, 12 & 13 to stop for a few more blueberries to eat :) Saw one deer, three bunnies, one teeny tiny wood frog, a troop of canada geese, one bluebird and a brown trasher. Also got chased by a horde of deer flies along the "nature trail" mid-run but thankfully they abated once I got back onto the pavement. (9.0 miles)

The rest of the day was spent swimming and reading and enjoying an early dinner up at the club, where I had a delicious spicy maple chicken, bacon and waffle sandwich. So good!

It was a great, if quick, trip south and I am so grateful that Sam and my parents had the chance to spend 10 days together, enjoying each other's company, doing some fun things and making memories 💕 What a great way to kick off Sam's summer and so special!

To finish up the post, a few flora and fauna photos, because I can't resist!