Hitting Up The Pier

We love to head out to the Pier on Emerald Isle, Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier. It’s a great beach with parking almost to the sand, showers to wash off all that sand before you get back into your car, and a great pier to walk to see what everyone is catching!  We have seen some really fun stuff over the years!  I probably haven’t blogged this Pier…..i usually don’t take my camera because the kids don’t like me making them look like tourists in our back yard!  But, I got some pretty good pictures with my phone this time and later when we were on the beach I actually took a few pictures of us at the beach and the boys in the water before I dove in!  It was fun watching these guys bring  in a Sting Ray, although, the Sting Ray didn’t look too happy, in fact he looked really pouty laying there on the pier while the guys were deciding what to do with him.  Bet he was glad when the decision was made to toss him back into his home!  He flew over and did a perfect belly flop below!  We saw all kinds of other fish as well as a small pod of dolphins swimming along the shoreline.  It was nice seeing those friendly fins because one of the fishermen pulled up a baby back tip shark!  Not sure where Mama was, but we had fun diving in the waves later with the dolphins swimming back and forth along our coastline!

Dock Fins

One beautiful, bright, sunny day a silly, playful girl decided to go sit on a dock next to this super cute, quiet, shy guy! 


super cute, quiet, shy guy.....(well, not really...)

They sat there with their feet dangling over the water. 

                       All of a sudden fins popped out of the water! 

The girl was scared but the boy, an undercover dolphin charmer, said to not be afraid as they were just dolphins swimming over to say hi.  The girl was no longer afraid and lived happily ever after with the undercover dolphin charmer.

Aligator Hunting

It was a beautiful day and so Mr. Hottie and I decided to take the canoe out.  None of the kids wanted to join us, so we headed out to New River and paddled out.  We decided to go alligator hunting!  Ed paddled us out while I searched the water.  I saw something really big to our left surface and disappear back into the water.  Mr. Muscles turned us around and we sped after it.  Well, Mr. Hottie was the speed while I called out commands! 

I was a little scared because it looked to be a quite enormous alligator!  As we approached we realized there was more than one and they weren’t alligators!!!  They were DOLPHINS!!!  I think we counted 5.  It was hard to keep track of how many there were due to their playful behavior!  They were enjoying their morning swim and seemed to be having so much fun jumping out of the water.  I didn’t have my really good camera because, duh, we were in a canoe looking for alligators!!  But, I did manage to get some video of them jumping.  It was windy and the water was rough. (yes, Mr. Hottie and I began singing the Gilligan’s Island song, making up our own words as the waves tossed us to and fro)  We almost tipped a few times, but totally worth it to be out there with those beautiful creatures with Mr. Hottie chasing them in our canoe so I could watch them up close!  PLEASE turn the volume off when watching the videos, it was really windy and that is what you mainly hear, and me beiong a dork.....It never failed, as soon as i would turn off the camera one or more would jump up right in front of us!  But you can see them if you look closely!

The dolphins appear on the right back about 3/4ths of the way through.....

Have the sound off!!!

The guy that makes all my dreams come true!



Of course Mr. Hottie had phone calls as soon as we pulled ashore....



It's Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? Dolphin!

We go to the beach a LOT!  Lucky for me Marines are usually near water!  I have lucked out our entire marriage always being close to a beach!  This is actually the furthest we have lived from the beach.....so we would go more often if it was just a bit closer....Vicki and Ed were in the waves and Vicki was telling Daddy how lucky he was because he sees dolphins every time they take the Amtracks out.  As soon as those engines come on the dolphins come, more than one!  Just as she finished telling her Daddy all this a dolphin came and jumped right in front of them!  I wish i had my camera to capture Vicki's face!  She was in complete shock!  She said at first she wasn't sure what had just jumped in front of her!  The dolphin was sooo close that if she had known it was coming and was going to jump she could have reached right out and touched him!  The dolphin kept swimming back and forth and so i went and got my camera.  By the time i got back over he was already going further and further out to sea, so didn't get any up close pixs.....but i don't think Vicki will need a picture to remember her dolphin encounter at Onslow!