Relaxing and Pier Time

Cedar Point CG site #37
Croatan National Forest, NC

After such a wonderful day paddling, we took it easy on Tuesday.  It was a little cool and overcast so we did some stuff on the computers and made a run to the grocery store.  I walked around the CG and found a dogwood still in bloom.  It must be a hybrid that blooms later than the wild ones.














I also went out to the viewing area of the Tideland Trail to get some shots at the birds.  This Snowy Egret took off just as I stepped out from behind a bush.














This is the general view with the town of Swansboro on the other side of the water.

 









There were a lot of little crabs in the marsh.  They only had one big claw.  If I was real quiet, I could hear them eating.  It was probably a couple hundred of them.

 











There are several of these nice pedestrian bridges on the trail.  I was talking with another couple out there that said the Snowy Egret had a nest under one of the bridges.


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Here’s that boat landing where we launched the kayaks and the resident Snowy Egret.  It’s really too shallow for anything other than a canoe or kayak.












Wednesday was a little warmer and windy.  We went to Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier in Emerald Isle.  They don’t charge anything if you just want to walk out for a few minutes.  Here’s Gin.



















There was some other nice scenery there.














A couple of guys were trying to surf even if they were close to the pier.  It looks like a lot of work with so little in return.












While there were a lot of pigeons around the pier, I did get some seagulls in the viewfinder.


  











There was also this really big, loud bird that flew by several times…













I’m sure the Harrier Jet came out of Jacksonville NC which is close by and is home of the Marine Corps Base of Camp Lejeune.  As a matter of fact, they have been doing some training with artillery because we could hear it all day Tuesday and into the night.  It sounds a little like distant thunder.

We ended the day by taking Julie and Steve out to the Icehouse in Swansboro for supper.  It was a nice way to end our week here.  Yep, we are leaving tomorrow.  I don’t think we’ll have any problem adapting to a slower pace when we finally get to our full-time life.  We don’t have to be tourists every day.