However, our first week of August, 2013, has been wonderful. Our low temperatures have dropped into the sixties at night. With high temperatures only in the low to mid-eighties during the day, it is hard to complain at all about the weather. Certainly there is plenty of time left for heat and humidity, but this is a pleasant start to the month.
The picture with the reflection of the clouds was taken on August 2, 2013, at around 11 AM just east of the Point at Emerald Isle, North Carolina. You can see larger versions of any of the North Carolina scenery pictures by clicking on them. That will take you to Pinterest. Once there if you click one more time, you will get to see the original full-size image.
Sea oats have a lot of good memories for me and of course they help stabilize our sand dunes. We need lots of plants to keep the ocean from washing away our beaches.
This summer’s weather has really been spectacular. It has been perfect for enjoying the beaches. You have to love a summer when the rainy days are few and far between. Fortunately we have gotten just enough rain to also keep the corn crops and those of us who garden happy. Along with the consistent sunshine, we have enjoyed some nice sea breezes which I always prefer over the muggies which often take over our weather during this last half of summer.
The Fourth of July week was great here along the beaches. We had just enough people come down for the holiday to make things feel festive but even then it was not very hard to escape the crowds. That is one of the benefits of the Crystal Coast.
I had a wonderful hike around the Point on July 2. Most people do not go far once they reach the water so hiking beyond the yellow house is always a great suggestion for finding room on the beach here.
One of them is marsh area in the adjoining picture. It is just across the Intercoastal Waterway near Huggins Island just over ten minutes from our dock. It is almost never has another boat other than one of the crabbers passing through.
It is one of my favorite spots for drift fishing and I often sneak off and fish there early in the morning for a few minutes. Most days I am back by the time by wife gets to the coffee pot. Fishing is one of the reasons we moved here so I never even try to hide my passion for it.
Fishing usually improves along the coast as we get closer to September. It will not be long before we get to enjoy what we hope will be another great fall fishing season. The 18” flounder that I caught on August 6, is a fine start for me.
The sunset picture in the post was taken on the White Oak River near Hancock Point on August 6, 2013. My wife and I enjoyed a delayed 40th anniversary cruise while I was snapping pictures.
There is something really nice about being out on the water when the air temperature is in the seventies and the water temperature is hovering in the eighties. The feeling of warmth radiating from the water is pretty special. It is even nicer in the fall when there is a little chill in the air
Nights when the light on the water hardly seems real come more often than you think here on the Crystal Coast. However, they are a lot more common in the fall than they are in August.
The water, the sea breeze, and the sky all conspired to make the time just slip by almost unnoticed. I did not even get a touch from a fish, but I will long remember the morning’s fishing.
You can see more pictures of the wonderful Point area at this slide show. I end up spending a lot of time there because it is so beautiful and the surf fishing there is so enjoyable. It is a pretty good hike because of the limited parking but I would rather get my exercise hiking to the beach than on a treadmill.
I am always happy when we can take advantage of fishing the Inlet. It is truly a special place, but it can get crowded according to my taste on holiday weekends.
As someone who gets to fish the area when there is almost no one around, I probably have a different definition of crowded than most people. The water can change rapidly in the Inlet area, but when you catch it right, it is a a magical place to wet a line or even beach a boat and enjoy some of the very private stretches of sand.
There is more information about other water areas that I like to visit in this post, Crystal Coast Magic. You might also be interested in my posts, The Riddle of Coastal Weather and Wave Catchers.
If all the information on this page has perked your interest, please check out our new book, “A Week At the Beach - The 2013 Emerald Isle Travel Guide.”
It is a really special guide to the area and only $3.99 for the Kindle version. Emerald Isle, Nags Head, Ocracoke, and Myrtle Beach all have great but very different beaches.
If you do not know what you want in a beach, it can be hard to find the right one. Those people looking for something like Myrtle Beach will not find it on the Crystal Coast.
There are some very special beaches here. Some require a little planning and work to reach, but those of us who enjoy their beaches in their natural state find that they are worth every bit of the effort.
One of my favorite beaches is Hammocks Beach which is accessible only by boat. It is truly a special beach to love. You have already heard about the Point at Emerald Isle which I sometimes call the “End of the Sand.” To get to that favorite spot requires either a boat or a hike of over two miles if you do go to the end of the sand.
If heading to the beaches during the last days of summer does not excite you, perhaps visiting the Canadian Maritimes in the heat of an American summer might. If you need a little Maritime travel advice to get your wheels turning, you will find it in our A Taste for the Wild book.
Nova Scotia is a paradise of blue and green and as long as you are not planning a dip in the water, you will find little to complain about in a place where Americans, even those of us from the South, are most welcome.
I like to say the book is worth the $2.99 just for the story about our honeymoon on the barrens of Newfoundland where my wife was convinced that we were close to being lost forever.
All of our books are now available in print from Amazon.
A Taste for the Wild, Canada's Maritimes
The Road to my Country
A Week At The Beach, The 2013 Emerald Isle Travel Guide
The Pomme Company
If you are interested in more information about me, check out the about me section of my main website. It has links to many other places where my writing is posted. You can also visit this site to see what I have recently published.
More general information about the mainland where I live is available at this link to my Swansboro to Cape Carteret area page.
You will find some helpful area details that might make folks think you are a local, but for the real local experience and information head for our travel guide.
Why we love it here?
It is hard to say that any place is perfect. However, for those who think a walk on the beach is better than a trip to the mall, the Crystal Coast is hard to beat.
For thoughts on where we have chosen to live, I would steer you to my articles, Ten ways Carteret County met our needs and Why I love living in Carteret County
My Crystal Coast, Salt Water on Your Feet site also has a number of articles for people considering a move to the Crystal Coast.
We’ve even found a great church home at Cape Carteret Presbyterian Church.
It is a friendly area with a great future. So right now it is the spot for us. I often write about the area in my other websites.
This is a link to a simple map of the area. There are more detailed ones in our Emerald Isle Travel Guide.
You can find a introduction to the area and links to most of my other blogs at this link or visit this page for the basics.