Sunday Morning ~ Holden Beach ~ 2006

My son and his younger daughter, who has a broken wrist and cannot get in the water. She is "THE original water baby", so it was a particularly poignant scene to see her sit at water's edge, forlorn and periodically weeping. Luckily, daddy came to her rescue; sat with her and reminded her to hold her arm up high when the waves got close. Of course, we all sat with her for a while, but I think she liked it especially when her daddy did it.

We got to the beach on Friday afternoon. The tide was out and the depth of the beach was incredible - much like that of the photo I posted on July 14th. Holden Beach faces south; running east and west. There were warm tidal pools to sit in (my favorite places). Saturday morning saw a change: the winds were fast, hard and incessant to the point that our beach canopy had to be partially collapsed to withstand the buffeting. The sky was slightly overcast, but sunny enough, and the high-tide waves were fast and furious. If you went in the water right in front of your chosen spot, you were swept along the beach for at least 4-5 houses/lots down in a short time. I chose to sit under the canopy and read that day! That night, my son bought 4 pounds of huge fresh shrimp, which they boiled with all the proper spices. YUM!

Saturday night made me happy our house was not directly on the beach. High winds, torrential rains, booming thunder and bright lightning for hours on end. Our cars got a good washing, though, so there was a definite plus to it and it was a great opportunity to play Monopoly with my granddaughters! Sunday morning was beautiful, as is always the case on the day you have to leave the beach. We didn't have an early check-out though, so we trekked back to the beach again. The surf was much calmer (as you see in my photo above) and it was a perfect day. I ventured out into the water, which was surprisingly warm. I usually cannot get into the ocean until August, but I'd venture to say that water temp. was near 82*.

I underestimated the strength of the waves; they looked fairly calm, but I got knocked down repeatedly and had a very hard time righting myself. Mr. kenju came to my rescue and dragged me to a standing position once again. I sure got my sinuses cleaned out that time!

Of course, we will hear the story of the "Great 2006 ocean rescue" many times in years to come. Mr. kenju loves to relate his exploits and "war" stories. Remember Mighty Mouse? "Heeeeerree I come to save the day....." We are all too often reminded about the time he rescued me from drifting out into shark territory (on a raft) at Topsail Beach. To hear him tell it, I was 500 yards off-shore with one foot in a shark's mouth when he swam to my raft and towed me in. I was probably no more than 100 feet out at the time....LOL.

In spite of the fact that I mostly sat under the canopy and had applied #45 sunblock, I got burned a little on my upper body while I was in the water. I suppose the wind was as much responsible for that as anything. We didn't get to the beach last summer, so this mini-vacation was especially enjoyed and appreciated. I am grateful to my son and daughter-in-law for including us in the trip.