The fun started in Southport at a casual little seafood place on the water. We ate shrimp, drank a beer, and enjoyed the views. Perfect way to start a vacation.
Then we headed over to the ferry to meet Dad and Heather. The girls were excited to see their Grandparents and ride the ferry over to the island. Addie kept saying, "boat!", "boat!".
One of my favorite parts of Bald Head is that once you step foot on that ferry, you leave your car and your worries behind you...
Pulling into the Bald Head harbor, you are immediately charmed...
Look at our cute beach house, "Lost at Sea". It was a cozy little cottage right in front of the ocean...we loved it! (Fortunately- or unfortunately- it was for sale so we had to day dream about buying it all week long!)
Forget the ocean view, Collins's favorite part of the house by far was the bunk beds...she slept on the bottom and played on the top. If you couldn't find Collins, rest assured, she was on the bunks playing with her mermaids or peering out the window watching the golf carts go by.
Here was our view...
And our beach access...
And the "big ship" show that kept us entertained throughout the week...you would not have believed the size of the vessels that came by the island up the Cape Fear river. Really cool to watch.
Our first morning there, Addie and I ran up to the lighthouse to explore. It's such a pretty and historic structure. We couldn't get in at that hour, but we sat at the base and enjoyed the breeze and the sunshine. Such a peaceful and happy moment.
Our first morning at the beach was gorgeous, but there was only one problem. Flies! It was the grossest thing because there were swarms of flies everywhere. And even worse, they were the stinging kind. You either had to stay in the water or keep moving to keep from getting attacked.
Collins and Heather did the "fly dance" to keep them away.
Addie chose to go upside down.
But then the wind shifted that afternoon and everything was magically better. It was bizarre, but it was only an issue that first morning (thank goodness). From there on out, we had the beach to ourselves- no flies or people!
Much to Collins's delight, golf carts are the main mode of transportation around Bald Head. She asked in amazement, "So I don't even have to be buckled in?!?!" It was pretty fun hopping in a golf cart and whizzing around the island to explore. Collins, Poppy and Nana named their golf cart (the pink mermaid one) "Tweetie-Birdie"...
and lovingly named ours "Chicken Armpit". Collins thought this was hysterical. :)
Addie had a love/hate relationship with the golf cart. When she wasn't trying to fling a body part out of the cart or pulling the key out of the lock while we were in motion, she was completely and totally asleep. She loved taking a good snooze while we were driving around. I much preferred to be holding the sleeping Addie versus the wild woman Addie!
Our golf cart excursions took us to the lighthouse, to the cape, to nature walks, to the marina and sometimes just out for a ride.
This ride took us to a nature hike in the middle of nowhere...
and this one took us to a gazebo for some dancing/singing.
One morning, we decided to climb to the top of Old Baldy. I wasn't so sure this was a good idea for Collins or Brian (lots of steps), but they both did fine and the view at the top is really cool. Our photographer had fun snapping pix in this old lighthouse.
Then we explored the quaint little chapel next door. It is beautiful inside with a gorgeous view of the marshes right behind the alter. Someday I want this child to get married there....
and to have her reception here. No worries, Collins! I already have it all planned out in my head. :)
We spent lots of time hanging at the beach...
and on getting the Barbie kite in the air.
I loved how much the water sparkled...
This was such a sweet moment to watch unfold...they were in their own little world playing happily and then Addie reached out to play with Collins's hair. I love Collin's expression.
It was neat that we could allow Collins to walk to and from the beach by herself because we could see her the whole time...she liked this independence too.
Unfortunately, mornings came way too early for Addie (and us) on vacation. Fortunately, she had her play doh and books, and we had our coffee and ocean views.
Three mornings in a row it was very cloudy, but each afternoon the sun surprised us and came out all bright and shiny. One of those afternoons, Al attempted a photo shoot with Collins and her new mermaid Shiny (not the most cooperative model ever!).
Al got up in the middle of a flock of birds trying to get a cool shot...
and then she got two of my favorite shots of Addie maybe ever. Incredible!
Other activities that kept us busy at Bald Head...
Endless play in the outdoor showers...I honestly think this was Addie's favorite activity of the week. She spent hours down here moving water around and playing with the hose.
Getting the sillies out...Addie would shout over and over again, "aah-vee!" and we'd say "Addie what does that mean?" and she'd answer with a smile, "Poppy". I'm not sure if she said "aah-vee" or "mommy" more over the course of the week.
Collins's favorite expression of the week was, "hey dude" inspired by watching "Finding Nemo" for the first time. She got really good at her surfer voice by the end of the week.
Bunk playing...Addie was NOT allowed on top!
And believe it or not- lots of adult coloring time. Collins was amazed at the pictures her Aunt colored (we are talking hours of coloring at a time!) and was inspired to color herself. And then of course Addie had to try some coloring too.
The girls had fun with bubbles...
and reading lots of books (Addie is really into it now too)...
and stuffing our faces with lots of ice cream sandwiches. Dad and Heather got us some Nye ice cream sandwiches to try, and we were hooked. We finished off our vacation with a dessert platter of these beauties.
The one adventurous thing we did do was go kayaking. We've always said we wanted to try this, but never made it happen. We did this trip! We partnered up and hit the creek with no idea how to kayak. I won't say it was easy or that I was good at it (Al actually told me multiple times to just stop paddling b/c she could do it better by herself), but I will say that it was fun (and funny). Case in point, we pushed off from the dock and ran straight into the embankment. :)
And then there was the "shrimp incident". We were paddling through the creek when all of a sudden a live shrimp landed in our boat. I screamed, Al screamed and I'm pretty sure we scared the heck out of that shrimp. He crawled under Al's seat and that's when we jumped ship. Dad had to get out of his kayak, dig out the shrimp, and throw it safely back into the water. Perhaps the "shrimp incident" proved that we're not as outdoorsy as we think?
We had to take some pictures in front of the lighthouse (because we didn't have enough pictures of ourselves yet on this trip)...
We love the devilish look in Addie's eyes...
And then there was the real reason you needed a camera on this trip...the sunsets. They were incredible!
And then it was time to leave our charming little island and head back to reality. After all, this little one was starting school the next week! The funny thing that happened on the ferry ride back to Southport is that we ignored the "you might get wet" warning on the front of the boat. And we got wet!
Both girls were zonked out 20 minutes after leaving the ferry ride...
but their energy rebounded quickly upon returning home.
Dad and Heather- thank you for an amazing vacation. We will treasure the happy memories always. Can we please go back really soon? Perhaps as homeowners? :)
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