Mostly Southport

After spending a few hours at Wrightsville Beach, and sharing a chocolate custard, we went to Southport where we spent most of the next couple of days.  We did venture out to Oak Island on Saturday afternoon for some biking, reading, and walking.

Here is a picture from a parking lot on the sound side. Several people were fishing, and a couple of younger boys were playing in the water.  It was maybe 78 degrees that day.

There is something about Southport's smallness that makes you talk to perfect strangers.  Even for me - the introverted, don't-really-love-small-talk person.  I end up talking to people especially on piers.  I remember last year after Christmas talking to a young man from Connecticut. His parents were out looking at houses with a realtor while he fished.



This year we were swinging by the river around eight at night.  We had just watched the sunset from the pier about an hour before, and

I was actually emailing my family while enjoying the pretty surroundings when a man with his wife and two stepchildren stopped to talk to us.  They are from upstate New York.  Apparently his wife is a huge Nicholas Sparks fan so they came down in January for their honeymoon.  Upon leaving, his wife cried all the way to the NC border because she wanted to stay. He is a nurse so he got his NC license, bought a house online, and they moved here three months ago. (How do people change their lives that fast?!)  Earlier in the day we met two other couples from NY who live here now.  They had been here a couple of years. We met them on a smaller pier down towards the old house-hospital.


The next day we were out walking and enjoying the sun shining on the river.

and sights like this:

We walked to the city's dock where a couple just came in by boat.  They were tying up their boat, when the lady said hello to Andrew.  Maybe she saw the longing in his eyes or just was a super-friendly type, but Loree asked if we'd ever been on a boat like theirs (no), and if we wanted to tour it (sure).

 Bill and Loree are originally from northern New Jersey, but sold everything and now sail and live in their boat (which they bought from a British man who lived in Venezuela, but was moving to Argentina because of Venezuela's terrible economy.)

They invited us to look in their boat so we did.  We ended up talking in their boat for awhile and later Andrew drove Bill to get new propane tanks while I walked for about forty minutes with Loree. That saved them having to carry or bike the couple of miles to get the tanks refilled.

Here is another view of the Sea Wolf.

Here is the small inn where we stayed.  It was a half mile walk to waterfront park.

While watching the sunset on evening two, we saw some dolphins, and, of course, lots of boats.

Here is a view of sunset that second night.

And a view from our Sunday morning walk.

We hung around Southport until 1:30 or so.  Then we decided to head for home.

By car.