Bald Head Island Vacation

I am a redhead with very fair skin and recently have had some melanoma removed from my neck.  Having said that, you can understand why I may not be a huge fan of the beach.  I typically hate the sun, the salt, the sand, the smell, the sand, the sunscreen, the packing all of your stuff up to go for a couple of hours, did I mention... the sand.  However, last year my sister approached me about a family vacation so we went about planning a trip with both of our families, my parents, and grandparents to a small island that most people have never heard of.  The island is Bald Head Island at the very southern part off the coast of NC.  There are no cars on the island, only people who run/walk, drive golf carts, or ride bikes.  It was a welcome change in pace and there were so many things to do there that it didn't feel like we were at the beach necessarily.  My parents and my family shared a condo and my grandparents shared a 

condo with my sister.   We got to Southport, NC and then waited on the ferry to arrive and take us on the 30 minute trip to Bald Head Island (BHI).  You are crazy if you do not think the 4 young boys (my 3 and my nephew) love everything about boats... or anything that moves for that matter.

  

Watching for the ferry

 

HAS with my parents on the ferry

 

Now, once we arrived at BHI, the trams carried us to our condo but not our bikes, so some people needed to drive their bikes to the condo.

On the tram

Dad, David, JMS and my nephew riding their bikes to the condo following the tram

Now, there were a lot of things to do on the island:  canoeing, kayaking, crabbing and fishing from the marsh right behind our condo.  Here are some pictures from our time on the marsh:

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 We also spent some time at the beach, where we reapplied sunscreen every 2.8 minutes. My two youngest boys had not been to the beach before and they loved every minute of it.  They apparently do not have the same hatred of sand that I do.  They would go everyday if they could. 

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Little bit tired

 

 LPS and my niece playing on the "water slide" they built as the tide came in.  They had sand EVERYWHERE!!!

My nephew sliding down, although he didn't quite make it to the water!!!

 

 David is trying to boogie board.  The first day we were there, the water was freezing.  After that, the water was a welcome, refreshing treat to the heat!!!

 Mom, Kerri and I give it a try.  I love the picture below of all three of us coming in on the boogie boards. 

The love of my life :)

Faces a mother can love

 

And of course, there was pool fun...

Our golf cart to drive to the pool

LPS fell asleep in the golf cart on the way to the pool

Better view of sleeping boy :)

My nephew on the slide

Mom and LPS

 HAS on the slide... it took him a few tries to get used to it, but he got then hang of it and loved it. 

Then, there was also miscellaneous fun... 

 We had a blast with the golf carts.  Between the two condos, we had 2 four person golf carts and one six-person golf cart. 

 My sister and brother in law brought their dog, who was a big fan of the golf carts.

 Our whole crew minus David and my brother in law at the lighthouse, "Old Baldy"

 

When the tide was out there were thousands of crabs and the boys loved to lay down on the boardwalk and watch them . 

 Love the picture below of mom and the boys!

 Some of the crabs

 David and I went to watch the sunset...  perfect night with my love :)

We did manage to get a few family pictures (although the ones of all of us were on my sister's camera).

 Love all of my boys :)

And unfortunately, we had to leave at some point :(

 Hello... wind meets crazy hair :)

 The boys on the ferry on the way home.