Bald Head in November

My mom (Emily Joyce) and Julie's mom (Joan Fernane) came into town on Friday. On Saturday morning we packed up and headed south to Bald Head Island. It's an island just down from Wilmington, NC. You take a car to Southport and then take a ferry to the island. Once you are on the island, all transportation is by golf cart.

This is the Bald Head marina. We stayed here the last night on our way boating back from Florida.



The mom's and Julie on the beach. The island has ocean on two sides, shipping channel on one and marsh on the last. Yes, it was that cold.



We saw lots of wildlife including two red foxes. The only disappointment was not seeing any alligators. They were probably starting to hibernate,



Lots of tracks in the sand. I thought these bird prints were pretty cool.



The most impressive plants on the island are the Live Oaks. They are big sprawling trees with twisting branches. "Live" is their real name, not a condition of being alive versus dead.



Then, add some spanish moss to give it more interest. Bald Head is the northern-most semi-tropical climate on the east coast.



Joan and I went up to the top of Old Baldy, a 190+ year old lighthouse. You get a great view down through the marsh.



The house we were staying in was right on the marsh. If you walked down a boardwalk you got some great scenery. I tried to capture some. The reflections on the water gave this picture an almost ethereal look.



Early morning looking down at Old Baldy (left) and the buildings at the marina (right). You can canoe or kayak through the marsh but have to be very aware of the tides. It can be like riding down a mountain on a bike and then having to pedal home.



My favorite picture of the weekend. There is almost always a good bit of wind at the beach. This makes ripples on the water which screws up the reflections. Here we have evening sun on the marsh grasses. The air was dead still and the reflections were like a mirror. Some storm clouds are just coming in from the right.



It was a great weekend. Very restful. Lots to see and do. Now we are back in Raleigh, begining to prep for Thanksgiving with lots of family.