Back from Topsail

Well, we’re back from our vacation in Topsail Island, NC. Every year, my family gets together in August at my parents beachhouse there, and we hang out on the beach, body surf, drink margaritas, play games/cards, etc. Every year, it’s been a different cast of characters, but it’s always been fun. This year was a little more mellow than some of the past ones, but I still had a good time – I just wish it was longer.

Some of the highlights:

• My father won the 2nd almost-annual Poker Tournament, with my aunt taking second and my cousin’s fiance, Chas, taking third. I came in fourth, which meant I got my stake back (or at least half of it, since I had to buy back in).
• The only major injury of the week was my father getting a small stingray sting. I say small because last year, my ‘cousin’ Chris got a BIG stingray sting – and there is a difference. In past years, there have been cut feet and a major portugese man-o-war sting (my cousin Mark). So, a nick by a stingray is a bonus.
• My nephew Caleb was a delight – he’s rather precocious but a LOT of fun. My sister and brother-in-law are saints, because he’s supposedly like I was as a kid, and I know that was a nightmare.

In fact, I really enjoyed seeing my nephew again. Last time I saw him, he was just starting to get the first vestiges of a personality – now he’s got a full-fledged one, and it’s a whopper. But he’s a great kid, and I can’t wait to see (and spoil) him again. As you can see from this picture, he’s quite a character, and knows how to really love the camera.

Natural Pursuits

Unfortunately, this year was the quietest one yet down there for wildlife. Normally, the beach is covered with birds, and the marshes across the streets teeming with critters. This year, everything was quieter. Now, some of it might be that we were there a week earlier than usual due to college concerns, but 1 week shouldn’t have made such an extreme change. There is also a major drought in NC, so I have to wonder if that didn’t affect the populations of a lot of the normal butterflies, dragonflies and other creatures I’m used to seeing. Whatever it was, it was a lot harder to get good pictures of new species as I have done every year in the past.

I decided to extend my search a bit, using the new NC Birding Trail website to see what was available locally to find some cool stuff. I only got to one – Stump Sound Park – for a few hours, but I had a good time. I got to see a Brown-headed Nuthatch, a new bird for me. I was looking for Painted Buntings, but unfortunately I didn’t see any. Odonata-wise, I did add a couple of new species: Clamp-tailed Emerald and an Atlantic Bluet. I also finally got some good shots of mail Common Green Darners, a species that has been vexing me for at least a year.

Downsides

Unfortunately, the vacation wasn’t the greatest of vacations for most of my family. Blair was dealing with nosebleeds for the first couple of days, Shari wasn’t feeling well for pretty much the entire trip (we still don’t know why, exactly – more tests to come), and both dogs ended up with some skin rashes, although they aren’t nearly as bad as what Oakley had last year (which required 2 months of antibiotics and steroids). We were better about the dogs this year, which is probably why they weren’t as bad off but it was still tough to watch them suffer through hot spots and feeling sick for the last couple of days. We’re considering leaving them behind next year, which will suck because they love the beach.

But in the end, it was still a pretty good time. I got to see some family I don’t get to see often enough, met some cousins-by-marriage, did some bodysurfing, hiking, photography and sun. Now, if I can only get away for TEN days next year…

Daily Links

• WWGWBD – very amusing; thanks, Van!