one last day

For this morning's sunrise, I was joined on the beach by Liam and Henry. Mike and Max opted to sleep in for a little while (if sleeping past 6 am can be considered "sleeping in"). We were the only people on the beach, and the ghost crabs were out in droves, heading down to the water to do ... something. I admit, my knowledge of ghost crabbery is a little on the scant side. But it must have been something important, because they were all doing it. Aside from the crabs and a couple of fishing boats that were way out there, it felt like we had the whole ocean to ourselves. We walked for a little while and collected a couple of shells (but only a couple because we are at full shell capacity) and watched the crabs scuttle around and the plovers hang out by the edge of the water. It was as peaceful as a thing can be when Henry is involved in it.

After a quick visit to the coffee shop, we went back to the cottage and had breakfast, then we set off to spend one last morning at the beach. We picked a beach we hadn't been to before, all the way at the north end of the island (so the farthest from the village). Instead of a boardwalk leading to the beach, there was just a path that wound around through the dunes. We came around a corner and gasped as we saw a wall of dune in front of us, with a little bit of ocean visible behind it. The scenery here is just incredible. This is my first visit to Ocracoke, though I've been to the Outer Banks twice before, and I was mostly expecting dunes with some sea oats and scrubby little plants and not much else (kind of like in these pictures). But this island is lush. There are cedars and fig trees everywhere, and these little clusters of goblin flowers bursting all around. Just gorgeous.

Anyway, we spent a very happy morning at the beach. First I went out into the waves with Liam and Max while Mike stayed closer to the water's edge with Henry, then we switched. While Mike and the big boys frolicked like seals, Henry and I took a long walk and collected yet more shells. Apparently everyone goes to the more southerly beaches, because we were pretty much alone the whole time we were there. Eventually, we met up on the beach and made some sand buildings using big shells to dig up the sand. We started at low tide, and when the tide came in far enough to wash the buildings away, we reluctantly headed back.

After a pretty low-key afternoon, we headed out for dinner, then Mike and the boys played frisbee in the back yard for a while. Now the van is mostly packed, and we're just hanging out until bedtime. Tomorrow we'll watch the sun rise from the ferry over Pamlico Sound, and make the long drive home, hopefully all in one shot so we can sleep in our own beds tomorrow night and collect our dog Sunday morning. It's been a great trip, but we're all ready to be home!