Beaufort Beach Trip 2026 - Part I

Moose gets all anxious whenever the suitcases come out. We tried to tell him that he was going on this trip, but he just didn't believe us until he was in the car! 

Brent and I looked again for a house in Beaufort to rent for our beach trip - quiet road with a place for the boat. This was a really cute house and very close to our favorite residential neighborhood - Beau Coast! 

One of the first things we did was drive over to our property and check how things were looking. Unfortunately we did not bring any trimmers, but most definitely needed them - it was like a jungle! Brock took one look and shook his head - he opted to stay back on the road. 

We understood why the battery on the trail cam had died - those solar panels were not getting any sun in all this overgrowth! We changed out the battery, but did not have a ladder to retrieve the solar panels - we will have to get them next time! 

We did turn the camera around for a little different angle. 

Driving along Front Street, we spotted a wild horse in the distance! 

We decided to try Longhorn Steakhouse, thinking it would be similar to Outback in quality - and Kade LOVES Outback. Nope, we will not be returning. (Kade loved his steak and Brock loved his burger, but that's where it ended). A nice picture of the boys though!

Since we had driven all the way to Morehead for dinner, we easily popped over the bridge to Atlantic Beach. The whole week forecasted bad weather - wind or rain or sometimes both! Sure enough, the beach was rough! We got sand-blasted just walking out to the beach - Brent and Kade turned around and went back to the truck while Brock and I braved it for a closer look. 

I'm so very glad we did because Brock provided silly teenage boy commentary! 

Beach Red "High Hazard" Flag Warning remained all week. 

Brent and Brock went running the first day, but it was so hot and humid, they only went about 2 miles - also Kade opted out. The next day, Kade joined, but knew he wasn't going to run as far as the big boys.... that meant that Moose and I followed close in the 4Runner waiting to pick him up. 

It's like a mother duck and her ducklings! 

After a nice breakfast, we packed up and headed out to Shackleford Banks via our boat. The weather was still not cooperating for any off-shore fishing. We dropped our anchors and enjoyed a swim to the mostly calm shore!

These photos are after Brent and I swam back to the boat and watched the boys collaborating on digging a hole! 

A little bit later the horses came back out to the beach! We tried getting the boys' attention, but we were too far away - and they were too engrossed in their project to even notice! 

Dark clouds and a bit of rain made us pull up anchor and head back. This time we cruised a little further up Gallants Channel to run parallel with the cove behind our property. (You can also see how choppy the intracoastal water was at the time!)

Last action item for the day - a trip to Piggly Wiggly for a few more supplies. Brock thoroughly enjoyed making fun of the establishment's name. 

Brock's Summer Swim 2026

Another summer brings another Summer Swim season with LifeTime! They rebranded and renamed themselves the Lemon Sharks.... we questioned their choice as the lemon sharks are not typically known for their speed... 

Nevertheless, Brock was determined to give it his all for the Boy's 13-14 group! He was in for some tougher competition this year - case in point for Freestyle below - he's now the younger in the age range! Brock will tell you that his favorite stroke is now Breaststroke! 

Look at that entry! 

It's still amazing to watch him swim butterfly - he makes it look effortless!  

Tuesday, June 9th swim meet at Haddon Hall went way into the night! It was already getting dark for the breaststroke! See Brock in lane 2! 

Brock missed the next Tuesday's meet as he was enjoying NC State Swim Camp! 

But he returned with a vengeance for June 23rd's meet at Regency for another attempt at that top Lifetime spot at breaststroke. Brock in lane 2 and his buddy William in lane 4. 

It was neck and neck all the way through - William had him at the wall, but Brock's turn was slightly quicker and gained some time!

The boys honestly did not know who got to the wall first - William's timer edged him out .01 seconds faster, which they ended up adjusting for both boys to place first (4 points each instead of 5 points/3 points)! It was sooo close! 

The following week provided another opportunity to take on his friend/rival - and he did! (The first place finisher swims in the group one level up from Brock at TAC). 

Happy Brock heading out to a swim practice! 

Very last summer swim - Tuesday, July 14th - no pictures or videos of the race, but he won his heat in Freestyle, earning him a duck! 

I attempted a few decent iPhone pictures of Brock's breaststroke (white swim cap). 

Such determination - attack that water! 

And that's a wrap for Summer Swim 2026! 

4th of July Fishing Trip

Brent watches the fishing report and tracks the data all the time, so he was mindful of the prime fishing conditions forecasted for the 4th of July weekend! He has been itching to go so badly that crowds on Independence Day (America's 250th no less!) couldn't stop him! We left our house early - like 1:45am early - to get our boat launched and on our way to the fishing grounds before the rush! 

We arrived so early that we were just seeing first light at the Radio Island Public Boat Ramp! 

A very cool thing to watch the sun rise from the water! 

It felt like just seconds before the sun was fully up and we couldn't quite "look" at it anymore! 

Per the fishing report, we were to make our way south - en route to Doorstep Ledge for Wahoo and Mahi. It was choppy. A little more choppy than expected, so it took a little more time to get there. 

About an hour away from our destination, we had slowed down just to reposition ourselves and spotted a bunch of bait fish jumping out of the water! Time to get those fishing lines in the water! 

A small (but over the 12" limit) Spanish Mackerel!

We did hook up a really nice Mahi... but lost it. 

We had several more bites that morning, but the fish were just not that hungry to get hooked.  

After returning to the boat ramp, we decided we had enough time to go check out our property and were surprised to see one of our neighbor properties had started building a house! As we were discussing how in the world we were going to get our boat down the shared drive, somehow big machinery made their way back here to knock down trees and transport materials for theirs! It can be done!  

While Brent, Kade and I were having fun on the water, Brock was having fun at home alone with Moose and his computer. He was a very responsible teenager and did a good job taking care of his dog! 

After returning home, the usual boat cleanup was exhausting after so little sleep - I don't know how my husband does it every time. He just loves to fish that much! 

Eventually everyone was showered and fed and relaxing on the couch when Brock asked if we were still doing fireworks. Oh my sweet boy. We compromised with some sparklers in our driveway and Brock was happy. 

A little different way to spend the 4th of July this year, but our house had some mixed feelings about being excited for America's 250th birthday. It also feels like we've been celebrating it for months already - every packaging seems to have a "special edition" label on it. This was a better way to unplug with quality family time.