Back from Kure beach

The past few days simply went by WAY too fast! But isn't that always the way it is with a vacation? Christopher & I left early Sunday afternoon for a few days away at our favorite spot, Kure Beach NC. We love vacationing there because the pace seems to be a bit slower. I think the "older" crowd {like Christopher & me} go there. We always stay at the Admirals Quarters and always ocean front, there's nothing better than waking up to a view of the ocean.

Then we took a walk on the fishing pier which is next to our hotel.

And took pictures of the pelicans that are always ready to pose.

We set the clock for 5am so we could go walk the beach for shells.

But I think we hit snooze till 6am, made some very yummy Hawaiian Hazelnut coffee for energy and hit the beach. We were surprised that we spent over two hours walking the beach for shells. I am always amazed at how easily I lose all track of time walking along the shore. All of life's worries seem to melt away and the shoulders seem a lot lighter. The thoughts seem to ramble in no particular direction and time seems to stand still. At night we took flash lights out to the beach and watched the crabs come to shore and then race back to the water. After two mornings of scouring the beach we had a bucket full of shells. My grandmother who will turn 87 this Friday always loved walking the beaches of Wilmington, NC looking for tiny shells. She has an inner ear imbalance now that makes if very difficult for her to walk up the three steps to her front door let alone walk the beach for shells, so that was her one request from this trip. Pick me up some little shells she said. So Christopher & I found enough to fill a jar for her. Something so simple can mean so much.

After our time on the beach we took the 35 minute ferry ride over the Cape Fear River.

Which took us to the beautiful town of Southport filled with gift and antique shops.

and restaurants.

A few things we saw on our ferry ride back to Kure Beach.

Once the ferry ride was over we headed to our favorite place to eat.

Jack Mackerel's has the BEST food. For lunch Christopher had the Fish & Chips {their own recipe} and I had the Cajun Burger with fries {their own seasoning}. Yummy. We love this place so much, in fact, we ordered take out for dinner. Folks let me tell ya, their Calamari and Coconut Shrimp appetizer, heavenly. We split an entree of shrimp, scallops and fried oysters. We eat there every time we're in town and have never gotten anything we didn't like. Along with this wonderful late night dinner we had Mango Passion Martini's {Christopher's personal recipe}, perfection. Around 10:30 p.m. we headed back out to the beach for a much needed walk.

And today, before heading home, we visited the Fort Fisher Aquarium.

Where we saw many cool things, like this guy.

And this big fella.

The Jelly Fish were pretty cool too but not like the one we found washed up on the beach last night.

The Finding Nemo{not their real name} fish are my personal favorites.

We lunched one last time at Jack Mackerel's {did I mention that we love this place?} then one last look before heading home.

Thanks for stopping by friends,

Till next time,

Kimberly: )