I swear, I don’t know how we got this lucky, lucky enough to live a paltry 15 minutes from this local natural resource. Yesterday was perfect for an outside romp: nary a cloud in the sky, the temps didn’t warm above the 70s, and there was a gentle breeze in the air. Chef David and I earlier had made a plan to go wander around in downtown Wilmington, but the Iron Man Triathlon was going on and made it impossible. So instead, we pointed the car south and drove to Ft. Fisher. It was time well spent with Scoutie in tow. We also happened upon a film crew shooting an episode of this Netflix series, had to walk across the sets to finally get where we wanted to go, but nobody seemed to object. (Nor did a film crew object when David inadvertently walked into a scene being shot downtown several months ago; they must really be accustomed to this.) We suspect the sand must do a number on the electric cable laid out all over the beach but suppose the crews are accustomed to that, too.

I shot these photos on my Nikon D300S, had not exercised it in a little while, and it was high time to. I made only minor adjustments to these images. The water off the coast down in Kure Beach, which abuts Fort Fisher, is shades of aquamarine you don’t see farther up the coast in Carolina Beach. I don’t know why it is so, but am sure somebody does. We were also struck by the live oaks and how the wind has shaped them so dramatically through time. Meanwhile, our time was well spent on an exquisite Saturday late-morning adventure.

We were unsure what kinds of creatures call these hedges home, but we came across several of the Hobbit-like entry points that suggest an entire network of hidden passageways through the scrubby forest.