Visiting Leia & Harvest in Wilmington : Our Resort

Gorgeous view! Used to be the Blockade Runner Beach Resort and is now the Trailborn Surf & Sound

Drinking coffee during the sunrise was amazing, but the change in management wasn't wasn't best. Construction during business hours. Water leaks. No coffee maker. We got a free night!

Visiting Leia & Harvest in Wilmington : The USS North Carolina

 This was a really exciting World War 2 battleship! It is now a museum! What is really cool about it is that below decks it is really a floating city, including a Post Office and everything!  We really appreciated Harvest setting up and taking us on this outing!

 Above is the killboard with all of the planes or ships shot down As well as all of the military campaigns the ship participated in, and below is the explanation in more detail.

 Above is my very favorite story from the whole ship about the different military members on both sides who are one's enemies and met together recently as friends. A true testament to peace!

 Ready for some more heads, torpedos and gunpowder?

Me sitting at the gun turret that shot down so many planes, ... and below the sight they would have seen.

Visiting Leia & Harvest in Wilmington : The State Park

I can't remember if it was Carolina Beach State Park or Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, but we REALLY enjoyed out nature walk! Harvest even found a periwinkle snail for me! ... I am bringing it to Edisto so that I can use it as the shell on our door plaque this year!

Leia & I looking for periwinkle snails:

Visiting Leia & Harvest in Wilmington : Their Apartment & Kitties (Fiesta & Iji)

The Table Rock Fire : The Biggest Wildfire in Carolina History

In mid-late March, a couple of teens who didn't dispose of a cigarette correctly started the biggest wildfire in Carolina history called the Table Rock fire. This was located in between our house and the Cloer homeplace and there is more details about it below, but we could see the plumes of smoke over the mountains to the South and driving to Wilmington to visit LA going over the mountain was treacherous.  In fact, at one point on the trip Annie called me afraid because the wind had changed and all of the smoke blew into our yard.  After it was all over, and I was able to drive on to 76 again over the mountain, I could see that 276 was the line that the fire wasn't able to jump. On the right side of the road it was charred and on the left side of the road it was normal.(see pics below).  It was such an important event, that I saved some pieces of the charred wood for posterity.

The following pictures were from when I drove over the mountain on 276 to pick up Shana for Wilmington.

 In fact, while we were in Wilmington, Elaine sent this picture of the helicopter with the huge water bucket helping to fight the Table Rock fire.

 And here is another picture that hits closer to home which is the Baptist church on the corner of 8 and Moorefield Memorial Highway and the view of the fire from there:

The aftermath looking to the right going north on 276: 

Annie Under the Cherry Tree 2025

 Just one of those Times that I treasure before Annie leaves home in a year or 2. Annie came home from school and joined me under the cherry tree and we had a wonderful afternoon.

 And Annie couldn't resist getting wrong Bello's level to enjoy the yard!

Cherry Tree 2025