Tina Don't Care

We have a turkey in our neighborhood. This is the kind of turkey that has two legs and two wings and goes gobble, gobble. We have other turkeys too, but they are the human variety. 

Our family tends to give things names, both animate and inanimate. My daughter has named this female turkey Tina. Tina the turkey. 

Tina has been around the neighborhood for some time now. We first saw her last fall. She is not afraid of humans. If a dog comes near she will take wing and fly to a safe spot. Tina don't care. Tina rules. 

Tina has been spotted in several locations in Pine Knoll Shores. Here she is about a block from the house. 

She seems to have free rein of the place. Quite a beautiful girl. Hope she makes it through Thanksgiving. 

Birthday Week

Both of my daughters and two of my grandsons have birthdays in August or September. It has been a tradition to celebrate the birthdays at the beach. This year we were not able to get both daughters and their families at the beach at the same time due to scheduling conflicts. 

My oldest grandson, Eamon, turned 14. Hard to imagine. 

He wanted to take the boat to Shackleford as part of his celebration. 

Here they are jumping in the water for a swim. 

Very few people on the beach at Shackleford today. The water was nice. 

Eamon insisted that we all have matching captain hats. Left to right is Eamon, me and younger brother Brendan. 

Brendan and Eamon now have their own smart tv for their room. Brendan will be 12 years old on September 3. 

The last birthday celebrated this week was my 42 year old daughter, Kristen. "Now where do the batteries go, Dad". 

Journey to New Home

We departed Charleston, SC early Friday, July 29 to take "At Last" to its new home in Pine Knoll Shores. I was planning on a four day trip, but we made good time and were able to make in three. I had never piloted a boat of this size and was a little intimidated to start on a 270 mile trip on a unfamiliar boat. Luckily I had a good friend, Doug Taylor, with me to help with the job. Everything went well. 

At Last at its old home in Charleston. 

This a view of Charleston taken from the Intracoastal Waterway where it crosses the Cooper River. The first day of the trip was a 70 mile leg up the ICW to Georgetown, SC. 

This is truly low country. This house can only be reached by boat. No electricity. No water. A great place to get away from everything. 

We had quite a few of these friends join us along the way. They like to ride the wake. 

Georgetown Landing Marina as we departed Saturday morning. 

Sunrise over the beautiful Wacamaw River as we head north from Georgetown. 

The Wacamaw River has been named as one of the top four rivers on the ICW. We are headed toward Myrtle Beach and points north. I was hoping to make it to Southport, NC before dark. Fortunately, we were able to make all the way to Carolina Beach. 105 miles and a 12 hour day. 

Here we are departing Joyners Marina in Carolina Beach on the third day. I called classmate, Larry Spivey, before we arrived. I knew he owned a house there. It turns out that his house is only a block away. He was waiting on the dock when we arrived. 

Some of the fine homes in Wrightsville Beach. 

The weather was threatening on the final day. It finally caught us as we approached Morehead City.  The lightning persuaded us to move to the lower helm. 

At Last at her new berth in Pine Knoll Shores.