Fort Fisher

Last Thursday, Andrea and I squeezed six kids, from the ages of 10 to 1, into her car and headed for the beach. We were worried that we wouldn't all fit, but we worked it out. I'm glad we did, too, because I don't think it would have been as much fun driving down there by myself in the car. I was looking forward most to just being able to talk with Andrea on the ride.

Our first stop was a picnic lunch in a gazebo overlooking the ocean. We saw some dolphins jumping in the water on the way over there. Here's crazy Zack eating his lunch and making faces...

Princess K playing with her apple slice...

and Xander perching precariously on the railing...

Our next stop (just across the street) was Fort Fisher Historic Site. The boys (and Princess K) learned about the battle of Fort Fisher and blockade runners. Zack remembers the big hills, the tunnels and the fence that looked like giant pencils. Here's the oldest five on one of the anchors. This was right after D fell off and got the only injury of the day.
Looking out over the Cape Fear River... Alongside this bridge, we saw hundreds of little fiddler crabs crawling all over in the grass and muck at the edge of the water.

The view from the top of the mound...

Xander loved the little tunnel entrance.

Princess P's first time on the beach...She didn't want to put her feet in the sand. When Andrea carried her towards the water and tried to put her down, she was holding her feet up off the sand.

Sweet Princess P toes!

I tried to take a picture of Xander in the water, but my camera battery died. All the boys had a great time playing in the waves (which were really cold!) and getting very sandy. After the beach, we rode the Fort Fisher ferry over to Southport and back. We stopped at Mickey D's for dinner and ice cream on the way out of town. We passed time on the way back with songs and I Spy and some silly storytelling. Thanks Andrea for a great day!! (and for driving)