visiting bald head island

A few weeks ago, my family took our annual September trip to the beach. Over the last five or six years, this has become a tradition for us—kind of a last hurrah to summer before we all get fully consumed with fall activities and holiday preparations. What a fun trip that was, especially with my four-year-old niece Lynley, who incidentally loves the beach as much as Nay-Nay (that’s me) does! My sister Nicole and I decided to take Lynley to Bald Head Island for the day while we were there – what fun we had!

Lynley loves being on the water and was so excited to ride the ferry boat over from Southport to BHI. She loved seeing Fishy, Fishy Restaurant, one of our favorites, from the boat. We pointed out Camp Caswell, where Nicole and I spent many summers at youth camp. We watched the sailboats on the water and looked for dolphins and before we could blink, we were pulling into the marina at BHI.

The first thing on the agenda was to rent a golf cart, the we set out to explore the island. We had no real plan for the day and just did things on a complete whim, as the mood struck: we enjoyed a delicious lunch outside at the marina, climbed Old Baldy, the lighthouse (there were a LOT of steps to get to the top of that thing!), visited the old chapel, spotted and watched a Doe and two of her babies on one of road (until Lynley scared them off) and went to the beach. But the best thing was we really just enjoyed spending the day together.

The cutest little chapel — what a perfect place for a wedding! Old Baldy… The view from one of the windows near the top of Old Baldy…
Lynley and my sister Nicole outside Old Baldy… And me…striking a pose… A few photos I took of Lynley while we were there. Has someone been watching America’s Top Model??? At four, she can certainly pose it up for the camera!

Showin’ some ‘tude!

After a long, hot day, we boarded the ferry back to Southport—we were all tired and ready to relax back at the beach house. It was a great week – and I’m already looking forward to next year’s trip!