Ft. Fisher Beach Weekend

This past weekend, we went on a mini vacation to Ft. Fisher in Kure Beach, NC. Seymour Johnson AFB here actually runs a recreation area there, and some good friends of ours gave us a free stay in one of the newly built cottages. It was a short drive, and we got there just before check in on Friday afternoon.

The kids testing out the patio chairs...

 They were both so excited for the beach and had been counting down all week. Phil and I planned to make this long weekend all about them, since we are headed to Savannah by ourselves soon, and we're not doing a family spring break trip this year.

Our first stop after checking in was the Kure Beach pier. It was nice to stretch our legs a bit and take advantage of "rock star" parking, since it's still the off season here. 

Two good looking dudes ;)

Me and the sis :)

 These lazy pelicans decided to wait for the fishermen to catch the fish and try to steal it instead of catching any for themselves.

We grabbed early dinner at Jack Mackerel's at the pier and then walked next door to the local arcade.  Avery still talks about the arcade on the boardwalk in Myrtle Beach, so this was high on his list of important things to do while on our "vacation."

 We all had a great time playing skeeball...

.

.. but of course it was all about the tickets. This fish catching game proved to be the most lucrative, and both kids loved it! Avery even ended up catching a special jelly fish and winning the 500 ticket bonus. He was soooo excited. 

Thanks to a friendly older couple who gave us all their tickets, too, the kids were both able to pick out some decent prizes- a play phone and stuffed dolphin for Claire and a toy sheriff's set and solar powered butterfly for Avery. Thankfully, they are all still working, but the quality is certainly questionable.

 How is my baby girl this big?!?

 Next, we had to get a closer view of some of the military equipment on display at Ft. Fisher. Avery trying to run and touch the gun...

 The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at Kate's Pancake House in Carolina Beach (a little disappointing) and then went to the aquarium at Ft. Fisher. We'd been before, but this time the kids got to see and touch a lot more. 

We loved seeing the eagle and the albino alligator...

Avery was chosen first at the dive show to pick out something for the diver to talk about. Of course, he grabbed the shark stuffed animal out of the bag.

This aquarium has a lot of petting stations, and the kids (and I) enjoyed touching sting rays, horseshoe crabs, starfish, and these little sharks.

Outside was a fun playground and more wildlife to look at...like these cute turtles!

  

Can't pass up something to climb on!

After the aquarium, we did lunch at Hang 10 (yummy!), took a short rest, and headed to the beach. The water was certainly still cold, but the kids had a great time playing in the sand and surf. We sure do miss the convenience of our Pensacola beach!

 So much for only getting our feet wet...sigh.

A rare moment of getting along nicely...so of course I had to take a picture. :)

 Dinner that night was at Sea Witch in Carolina Beach. I loved it when I ate there with Ashley on our girl's weekend last summer, and it did not disappoint this trip either. Everything is delicious. The kids enjoyed playing on the dance floor and watching the band set up, and it was so nice to eat outside. I am loving the warm(er) weather!

 Sunday morning, we tried local (well, NC chain) donut shop Wake and Bake and then headed back to the beach. Avery loves to make friends with all the fishermen, and this one was happy to share his latest catch with the kids- a puffer fish! Claire wasn't so sure about it....

Phil said it felt just like a balloon. It ended up deflating (?), and Avery was the one to throw him back into the water (after we convinced him that no, he could not keep him in his beach bucket).

  Love these beach bums!

Busy busy! Avery kept talking about how he has a special connection with the ocean and calling it his "BFF." Think we've been watching enough Moana around here lately?? :)

Searching for shark teeth...

 After leaving the beach, we headed to downtown Wilmington for lunch at Chops Deli and a treat at Kilwins. Then it was time for our last stop, Power of Play. It was our first time visiting this indoor play place, and the kids had a blast. There is a lot of great playground equipment there, along with a make believe town, perfect for running around and using your imagination. 

While Avery preferred running around and playing with new friends he met, Claire wanted to play make believe in all of the little shops. She ran a daycare, a grocery store, a doctors office, a school and a restaurant, and Phil and I were her customers. She loved it! We were worn out. ;)

 We had a super busy and full weekend, but we all had a great time. We are looking forward to hopefully many more day trips back to the beach this summer!