Kismet and Kayaks – Oak Island NC [March 25, 2016]

 

 
The best friends are the ones that you feel that you saw only yesterday instead of 10 years ago.  As we were heading toward South Carolina, Robin and Steve were already there.  Robin posted a photo from their South Carolina vacation on Facebook, and Dana added a comment about being on our way there to meet them.  Wait, chimed in Wendy, you are practically in our backyard, come visit us.  WHAT!?!?  Yes, said Wendy, we’ve retired to Oak Island and we would love to see you.  So would we love to see you, Robin and Dana both replied.

So on Friday, the four of us descended on Oak Island to visit Wendy and Mike who retired there 10 years ago.  Back in the day we had kids swimming for the Fairfax Frogs summer swim team and all volunteered our collective hearts out for the team. Between us we have 3 sons within 18 months of age of each other and 3 daughters within 2 years.  We had raised our kids together at the side of the pool.  It was sooooo very wonderful to be together again.  After 30 minutes of catching up on kid-news (and what accomplished and interesting kids we have, too!), we settled in to just enjoying being together.

After a scrumptious lunch [thanks Wendy], we said goodbye to Mike who went to work at his occasional job at a local wine shop, and the rest of us went kayaking along the Slough that also runs behind their lovely home.  It was low tide, so Wendy took us on a paddle that would limit our potential of getting stuck in paralyzing mud.  Though we did run aground once, and then another time lost track of time as we rested and visited on a sand bar as the tide ran out around us leaving high and (not quite) dry, we were never truly stuck.

Wendy lines us up for a selfie...

...and here's the selfie

We saw homes and docks along one side of the Slough and cormorants, gulls, terns, skimmers, egrets, oystercatchers and pelicans along the sandbanks and marsh grass on the other.  We talked and took selfies and enjoyed our precious time together.  When it was time to leave, Wendy said, Come back soon.  Four voices said, We will.

Drying their wings.