Carolina Beach-Freeman Park Camping

 I made a reservation online and took the first available campsite which was site 4. When I took a walk down the beach for more than a mile, I discovered there were 87 total locations.  The next camping trip I will go further down where it's less likely we will have any neighbors.

The view of our campsite from the front and back, The site were spacious enough to have room for a family size tent and two vehicles.

Aaron wanted me to bury him, so I did. He soon realized this is a vulnerable position to be in when two Sea Gulls were eyeing him.

The sandcastles you find are the best especially when you didn't have any tools to build one yourself.  

While Aaron spent most of his time in the ocean, Gypsy and I chilled out on the beach occasionally taking a dip. Gypsy dug a hole behind my chair and used that for shade. The damp sand in her hole aided in keeping her cool.

The perfect dinner. We would eat a military  Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) at 5 pm when it was too hot to cook by a campfire. Later on after the sun set at around 8:30 we roast Johnsonville sausages. In this plastic bag, there is your main course which you don't need a fire or hot water to cook. Pour an ounce of water in a heating pouch and put it back into the cardboard box for 30-minutes and it cooks itself. Included with this meal are a flavored drink mix, M&Ms, chocolate fudge bar, vegetable crackers,  coffee, creamer, sugar, salt, pepper, and a plastic spoon.

Sunrise our first morning.

  While I was packing up our campsite, Gypsy sat at the edge of our campsite boundary looking out at the ocean sunrise taking it all in. Not sure if dogs can consciously appreciate beauty, but it seemed as Gypsy was. 

I often wondered if having a 4-while drive in North Carolina was worth it, but I now know it is. No vehicles were allowed on the beach if they weren't four wheels and that was understandable. The couple SUVs who's 4-wheel drive wasn't working right became stuck. 

This camping trip was one of the most memorable. I alway dreamed of what it would be like on an ocean beach and fall to sleep by the sound of the surf, and now I know.  Camping here was our first time, but won't be our last