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

Carolina Beach State Park-Sugarloaf Dune and Carolina Beach @ Freeman Park

The Carolina Beach State Park and Freeman Park are not connected, but Aaron, Gypsy and I enjoyed both locations on the same day. 

A short but interesting trail.

The carnivorous Yellow Pitcher Plant! "Insects prey are lured into the slippery waxy portion of the upper pitcher tube by nectar, they slide down a coating of ultra-fine, downward point hairs, hitting the digestive enzymes, and into a zone which readily absorbs nutrients."

We started our hike just about high noon on a near 90-degree day. Walking through a longleaf pine savanna on a white sand trail made it seem as if we were hiking through a desert. We quickly finished off the 32 ounces of water we were carrying.

As we approached the dune, we encountered some oaks covered in Spanish moss.

High upon the dune we looked down on the Cape Fear River. This spot had some historical significance because it was a landmark for ships looking for Wilmington and back during the Civil War the Confederacy used the dune to defend the port. 

The Cape Fear River

Once the Sugarloaf Trial swings back inland, we pass several sinkhole ponds.

There was defiantly a lot of interesting things to see that you normally wouldn't in your everyday activities. All this was pack into a short but hot 2.8 miles! 

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Carolina Beach at Freeman Park 

We were kicked off the beach further south because we had Gypsy in tow. We were told to go North to where the fishing pier is and Freeman Park. Not only were dogs allowed but for a parking fee, we could have taken my Jeep also on the beach.

Almost immediately after stepping foot on the beach Aaron ran headlong into the water with Gypsy following. Within seconds they both were hit by a giant ocean wave which took them off their feet (paws in Gypsy's case) and deposited them back upon the shore.

I was wondering what Gypsy was going to do because anytime she sees water she drinks it, One small lick of this water and Gypsy's instinct told her the water wasn't safe to drink.

After enjoying the warm Atlantic water, we took a long stroll down the beach where we meet a lot of interesting people. Many came up to us wanting to pet our beautiful dog.