The roads heading East are worn by all the summer time beach goers. The chaos builds as Dad packs the car, Mom has him unpack it to put just one more thing in the suitcase and the kids are electrified in excitement. Time for the trip to Emerald Isle. We traveled with a bus load of kids from the Baptist Orphanage where my parents were House parents. We would get the bus the night before so we could load it and be ready to pull out at 5 am. We would be so excited as our cottage and another would combine for the trip down. After leaving we would travel in the cool morning air until we got just past Raleigh and then the air turned warm. When we got to Kinston on Hwy 70 we would stop for lunch at the sister orphanage. We would eat the prepared sandwiches and drinks chilled in ice coolers. After lunch the boys and men would go to the huge farm of the orphanage and pick watermelons, corn and any other resource we could find and fill the back of the bus. It usually consisted of 10 watermelons and 20 cantaloupes and several bushels of corn. Off we would go watching the farms go by until there it was on the horizon, that beautiful white bridge that took us across the Bogue Sound and to Emerald Isle. The anticipation was almost more than we could bare.
We would arrive at a huge cottage built in the 50's as a coastal home for the Orphanages across the state. I is nestled in Live Oaks among the sand dunes and only a few feet from the Bogue Sound. We would unload and worked as a team to get all the corn and melons into the kitchen. I remember there was an Ice Machine that would produce soft flake ice. It was great with sweet tea. We had great times walking across the street to the Indian Beach Pier and watching fishermen catch all sorts of fish from King Mackerel to Sand Sharks. Every summer the home came with a lifeguard that stayed all summer so we could swim in the ocean. One year my brother got that job. I really enjoyed hanging out with him some that summer. The Bogue Sound was not as dangerous as long as you wore shoes to keep your feet from getting cut by the mussels and clams or the occasional curious crab. The water in the sound was only knee deep mostly and stayed that way for a couple of miles until you crossed the Inter coastal Waterway. We would take day trips to the State Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and to Fort Macon at the end of the Island. Our favorite activity was going to Atlantic Beach to the Carnival in the Triangle. There were bumper cars, swinging cages, and all the other thrill rides. We spent our hard earned chore money there and at one of the Islands Putt Putt Courses. In Pine Knoll Shores there was one of the first water slides I had ever seen and we would always spend half a day there.
The cottage seemed like a second home after several years of staying there. I can still hear the back screen doors slamming as kids would go out back to wither fish, swim or ride in a boat for a while. We all had to try our hand at sailing with the Sunfish Sailboat the cottage had. Many of us were not so successful as others. There were two islands the were about a mile from the cottage that were about an acre in size. Usually a group would get together and take boats, rafts, inner tubes and some just walked as we would travel to those islands. Once we arrived back an afternoon nap was needed by all. We always had devotions each night prior to bedtime and our leaders would take the time to really speak to us kids about God's commitment to us and ours to him. Sometime a few of us would head over to the pier for late night fishing. I remember one night we spent the night on the pier just because we thought it would be fun. IF we were there on a Sunday we would all dress in our church clothes and go to the Methodist Church in Salter Path. Yeah, I know we were Baptist but that was the only church near by. The other churches were all the way in Morehead City and that was just too far. My father really liked the Pastor of the church in Salter Path and he appreciated us coming to worship.
We would head out one afternoon to Beaufort and walk the docks. When it was suppertime we always ended up at Capt. Bills on the docks of Morehead City. My favorite was the Sanitary Restaurant just a few doors down but it was a little more pricey. We would go there on our last night and fill up on fried flounder. drum, hushpuppies, and that sweet iced tea. That night we would pack up the bus again and leave the next morning after cleaning the cottage to the liking of my staff Sergeant father. Most of the time we would pass another busload of kids on the way to the beach as we were headed home. Of course we would stop in Kinston again to raid the orphanages farm. We would arrive home and I would add another Bert's Surf Shop sticker to my foot locker. I had one on my school bus that I drove also. Those memories of Emerald Isle are vivid in my mind. For those who have been I am sure they know what I mean. all good memories with the exception of a few such as the Thanksgiving weekend that our family stayed at the cottage and Mom invited my college sweetheart. Things went arye and I broke up with what I now know was my soul mate. Well, that's a whole other book which I am writing. I do miss Emerald Isle and will one day return to smell that sea air. Until next time, put on plenty of Coppertone and watch out for those nasty sand spurs!
Stan the Ramblin Man
We would arrive at a huge cottage built in the 50's as a coastal home for the Orphanages across the state. I is nestled in Live Oaks among the sand dunes and only a few feet from the Bogue Sound. We would unload and worked as a team to get all the corn and melons into the kitchen. I remember there was an Ice Machine that would produce soft flake ice. It was great with sweet tea. We had great times walking across the street to the Indian Beach Pier and watching fishermen catch all sorts of fish from King Mackerel to Sand Sharks. Every summer the home came with a lifeguard that stayed all summer so we could swim in the ocean. One year my brother got that job. I really enjoyed hanging out with him some that summer. The Bogue Sound was not as dangerous as long as you wore shoes to keep your feet from getting cut by the mussels and clams or the occasional curious crab. The water in the sound was only knee deep mostly and stayed that way for a couple of miles until you crossed the Inter coastal Waterway. We would take day trips to the State Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and to Fort Macon at the end of the Island. Our favorite activity was going to Atlantic Beach to the Carnival in the Triangle. There were bumper cars, swinging cages, and all the other thrill rides. We spent our hard earned chore money there and at one of the Islands Putt Putt Courses. In Pine Knoll Shores there was one of the first water slides I had ever seen and we would always spend half a day there.
The cottage seemed like a second home after several years of staying there. I can still hear the back screen doors slamming as kids would go out back to wither fish, swim or ride in a boat for a while. We all had to try our hand at sailing with the Sunfish Sailboat the cottage had. Many of us were not so successful as others. There were two islands the were about a mile from the cottage that were about an acre in size. Usually a group would get together and take boats, rafts, inner tubes and some just walked as we would travel to those islands. Once we arrived back an afternoon nap was needed by all. We always had devotions each night prior to bedtime and our leaders would take the time to really speak to us kids about God's commitment to us and ours to him. Sometime a few of us would head over to the pier for late night fishing. I remember one night we spent the night on the pier just because we thought it would be fun. IF we were there on a Sunday we would all dress in our church clothes and go to the Methodist Church in Salter Path. Yeah, I know we were Baptist but that was the only church near by. The other churches were all the way in Morehead City and that was just too far. My father really liked the Pastor of the church in Salter Path and he appreciated us coming to worship.
We would head out one afternoon to Beaufort and walk the docks. When it was suppertime we always ended up at Capt. Bills on the docks of Morehead City. My favorite was the Sanitary Restaurant just a few doors down but it was a little more pricey. We would go there on our last night and fill up on fried flounder. drum, hushpuppies, and that sweet iced tea. That night we would pack up the bus again and leave the next morning after cleaning the cottage to the liking of my staff Sergeant father. Most of the time we would pass another busload of kids on the way to the beach as we were headed home. Of course we would stop in Kinston again to raid the orphanages farm. We would arrive home and I would add another Bert's Surf Shop sticker to my foot locker. I had one on my school bus that I drove also. Those memories of Emerald Isle are vivid in my mind. For those who have been I am sure they know what I mean. all good memories with the exception of a few such as the Thanksgiving weekend that our family stayed at the cottage and Mom invited my college sweetheart. Things went arye and I broke up with what I now know was my soul mate. Well, that's a whole other book which I am writing. I do miss Emerald Isle and will one day return to smell that sea air. Until next time, put on plenty of Coppertone and watch out for those nasty sand spurs!
Stan the Ramblin Man
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