Memorial Day at Fort Fisher State Park

We took the RV to the beach for Memorial Day weekend. Tropical Storm Beryl stirred up the surf - Saturday in particular was rough and very windy. So we didn't stay long at the beach. Our privately owned campground had a pool, so that made for a good substitute.

We were able to hang out with some friends quite a bit (you know who you are), which was a highlight for us.

Monday morning, we went to the Fort Fisher Beach to give it one more go. The wind and surf was much calmer and we were able to enjoy the beach for a couple of hours before they lifted the red flags again (red flags mean no swimming).

I enjoyed walking on the beach and searching for seashells (I have plans for a seashell related homeschool activity later in the week). And for the first time that I can recall, I found Portuguese Man o' war washed up on the beach. The first one I found was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand - not that I was stupid enough to carry it thus. I scooped up in a broken shell to take back to Kelly and the kids to see.

portuguese man o' war (Photo credit: 4Neus)

Later I found four more, one double and another triple the size of the first one. It certainly made me a bit concerned about the kids playing in the water. As it turned out, they were more interested in playing in the sand anyway and I still got in the water as well.

I was tempted to touch the stringy, blue tentacles just to see how painful it really was - a science experiment of sorts. But exerting intentional pain on oneself is a hard choice to make. As we were leaving the beach, someone told me that a boy had been stung that morning and had gotten "the help he needed." I suppose I'll be researching what to do for jellyfish stings for future beach trips.