North Carolina - Day 4 (Ocean Swim)

Day 3 was Sunday so it was a rest day. We went to church at the little Morhead City ward, then to lunch with my grandparents at The Olive Garden. Then it was back to the beach for some more relaxing. We went for a walk and collected a bunch of shells to bring home to the kids. This was a really nice day, but I didn't take any pictures so it doesn't get its own post. :)

Monday we had a nice leisurely morning, then headed down to the beach at about 9:30. It was so nice because my grandma rented chairs and umbrellas for us that they set up every morning so we had a nice place to sit. George fell asleep pretty quick so I decided to take this chance to get my swim done while Katie sat with him.

I was super nervous about swimming in the ocean. I've watched a few too many animal attack shows on Animal Planet at my dad's house, not to mention Jaws. I know the chances of being attacked by a shark are so rare, though, especially here so I was brave and just fought my way out to past where the waves were breaking. It was surpassingly calm out there. I'd feel swells sometimes, but most the time I hardly noticed the waves as long as I was careful to stay out far enough. I swam for what seemed like forever, but hardly went anywhere so I think I went against the current. I saw another guy out swimming so I said hi, and he told me he was doing a little triathlon with his daughter. Fun! After talking to him, I swam back to check in with Katie and see how long I'd been out.

It had only been about 23 minutes so I went back out to do it again. This time I felt more relaxed. Really the hardest part was getting out past the waves. It was so salty too! My mouth felt like it was coated with salt by the time I got back, and I was covered in green slimy stuff. Plus my swimming suit was chafing so bad! I should have known not to forget body glide when swimming in salt water! Well, you learn something new every day.

After resting in our nice shady spot for a little while, we walked down the beach a little ways to The Crab Claw where we met my grandma and had a delicious lunch.

Then we walked back and my grandma sat on the beach with George while Katie and I played in the waves. We didn't have any boards or anything, but it was so much fun! I felt like a kid again just playing in the waves and catching a few rides! I tried to teach Katie how to catch the waves and she caught a few, but we just had fun jumping and diving around too.

And just like a little kid, I didn't even think about reapplying sunscreen. We were out in the sun for a total of about 5 hours, and when I went to bed that night I noticed that my skin was practically glowing red! Ouch. When will I ever learn? That on top of my chafed underarms made it hard to sleep.