Celebrating the 4th of July down in E.I.!!

Wow! Five beautiful, hot days at the beach with family and friends...who could ask for more?! We are blessed. Rather than give a day by day account of our adventures I think it would be best to describe the highlights. Our friends Pam and Bruce and their youngest son Aidan took the 14 hour drive down to Emerald Isle, NC with us on Wednesday. Our goal was to spend time with our daughters and BIKE, which we did everyday. Pam is planning on riding from Miami to Key West with us so these training days are perfect. The cast of characters on cycles varied everyday, but we covered the island from end to end several times racking up approximately 125 miles amongst us. We met locals at an ocean side coffee shop who are saving a chair for Joel (or Bruce, whoever gets there first!) We enjoyed a frosty Landshark on the fishing pier. Joel fixed 2 flats, one for Paige and one for Bruce who, God love him, rode almost 10 miles with that nail puncturing his tire, tube and rim!! We cooked up fantastic fresh meals to feed 10 as our good friends Bernie and her daughter Katie stopped in to play with us on their way home from Florida. We walked the beach everyday looking for sea glass (found tons) and turtle nests (no luck) and finally we ended the holiday with an oyster party on the Sound with our friends and neighbors, Phil and Korin, complete with fireworks in every direction. Our 14 hour drive home was successfully completed on Monday...only 25 days remain before we head out on THE RIDE!!!