I had the pleasure Thursday of chaperoning Hallie and her 4th grade classmates on a trip to Carolina Beach, NC. I had been looking forward to it for weeks and it lived up to its promise.
We woke up at 5:20 Thursday and made it to the school at 6, where kids sat and chatted in the cafeteria while waiting for stragglers. At 6:30 the bus headed down the highway, and I followed it with three other dads in the minivan.
We dads stopped once at a McDonalds outside of Clayton to get beverages. By the time we got on the road again, the kids’ buses were gone. We didn’t see them again until an hour later, when we decided on a pit stop again. We didn’t see the buses again until we were all pulling into Carolina Beach.
Our first stop was the North Carolina Aquarium, which is probably my least favorite aquarium ever. The horribly inappropriate sign about lobsters was still there. I blogged about it before, but imagine seeing a sign at an elephant exhibit at the zoo saying “Isn’t it beautiful how ivory keys look on a piano?”
I kept my criticism to myself, though, letting the kids explore the aquarium to their desire. I did note that it the exhibits kept the kids’ attention all of 20 minutes before we found ourselves in line for the gift shop. I think we probably spent more time sorting through the junk there than we did looking at anything else.
It was a relief when it was time to get lunch. The kids piled into the bus for the 1/4 mile ride down to the picnic area. We ate our bag lunches at the picnic tables and chased down loose bags blown by the strong wind. It took a while before the buses departed but eventually we headed to Kure Beach to board our Carolina Ocean Studies excursion to Masonboro Island.
We took the Winner Cruise Queen out to Masonboro Island via the Intercoastal Waterway. The wind was whipping hard and I was concerned that we’d have a bumpy ride. It turns out the cruise out was pretty smooth and no one got sick. The kids got a lecture about sea life on the upper deck while the adults got instructions about the day’s events below.
We pulled up to Masonboro Island and formed a human tunnel for the kids to head up the beach. The group was divided into three stations for the island activities: one for shell collection, one for crabbing, and one for exploring the marsh.
Hallie’s favorite was the marsh activity. She became really good and flushing tiny crabs from their holes in the marsh. She and Lina thought the crabbing was frustrating. The shell collection was fun, though the wind was blasting so hard that it was nearly impossible to hear.
Crab rustling
I kept looking out at the current in Masonboro inlet. It was incredible how quickly the water there was flowing! I was amazed at the waves being kicked up by the shoals and how difficult it must be to navigate a boat through there. I can imagine that any dredging authorities do on that channel is short-lived.
As the kids walked single file down the beach for the return trip to the mainland, I got to hold Hallie’s hand. It was the highlight of the trip for me, having her be so comfortable with me around with her friends and classmates. I know these days might not last and made the most of it. It beat any treasure I might have found on the beach!
Our boat returned a bit later than expected. The kids were tired and were snacking on the dock around the time the chaperones were more or less cut loose. The dads hit the road and were slowed by Wilmington rush hour traffic. I had a raging headache by that time and got about 40 miles out of town before I asked if one of my carpooling buddies might drive for a while. After a 20 minute nap I felt much better, though I sat in the passenger seat the rest of the way back.
We all got back to the school around 7 PM, tired but happy. I’m glad I made the time to be there!