October Sunrise

A young couple from Ohio decided to take a week away in October at North Topsail beach, staying at "Answer to Prayer". They wanted some time to relax before their first child was born. The beach was so peaceful and quiet, not too many people to share the sand with. They could walk the beach and relax. They had a thrill one morning to watch an incredible sunrise! Being October it wasn't 6:30 but rather 7:30 - 8:00.
After a sunrise like that who wouldn't want to be awake.

One of the fun things you can do when pregnant at the beach is dig out a hole for you belly and lay on the sand and soak up the sun. Did you ever think you could sleep on your belly again?

Lots of peace and quiet before the baby. Who knows maybe they will be back with their little one next year.

Kayak in the Topsail Sound

Kayaking in the wetlands in the Topsail Sound is great exercise and it also gives you an upclose and personal view of nature's beautiful wetlands. Birds, fish, and the bright sun bring you to a world that is spectacular.

But what do you do if you didn't bring your kayak or you want to try it first before you commit to buying? Rent one and launch it from Herrings.

Herrings is the best outdoor outfitter on the island.

Rent a kayak and go on the sound, or get really good and kayak-surf the waves. You can also rent beach cruisers (bikes) and utilize the bike lane which runs from the county line (about the 9 mile mark) to the south of the island.

They also carry a full line of rods and reels and all types of bait. The girls will love the "Life is Good" clothes line they carry. My wife went in there and spent more than an hour trying on "cute little things". I found a great pair of reef walker shoes at a good price.

Check their web site out here.

Autumn with Topsail Returns!

A funtastic fall festival returns this month to Topsail.

In it's 20th year, the festival brings a carnival atmosphere together with neighbors who enjoy the warm fall weather on the island.

You may have thought that Topsail Island is alive only in the summer, but in fact, it's becoming a lively place all year round. Many fishermen and seniors come down in the fall season which usually stays pretty warm in the daytime up until Thanksgiving.

Then families come down for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

There are also a significant number of people who come down for the entire winter. One couple, staying in North Topsail Beach, sold their home in Cleveland a few years back once their youngest went to college. They now live 6 months in a rental in the Florida Keys during that low season (the summer) and then stay on Topsail Island in our low season (the winter). They love living at the beach without having to have the worries of beach home ownership.

For more info on the Autumn with Topsail Festival click here.

Why Rent a Vacation Home?

This is an excellent blog from here on the benefits of renting a home for your next vacation (as opposed to going to a hotel):


vacation homes rental. In order to keep the cycle of our life running smoothly, we need to oil it frequently. It means, being human, we all are subject to boredom from our dull, monotonous routine, and need to fuel ourselves with a change in environment. What else can be a better solution than planning a vacation with your near and dear ones, to rejuvenate yourself? This way you can deal with your work pressures in a constructive manner. And while planning for a vacation, you should pay special emphasis to the comfort level and convenience. You may find a large number of options, regarding accommodation such as hotels, motels etc. But the best way to make the most of your vacation is vacation house rental.

The vacation house rental is worldwide known for its innumerable benefits. No matter, where you decide to spent your vacations whether you are planning to visit beautiful beaches of Florida or an exquisite vacation at Santa Barbara, you can find the provision of vacation house rental at all places. Now, let us discuss in detail why you should choose for vacation house rental over any other accommodations.

While planning a vacation some of the most important features that need to be considered closely are finances, comfort, etc. And vacation house rental offers you the best deal, both in terms of rates, as well as, convenience. It can be bungalow, apartment, condos or villas. A vacation house rental is relatively cheaper, as compared to hotels, motels, or other accommodations. These are specially conceived to make you feel at home and catering you with a soothing vacation. Some other benefits of the vacation house rental are as follows:

• Inexpensive

• Privacy

• Ample space

• Additional benefits

A vacation house rental is usually situated at a near distance to most of the tourist attractions. You will be entrapped while surrounded by the surreal beauty of the place. Several vacation house rentals are situated at a waterfront location, which adds to the tranquility. It caters you with a fully furnished kitchen, so that you will not have to rush with pangs of hunger in search of a restaurant for breakfast. You can save a big sum of money and relish home made food. A vacation house rental offers you dining rooms, living rooms, terrace where you can rest and enjoy the beautiful sunset.

All in all, a vacation house rental makes you feel as if you are in your very own home. For all these comforts, you need to put in some efforts. To find the best deal and additional amenities you can search online sources. There you can find innumerable individuals, and travel agents, offering vacation house rental at nominal rates.

Where to Eat at Topsail: Restaurant Reviews

Are you coming to Topsail Island and are looking for the perfect place to eat?

Check out the Restaurant Reviews page where you can find almost every restaurant reviewed, along with addresses and pictures to find the place.

Click here.

Sunrise: Is There Any Better Way to Start the Day Than at Answer to Prayer?

This is a picture of the sunrise from off the deck of Answer to Prayer.

When you get up in the still of the morning, pour a hot steaming cup of coffee, and step out onto the deck as the sun rises, you experience a peacefulness and clarity that you never get back in the city.

Things come into focus, possibilities flood in, favorite memories replay in your mind, thankfulness overflows in your heart.

God put the sunrise there for you. Why not come and enjoy it. Contact Answer to Prayer here.

Time to Make Vacation Plans

You know you are going to want to get away to the beach next summer. Now is the time to plan it while the week you want is still open.

What if your plans change? Most places only require a 10% deposit more than 6 months out. That means only a couple of hundred dollars to reserve your spot. Then you can call your sister/mother/friends now and see if they can come with you. They can arrange for the week off now before all this vacation week is taken by someone else at their office.

What happens if they want to come but can't get the week you've reserved but can get another week? Most places, including beach4rent.org will let you change your week this far in advance.

And you can all discuss how much fun it is going to be when you get together for the holidays.

Indigo Marsh - Off Season Specials

I don't mean for this to be an advertisement but since I like Indigo Marsh so well, I thought I'd share the off-season specials that they are running now. This is what they sent me in an email:

Indigo Marsh

Off Season Specials!

1/2 Price Wine on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
Includes all Bottles and Glass Wine!
Also...
Get a FREE Petite Mixed Greens Salad
with every entree!
And...
As always, if you are seated before 6:00 you get a
FREE dessert along with the FREE salad!

Join our new Referral program and earn FREE food!
Reservations Recommended
910.328.2580

Indigo Marsh is located at:

602 B Roland Ave
Surf City, NC 28445
Phone: 910.328.2580
Fax: 910.328.2508

As I said before on this blog, this is my favorite restaurant on the island.

Answer to Prayer Is Now Available to Rent

Great news! The wonderful beach house Answer to Prayer is now available to rent at http://beach4rent.org . It is a 4 bedroom 2 bath home right on the beach in North Topsail Beach NC. See pictures and inquire at http://beach4rent.org.

Operation Bumblebee - A Top Secret Missile Operation on Topsail

Operation Bumblebee was a top-secret, experimental project to develop and test ramjet missiles conducted by the US Navy. Operation Bumblebee started at the end of World War II, and led directly to the deployment of the operational Talos, Terrier, and Tartar missiles. Wikipedia here.

Driving up and down the island you can still see the observation towers along the shore.

The National Park Service has more information:

At the end of World War II the Navy established the US Naval Ordnance Test Facilities at Topsail Island, North Carolina, for Operation Bumblebee, a top-secret, experimental project to develop and test ramjet missiles, which advanced the Nation's jet aircraft and missile programs. So successful were the tests conducted at the Topsail Island site that the ramjet proved its value, opened the way for the advance of supersonic jet aircraft design and brought the United States to the threshold of modern space technology with the Talos, Terrier, Tartar and Sea Sparrow missiles aboard naval vessels. Named after a bumblebee, which although aerodynamically unable to fly, does not know this and flies anyway, this operation lead to the maturing of supersonic aircraft and shipboard missile design in the mid-20th century.

Topsail Island was the third of three widespread test sites established along the Atlantic seaboard in the closing years of World War II, and the first permanent ground for missile testing. The Topsail Island site, placed in operation in March 1947, incorporated rigid structures that were designed and built for specific uses related to the assembly, firing, monitoring and perfecting of experimental ramjet missiles. The buildings associated with this testing, the Assembly Building, Facility Control Tower and Observation Tower No. 2 possess exceptional importance because they are the only aboveground resources remaining at these three sites where the Nation's burgeoning ramjet missile program grew from experimentation to maturity. The Assembly Building is a one-and-a-half-story masonry building and the Control Tower is a three-story reinforced concrete building. Observation Tower #2 is an unaltered example of the seven instrument towers erected on Topsail Island.

Read more here.

Local Surfer Coty Luetgens Becomes National Surfing Champ

The Topsail Advertiser reports that 18 year old Coty Luetgens won the men's national surfing championship in Huntington Beach California. TA reports:

Local surf competitor Coty Leutgens recently took the men's title in the 2008 Surf Industry Manufacturers Association Surfing America U.S.A. Championships.

Leutgens, 18, grew up in Surf City and learned to surf at a very young age. He began competing in Eastern Surfing Association contests around age 8, and said he was hooked immediately. He's now a sophomore at University of North Carolina-Wilmington, majoring in communications, and the school surf team captain.

The championships were held Aug. 19 to 24, in Huntington Beach, Calif. The competition pits the best surfers out of five districts from around the U.S. together to find U.S. surfing champs. The men's final for ages 18 to 29 was one of nine categories to compete.

Though Leutgens had been eligible to compete in the SIMA competition before, this was the first year he was financially able to enter the championship.

"This is pretty much as high as it goes as far as amateur competitions is concerned ... so it's really an honor for me. I won the (2008 Mid-Atlantic Regionals) in South Carolina, so I had some confidence going into it," said Leutgens, who practiced in California waves for two weeks before the competition. He also trained with the ESA All Star and the U.S teams.

Get the full story here.

Topsail Beach Vacation 2008: Their Own Words

I was hunting around the blogosphere and ran across the wonderful Ernst Family's blog. Interestingly, they had recently spent a second and a third vacation at Topsail and said so. Here is part of their story:

A few years back (2004), Dan and I went on our first family vacation. We looked online and found Topsail Island in North Carolina. It looked so nice and much less commercialized than Mrytle Beach. We made reservations (along with my parents and sister) and had a wonderful time that summer. So much so that we went again in 2006 (when I was pregnant with Claire). This summer, we headed over again and got to spend a week with Mom and Dad Ernst, The Indy Ernsts, and the Billingtons. We had such a WONDERFUL time! So many fun memories were made.

For more read here.

When you come to visit, many of your vacationing neighbors will be people like the Ernsts, because it's a family beach. Come on down and enjoy.

Read This Book!! Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea by Ray MacAllister

I read this book and ABSOLUTELY loved it. Ray McAllister has come to Topsail Island and captured its history, lure, beauty, and enchantment.

Here is a quote from his book:

"Why stay at Topsail Island?

It's easy to see why. Because of its small land area, Topsail has not been subject to the massive development of island communities like Nags Head to the north and Wrightsville Beach to the south. Indeed, it remains largely in the idyllic state those places knew half a century ago - a small beach town with few commercial trappings, a family haven...a paradise where it's possible to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean and set over Topsail Sound from the same cottage."

With chapters on real life pirates, secret military operations, the bear that swam to Topsail, the fishing, families who have returned yearly for a quarter of a century and more, it is a must read!

You can buy it here at Amazon.com or get it straight from the author at http://www.mayberrybythesea.com/

If you like MySpace try here.

This book will increase the fun of your Topsail vacation by 50%

Where is the Best Place to Take a Beach Vacation on the East Coast? Yahoo Voters Pick Topsail Island!

Yahoo Answers is a forum where people post questions and then other people - regular people - respond. People can either give an answer or vote on the best answer already given. Well when somebody posted a question about where the best beach vacation was on the East Coast, somebody answered Topsail Island and enough other people voted for that answer, that it won.

Here is the exchange (which can be found here.)

Resolved Question

What East coast beach would you recommend for a family vacation? Any suggestions on where to stay?

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

We are on the way to TOPSAIL ISLAND in North Carolina next week. It is a family beach WITHOUT a carnival atmosphere and theme park attractions. There are many good and inexpensive seafood restaurants, small shops for souvenirs and two large grocery stores. If you put TOPSAIL ISLAND on Google, you will find more information than you want to know. If you are looking for a "beach" experience with miles of sand and a gentle surf, this is the place to look.

Of the Top 20 Golf Courses Rated by Metro Magazine, 4 Are Within a 45 Minute Drive of Topsail

If you like playing golf, 4 of the best 20 ranked courses from the Raleigh Durham Triangle to the Coast are located in or near Wilmington, which is a short drive (28 miles) from Topsail Island.

Here is the listing from Metro Magazine:

The Top 20 Courses: From the Triangle to the Coast

If you’re a golfer in the Metro readership region from the Triangle to the Coast, consider yourself blessed. There are so many great clubs and outstanding courses that compiling a definitive Top 20 list leaves too much for argument.

The selections are in alphabetical order, but three courses stand indisputably at the top nationally — Donald Ross’ masterpiece, Pinehurst No. 2 and Tom Fazio’s Eagle Point near Wilmington and Forest Creek in Pinehurst.

1. Bald Head Island – Southport; George Cobb, 1974.

2. Cape Fear Country Club – Wilmington; Donald Ross, 1924 & 1947.

3. Country Club of North Carolina – (Dogwood) – Pinehurst; Ellis Maples, 1973.

4. Croasdaile – Durham; George Cobb, 1961.

5. Currituck Club – Corolla; Rees Jones, 1996.

6. Eagle Point – near Wilmington; Tom Fazio, 2000.

7. Forest Creek – Southern Pines; Tom Fazio, 1996.

8. Governors Club – Chapel Hill; Jack Nicklaus, 1990.

9. Hasentree – Raleigh; Tom Fazio, 2007.

10. Hope Valley Country Club – Durham; Donald Ross, 1926.

11. Landfall Dye Course – Wilmington; Pete Dye, 1988.

12. North River – Beaufort; Bob Moore, 2007.

13. Old Chatham – Chapel Hill; Rees Jones, 2001.

14. Pinehurst Resort & Country Club – Pinehurst No. 2 (Donald Ross, 1907); No. 4 & No. 8 (Tom Fazio, 2000 & 1996); No. 7 (Rees Jones, 1986).

15. Pine Needles – Southern Pines; Donald Ross, 1927.

16. Prestonwood – Cary; Tom Jackson, 1988.

17. Raleigh Country Club – Raleigh; Donald Ross, 1948.

18. Tobacco Road – Sanford; Mike Strantz, 1998.

19. TPC at Wakefield Plantation – Raleigh; Hale Irwin, 1996.

20. Treyburn Country Club – Durham; Tom Fazio, 1988.

Did Anyone Say Golf? How About the Highest Rated Course on the Coast!

Did someone secretly say that they wanted to go golfing while their wife was sunning on the beach or shopping at the beach stores? Well how about 18 ...or 36...holes at the highest rated course on the coast!

There are a number of golf courses in the area. One of the best is North Shore Country Club located in Sneads Ferry just after you cross back to the mainland over the "high bridge" on the north side of the island (not the swing bridge in Surf City).

Golf Digest has rated this course a 4-star course. Visitors are welcome.

101 N Shore Dr
Sneads Ferry, NC 28460
(910) 327-2410

Surf City - as Presented by NC Coast

NCCoast.com has written this little ditty about Surf City.

Incorporated in 1949, Surf City was the first official municipality on Topsail Island and remains its commercial center. This relaxed beach town is Topsail Island’s hub of shopping and entertainment variety.

Driving down NC Hwy. 210 from North Topsail, you parallel beautiful beaches as you pass oceanside vacation cottages and soundside marinas. Entering town via NC Hwy. 50, you cross the Intracoastal Waterway over one of the last swing bridges in North Carolina, sort of a working antique.

What Surf City lacks in sheer volume, it makes up in quality. The friendly, independent gift and art shops offer many locally crafted or inspired items with very competitive prices and the opportunity to find something out of the ordinary. Dining out is a pleasure here. Fine restaurants offer diners a wide array of fare from superb local seafood to pizza, Italian, gourmet, home-cooking, subs and burgers.

Surf City also has convenient supermarkets, nightclubs that bring live music to island evenings, and many choices of family entertainment. The kids love the miniature golf course, the public playground, and the island’s only water slide, all in Surf City. Everything for surf sports can be bought or rented here from boogie boards to surf boards and wind surfers. And the fishing can’t be beat, in the surf or at area piers. You may find Surf City vacation rentals that feature homes on the beach and within walking distance of the beach. Bring the family and expect the best vacation yet in Surf City, the heart of the Treasure Coast.

7 Great Benefits to a Vacation

Here is a great blog on the benefits of taking a vacation and how to take it. You should read the entire blog because it is great but here is the start:

Summer’s almost over. Have you taken a vacation yet? If you haven’t, will you?

Acccording to a 2006 survey by Harris Interaction and Expedia, 36 percent of workers don’t plan to use all their paid vacation days, and 37 percent never take more than a week off at a time.
So to convince you to take a much-needed break, here’s my list of how vacations can benefit your health and mind. While relaxation and exposure to culture are obvious benefits, there’s a wealth of other rewards too:

1. Live longer

A State University of New York survey found that men who took annual vacations reduced their risk of death by 20 percent. Men who didn’t take any vacations in five years had the highest death rate and incidence of heart disease than any other men surveyed.
Improve your mental health

A study by Wisconsin Medical Journal found that women who took frequent vacations were less likely to become depressed, tense, or tired. Women who rarely took vacations were likelier to have stress at home and sleep less.

2. Revamp your relationships

I don’t have any fancy studies to back this one up, it’s just common sense. A real vacation is the ideal time to reconnect and revitalize relationships that have taken a toll from an on-call, always-on, and work-obsessed culture. My 9-hour work days and blogging duties have caused my relationships to suffer more than I’d like to admit. Yes, I too need a vacation.

3. Recapture your childhood

When was the last time you went out and play? I mean really play. Without worry of someone calling or interrupting you. Real vacations let you recapture that feeling of childlike exploratory freedom. You can wake up when you want, go to sleep when you want, and eat what you want. Most importantly, you can have fun without worrying about the consequences on work back home.

4. Gain self confidence

“Don’t put yourself on sale.” This is my favorite mantra from financial guru Suze Orman. While Suze’s target audience is directed to women, the advice applies to everyone. When you skip vacations, you put yourself on sale. If you have 2-weeks of paid vacation and don’t use them, you’re essentially working for free. By committing to a vacation, you declare to yourself (and to others) that you are important and deserve dedicated time for yourself.

Read the rest here.

A Great Place to Look for a Topsail Beach Vacation Rental

If your thinking about a beach vacation, you might want to check out Vacation Rentals By Owner, or VRBO. This is the site where owners rent their own beach homes. You can pick North Carolina, then coastal, then Surf City and then view the homes. Here is one VRBO home for rent.

Rent Jet Skis for Your Island Vacation

When you come to Topsail Island for your beach vacation, think about jet skiing. There is a great sound betwen the island and the mainland. The water is usually warmer than the ocean and there are little sand islands in the sound that you cn stop and visit.

MaknWaves rents jet skis for your enjoyment. I have never used them but I have jet skied in the sound and it is fun. The water is warmer than the ocean and generally smooth as glass. Their rates are $85/hour.

Call them at 910-340-5151 or check their web site at www.maknwaves.com