The Crystal Coast of North Carolina is a popular summer destination. The clean beaches, small town atmosphere, clean waters, and warm breezes bring people back year after year.
There is a time when the beach goers are gone, the empty nest visitors have fled, and only the hardiest of fishermen are still fishing. That time happens each year sometime between late November and mid-December.
We become a much smaller community. Seeing out of town visitors is a little more uncommon. The waitresses are less hurried, and the grocery stores are quiet even on the weekends.
The Crystal Coast is blessed with sunny weather compared to many areas. Even here in our Coastal Paradise cooler temperatures make us yearn for summer almost like northerners.
One difference is that we usually escape the snows and really cold weather. Another is that we still have the beach and most of the time we can find time for a walk on it even in winter.
My short December beach walking YouTube video is not unusual in showing activity on the beach in December. When the sun is out here as it often is, and the wind is not blowing, the beach will attract locals.
Last year we had surfers out in late fall when we got a spell of really nice weather.
Yesterday we had some rainy weather, but it was not the cold rain that often plagues most of the east coast cities. With temperatures in the mid sixties last even it was easy to endure the rain. We managed to find some comfort food last night on Emerald Isle.
We had the restaurant to ourselves, and then spent a nice evening at home listening to the rain on the windows.
Today is cooler and windy, but we woke up to early morning blue skies. Tomorrow afternoon is the Emerald Isle Christmas Parade. I think it will be just cool enough for it to feel like the holidays.
After the Parade we will be looking forward to four or five days next week when the temperatures are back in the mid-sixties and the sun is shinning.
The Crystal Coast is not too hard to take in the winder time.
