causeways

Papa’s World – A look at our life memories!

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OCEAN ISLE BEACH CAUSEWAY!

This is the “WHY” we choose to live near here!

It has everything we ever wanted.

If you look toward the upper middle left-

There is a large community there.

Then straight back through the woods –

Toward the left –

It is an area of cut wood.

That is almost where our home is!

It takes us a little over ten minutes to get to the Causeway Bridge!

Across from the miniature golf in the lower right picture-

Is the park – splash pad and open-air concert area!

To the right of the miniature golf course is Pelican Perch –

One of our favorite local bars and restaurants!

The parking lot at the bottom –

This is where we have a season pass to park, and this is the OIB Pier!

On the left middle is the blue roof of the church, and where in the back by the marsh-

I have taken many pictures of family and friends at the sunsets!

Jinks Creek is just to the right of that, and fine dining with sunsets!

The cluster of buildings just across the street to the left of the park-

Offering bars and restaurants- ice cream, slushes, and commercial sales.

There are now two other places to grab doughnuts and Accia bowls.

In the upper middle, a boat marina,

And a gas station,

And three restaurants that are local favorites.

Also, toward the right is the start of “CANAL SIDE HOMES”!

And this is just the commercial part of OIB!

On the mainland side are more stores and places to eat – plus a small airport.

We chose this barrier island for its beauty-

Closeness and easy access for us.

A LOOK AT WHAT IS NOW BECOMING OUR LIFE MEMORIES!

We volunteer our time and effort to many things that are important to us!

Living life to the plus – one day at a time.

What we love to do and have the ability to do every day-

Walk the surf on the sandy beach of OIB!

ANOTHER LIFETIME MEMORY!

I am happy we lived through this age of peace and happiness!

AND WE CONTINUE TO BELIEVE IN-

PEACE-LOVE and MUSIC!

A LOT OF LIFETIME MEMORIES!

ANOTHER LIFETIME MEMORY FROM 2024 –

OUR 75th. BIRTHDAY WITH FAMILY ON THE BEACH!

Thanks for reading-

PAPA’S WORLD –

My site: livinglifedoingitmyawya.blog

SUBSCRIBE – IT IS FREE!

TWENTY PLUS YEARS AGO –

WE READ THE PUBLISHED RESEARCH AND DECIDED THIS SUPPLEMENT WOULD BENEFIT US –

TO AGE AS HEALTHY INTO OUR SENIOR YEARS!

WE HAVE NOT MISSED A DAY IN ALL THAT TIME!

HERE IS THE WEBSITE IF YOU WISH TO SEE AND READ WHAT IS PROVEN TO DO!

http://www.sfitzsimmons.juiceplus.com

SHERRY CAN HELP IF NEEDED!

HER EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBER ARE PROVIDED!

Aging as healthily as she can into her senior years!

http://www.sfitzsimmons.juiceplus.com

Papa’s World – Memorable times – PICTURES!

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Start your day –

My blog is a journal of times – pictures of family – friends.

Memories captured for the next generations.

Have a brew – and enjoy!

This picture is the EAST END of OCEAN ISLE BEACH!

While beautiful –

I look at it and think about how vulnerable it is to storms and hurricanes.

This huge rock wall was put in a few years ago to stop the erosion of the beach.

It is referred to as
“THE GROIN”!

Looking at the picture, to the left on the beach –

Following the line of houses –

You can tell that FIRST and SECOND streets have already been washed away in previous years.

The street to the right is Third Street.

That whole expanse of beach was dredged up from the channel and blown in to make the beach!

The water was high tide up and under those houses.

Huge sand-filled bags lined the edges of the houses to protect them.

Since this was done –

The erosion now is on the East side of the rocks.

We have walked the East end, and the eroded banks are higher than my head.

Dead trees now lie in the surf.

The entire area has changed for the worse.

I fear a major storm will wipe it out and allow the surf to roll across to the ICW!

The main bridge over the ICW is called the causeway bridge by the locals.

This is the center of the town and the island.

Here are the shops, the park, and the pier.

Restaurants and bars.

It is a beautiful place by the ocean –

And about a ten-minute drive without traffic for us.

We are on the mainland side –

The ICW is between us and the island.

About two miles of mainland separates us from the ICW!

Our street looks WEST in the first picture and EAST in the second picture.

Because of the curvature of the coastline –

From Charleston to Wilmington –

Our back of the house faces South, and the front faces North.

We are also close to two other beaches – Holden Beach to the EAST and Sunset Beach to the West.

Oak Island is about 30 miles away.

We are close to North Myrtle Beach – 16 miles- Myrtle Beach – about 30 miles.

And Southport, Shallotte, and Wilmington to the North.

Calabash and Little River are about six to eight miles away.

We have four grocery stores close by –

Two Food Lions, a Publix, and a Lowe’s.

Big BOX STORES are within 15 to 30 minutes, and Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Our church, Saint Luke’s Lutheran, is about ten minutes away.

We selected this area because of the golf, beaches, shopping, entertainment, and gas stations.

Our community is not as clear-cut as others around us.

We have protected areas.

If you look at the previous pictures of EAST and WEST on our street –

You can see the trees!

We have very tall pine trees and live oaks all around us.

It is a quiet community –

Neighbors are out and about walking by the front porch.

We know way more people here than where we moved from-

Which we called a GARAGE DOOR COMMUNITY!

The door goes up – people leave – it goes down.

And the opposite, when they return, and you seldom see them.

Thank you for reading –

Relaxing on OIB!

AGING TOWARD THE UPPER 70s!

PAPA’S WORLD-

My site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

AGING INTO AND LIVING OUR SENIOR YEARS AS HEALTHY AS WE CAN.

http://www.sfitzsimmons.juiceplus.com

Papa’s World – Great times in pictures!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Sherry, Maddy, and Papa.

Here we celebrate Maddy signing a letter of intent-

To play soccer at the University of Lynchburg.

She would go on to play as a Freshman –

Third team all-conference as a Sophomore,

Second team all-conference as a Junior,

And team captain as a senior, winning the conference championship.

In two of the four years, the team made the NCAA playoffs!

From the smallest one on the co-ed soccer team –

To a successful college career-

Today, she is an Environmental Scientist working for one of the largest firms in the country.

Creating for this blog –

GREAT TIMES IN PICTURES!

Nearby, where we call home-

Cameron Woods Community –

Ocean Isle Beach.

Here you see the sunset over the marsh next to the causeway bridge.

This is behind the non-domination church.

We often take the family here to view the sunset and take pictures.

GIVING GREAT TIMES IN PICTURES!

Marcus and Bode-

The little guy is playing golf now –

And they are going to get him lessons.

Today, he drove the ball really well.

He loves flag football and plays soccer.

He is a natural, and someday I hope to see him compete!

ANOTHER GREAT TIME IN PICTURES!

On Sherry’s bucket list –

It was going to EPCOT to see the FLOWERS SHOW!

Here we traveled to Florida and joined up with Cindy and Buck.

Her dream came true as we spent the day wandering among all the displays of brilliant flowers!

We have traveled the world with them and added this to our adventures.

ANOTHER GREAT TIME IN PICTURES!

To play golf, I have to have humor! LOL!

In Cameron Woods Community –

We have a beautiful community center –

And a pool behind it.

Here, Taylor and Bode enjoyed the almost empty pool.

This was mid-April, and the water temperature was still only 68 degrees!

But they didn’t care!

ANOTHER GREAT TIME IN PICTURES!

CAMERON WOODS COMMUNITY CENTER!

Thanks for reading –

PAPA’S WORLD –

My site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

http://www.sfitzsimmons.juiceplus.com

Papa’s World – Visiting OIB in the Spring!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Sherry and I often drive over the causeway bridge –

To the island of OCEAN ISLE BEACH.

For us,

this is a ten-minute drive at the most!

We pick and choose where to park –

But this year,

paid parking-

goes into effect.

We bought a season parking pass at the pier.

That will limit in season –

where we park and walk on the beach.

In the off-season –

NO PROBLEM!

In this picture –

We choose to walk on the SW end of the beach-

The pier is NE of where we went on the beach.

It was a warm day in mid-March-

close to 70 plus degrees.

And in the sun with no wind –

Quite comfortable.

Even saw people in bathing suits lying in the sun!

The surf on the beach when the family was here!

Here we walk the beach at Sunset Beach – Bird Island in March.

We are so close to both beaches that we have a choice.

All part of why we moved to this area on the borders of N.C. and S.C.

Sherry is coming back up the walkway from the beach.

Thanks for reading –

PAPA’S WORLD-

My site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – OIB – N.C.

Papa’s World – Cameron Woods Community!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

We chose this Community after –

we had gone house hunting with a realtor –

We had viewed several houses – condos in the OIB area –

and had not found anything that didn’t require changes inside the homes!

We had instructed her to start looking toward the Leland area –

and then after she left –

I said to Sherry that I had seen a big sign promoting –

CAMERON WOODS COMMUNITY =

and it was close by!

So – we drove a couple miles –

and turned into this sign you see above –

And the model was right there.

We went inside-

and introduced ourselves to the agent on duty.

We started looking –

and Sherry whispered to me “I LOVE THIS”!

And we asked what was available-

and she told us a woman had come in that morning –

and had withdrawn her down payment –

and a lot had just become available to be built on!

Today – this is the view from our driveway looking NE –

none of these houses were here.

That day we went and walked the lot –

She wanted an office-

and I wanted a front porch to sit on –

The office had to have doors and walls-

the front porch needed to be shaded-

and protected from rain.

This lot provided what we needed –

We had found what we wanted –

to put the deposit down –

and make selections!

The start of a nine-month journey.

A view to the NW from our driveway –

the first house to the right-

and straight across from it –

and the street continuing up –

were there – most not occupied.

They were in the final stages of being built.

The entire build was less than half built out –

it would take three years to build –

the last section near the front-

is just being readied as I write this.

Wildlife is abundant here –

Turkey – Deer – Aligators – Snakes – Bear – Squirrels – Rabbits –

Birds of all types –

and Coyote’s!

A Coyote was captured early in the morning walking the road.

We are watchful –

and learning to live with the wildlife.

We also have several groups of neighbors –

that form different engagement groups!

Groups getting together to socialize –

Group walking on the beach during wintertime!

Gatherings outside at local restaurants.

There also are many other groups for exercise –

playing board games or dice -dominos!

Neighborhood driveway get-together –

Parties and fire pits!

We are about a ten-minute drive to Ocean Isle Beach –

and fifteen minutes to Sunset Beach-

Here is a view of OIB from the Causeway Bridge-

going across to the island.

The beach entrance- bridge-

and the pier at Sunset Beach.

We choose wisely I think –

And now resales are beginning –

Most are for over $100,000 PLUS more-

then they paid just a couple years ago.

A wise investment –

But our future is here-

in our Golden Senior Years!

We are happy with our choice –

just three years ago,

PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – CAMERON WOODS COMMUNITY – OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C.

Papa’s World – Fun – Sun – Surf – OCEAN ISLE BEACH!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Welcome to our little piece of paradise – ten minutes away – OIB, N.C. The pier and beach access.

We live on the mainland side with the ICW between us and the beach – between four and five miles away.

We selected the Cameron Woods Community because it gave us access to the beach but in a – NO flood zone.

The causeway bridge over the ICW – we have boated down underneath this bridge and on the mainland, side is where we have two

grocery stores – and additional shopping, and a small airport.

Starting in May and ending in September – we have outdoor free concerts in the park on OIB right across from Pelican Perch bar and grill and miniature golf and the Aquarium.

You can take in drinks but they have to be in plastic cups!

The bands are top rate and usually, 3 to 4 hundred people show up – many are locals and the rest are renters of the vacation homes.

Sunsets and sunrises can be seen from the beach and shoreline.

Sipping a cocktail on the beach – sun – surf – and sand – warm waters and lots of things to do.

The East end of the island with the new Terminal Groin – placed here to stop erosion – in the upper right corner – since this was constructed – a lagoon – tidal pool forms at low tide and is a great place for families with kids as it is only one to two feet deep and is huge.

You can take rafts and float around in there and the water in summer is warm

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – livinglifedoingitmyway.blog FUN – SUN – SURF – OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C.

PAPA’S WORLD – living our dream – OIB, N.C.

Papa’s World – Fish Market bar & grill – Ocean Isle Beach and the ICW!

/ Tom / Leave a comment
The view from the top deck of the Fish Market bar & grill on the ICW & OBI harbor!

We had passed this from the causeway bridge every time we have come over to visit the beach.

And in reading up on it – found that it is the sister bar & grill to the one in downtown Shallotte N.C.

Which we were at one night after playing golf with the McBride’s and loved it!

Here – we decided just to have drinks and split shrimp wrapped in bacon!

I do not do this often so it was a treat for me!

AND IT WAS GOOD and fast service on that top deck.

You go to the bar – get your drinks – place your order – pay for it –

and it seemed like a few minutes a waiter comes up the steps and yells out your name with what you ordered!

The causeway bridge coming over the ICW from the mainland – we are four miles from here in our new house build
The ICW and beyond that the main land – this waterway comes into OIB where the bars are and gas pumps.

There is another bar and grill here called SHARKEY’S and next time we will check that out!

There are also boat rentals here – gift shop and fishing departures.

It is nice to know that we can be here in ten minutes from the new house.

I DID and LOVED THEM!

Thank you for reading Papa’s World

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY

FAMILY MEETS FRIENDS!

MY SITE: PAPA’S WORLD

MY BLOG: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

A view of the boat dock and the area below where we sat!
SHERRY CERTIFIED HEALTH COACH DR. WILLIAM SEARS

SHERRY’S SITE FOR HEALTH & NUTRITION: http://www.sf.juiceplus.com

BUSINESS CONTACT EMAIL: ssherrylynn49@aol.com

Papa’s World – Sunset Beach – Ocean Isles Beach – morning walk!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Good day – our mornings start off like this!

It has only rained one time in the 25 days

we have been here!

We DO NOT watch the NEWS!

But I do get on the scale every day!

We decided to take a little trip

as two beaches were not that far away!

The first was SUNSET BEACH – NC.

And here we are driving over the causeway!

Looking North on Sunset Beach
Looking South on Sunset Beach

This beach a few years ago –

was voted one of the top beaches in the country.

And – judging by the number of people here

in the off season – I can see why.

This entrance had bathrooms – water to wash off

and looked really inviting.

Selfie at SUNSET BEACH!

But since this was a day trip

we only stopped to check it out

parking in the Summer might be a problem as well as traffic!

Time to reflect – time to look around – our dream is real!

On to our next beach destination

OCEAN ISLES BEACH N.C.

This area is a target of where we might end up!

It is only 40 minutes to our friends house in Magnolia Greens

and right in the heart of so many fine golf courses!

Plus in 30 minutes or less

we are right back in North Myrtle Beach!

Over the causeway to Ocean Isles Beach

largely a residential beach

buy what you want BEFORE you cross the causeway!

But – I like this area better than Sunset Beach!

Looking North along the beach

no where as crowded in the off season as Sunset Beach!

Looking South along the beach

and the sand is not hot on your feet!

There might also be a problem in parking as I noticed few lots

but parking was encouraged to park off the road

but alongside of the road.

Public access was plentiful but not as nice as

Sunset beach – just paths between houses.

A cup of coffee – sitting on the beach

we will return here as it is peaceful

no high buildings

Bathrooms might be a problem!

Our early morning walk on North Myrtle Beach!

If we could find a place here – we would.

It is that nice.

We continue to look –

Rising early to see the sun

And then the beginning of our three mile walk on the beach

Thank you for reading Papa’s World

Someday soon we will make a moonlit visit to the beach!

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY!

AND FAMILY MEET THE FRIENDS!

Sherry – about to begin her walk – with her phone behind her back – doing her Network Marketing business as she walks – living the dream because of what she does!

MY SITE: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

HER SITE: http://www.jp,juiceplus.com