North Carolina 2015: A day in Beaufort

On Friday July 3rd everyone loaded up on the "Motley Crew" and "Emma C" and headed for Beaufort.  It was about a 75 minute boat ride across the Nuese River and down the Intercoastal Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean.  It the perfect day for a boat ride....some clouds, lots of sun....and the perfect way to start our July 4th weekend!

Beaufort is a quaint little town right on the water.  We docked and walked along the waterfront before eating lunch.  If there weren't eight kids with us it would have been fun to explore some, but that will have to wait for another visit. 

Then it was off to the beach.  We anchored just off the beach and everyone swam to the beach.  The kids played on the beach and swam.  Because it was July 3rd the harbor and beach were packed, but still such fun.

Chasing the hermit crabs

There were tons and tons and tons of hermit crabs on the beach.  They are hilarious to watch and Samuel was enjoying that as we walked down the beach.  Samuel, Drew, and I were eventually joined by everyone else on our little walk.  Because of shells the kids were all wearing shoes.  Unfortunately for Samuel his shoe got stuck in some yucky muck and came off.  As he stepped to regain his balance and get his shoe, he cut his foot between two toes.  When I say he cut his foot, I am not exaggerating.  It was nasty, deep, and bleeding like madness.  I had to channel my inner Bo Derek as I ran back down the beach so I could swim out to the boat for first aid stuff and a diaper.  Drew carried Samuel back down the beach and then first aid occurred.  His foot bled so much that wrapping it in a diaper was our best solution (handy having a 9 month old nephew...thanks Jack!).  Some very nice beach goers helped as well.  Samuel was quite sad, but he was a total trooper!

Our day ended a little early as everyone decided Samuel needed to get home.  A more thorough assessment of the injury was definitely needed.

Back to smiling!

We had a great ride back until we were about 20 minutes from home.  At that point it was a race against the clouds and the clouds won!  It started pouring as we entered Dawson Creek and we were all pelted by the rain and just soaked...craziness!

After looking more closely at Samuel's foot and attempting to clean it ourselves, it was decided that he needed to go to the ER.  The cut was overly gross and filled with so much dirt I can't even communicate it well.  I can say that a turning point for me was watching Samuel pull some seaweed out of the cut...ugh!  So, Drew and I spent the evening at the New Bern Urgent Care Center.  I am so thankful we made the decision to go because it took the nurse several attempts using a variety of methods to get his foot clean.  Then we learned he would need antibiotics because of a bacteria found on shells.  After having his foot cleaned and glued shut, Samuel was much happier!

It was a huge bummer to end our really fun day in the ER, but to see Samuel smile again made it worth the trip.  Next time we go to Beaufort I don't think we will chase the hermit crabs!