Day 7

The boys were playing on top of a pile of sand this morning and asked me to join in (Hurray! Acceptance by the majority!)...so of course I did. We were having fun jumping, 'skiing', and yelling that we were kings of the castle. Until Mr. Grouch came by and told us to get down or else it was a $500 fine because the dunes were restricted from walking/playing on. I said thanks, and he continued to tell me that we were not allowed one the dune. I said ok, thanks, and spoke loudly enough (for Mr. Grouch's benefit) to the boys that we had to get down. As we were heading back to our umbrella, he kept talking! "So, it's a big fine...you shouldn't climb on the dunes!" Ok! Thanks for the heads-up! Honestly, if I took a picture of this dune and posted it, you'd see that it doesn't look like a dune at all; it's a bleeping pile of sand...a man-made pile of sand. You know what? I'm gonna post one. It's cloudy outside, but I'm going to head out, take a picture and post it. Be right back....

You should be able to see it at the top of this post. As a side-note, I'm all for protected areas, and sanctuaries, and obey all the rules, but the area behind this pile was a dune, not the thing we were jumping on. Moving on...

We'd been searching for shark teeth for the past few days. I was looking for giant white things (even though Ryan said it was black teeth I should be looking for)...but no luck. Mr. Grouch came out again, walking toward us, but said nothing. Since we're planning to come back here, and the fact that we still have a few days left, I played my 'friendly, dumb tourist' card. I asked him if he'd had any luck finding shark teeth because we'd been having a hard time finding any.

Mr. Grouch: Yep...I found upwards of 75 yesterday and 50 the day before.

Me: Really? Wow! You're good! I guess I just don't know what to look for. I'm looking for giant white things, like they have in the stores.

Mr. Grouch: Well, that's the problem. You need to look for tiny black things. Best time to look is in about 30 minutes during low-tide. (Looking at Angus)...Hey Boy! You know there aren't any train tracks out in the ocean right? (Angus had a big black engine in his hands)

Angus: Yes. Then runs away from us and sits obediently on beach blanket.

Me: (I laugh uncomfortably. The kind that could be perceived as a series of coughs, or a weak laugh. Was it a joke, or was he admonishing my son for having an imagination?) Ok...well, thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to look for black teeth in half an hour!

Mr. Grouch: Didn't say anything, was already walking away while I was in mid-sentence.

Angus then rejoined me, and we kept playing around. About 20 minutes later, Mr. Grouch came back to us, held out his hand and showed us three sharks teeth that he had just found. We admired them, but I was careful not to touch them. I didn't want to piss this guy off further, he seemed like the type who could get us thrown out of town. I thanked him for showing them to us, and he pushed his hand forward and said the were for us.

Mr. Grouch: I found them for you folks. See here? They're fossilized, which means they're thousands of years old. If you search around the gravely parts, you'll have better luck.

I thought that was the sweetest gesture ever! I know his type...all bark, no bite. A big softie inside. This is a specialty of the men on the Rose side of my family, whom I all adore greatly! Mr. Grouch then asked where we were from, what drew us to this area, and told me about a Marine who surfed from right in front of our house to Surf City and back. He also told me about his grandkids, turtle mating season in the area, and how the arrival of jelly fish ('not the kind that hurt you') marks the beginning of turtle season. By chance, I've run into Mr. Grouch 3 times in the past 24 hours, and had a pleasant convo each time. We may even say goodbye to the old coot when we leave on Saturday. I guess the saying really is true, "Good neighbours make good fences..." Or was it, "Don't throw stones at the gift horse's silver lining"? In any case, I don't plan on making any more enemies here at North Topsail Beach...been there, dune that. [Oh, come on...that was comic gold, and you know it.]

Todays Scores:

Angus: 3 time outs, 3 tantrums, 5 cuddles, 2 showers, 4 asthma puffer pumps

Henry: 1 kick, 3 pushes to the head, 5 cuddles 1 pin to the wall with head butt, 1 steamroller, 2 falls off the bed, 4 tantrums and timeouts , 1 shower

Oliver: 25 pokes in the head (eyes, ears, nose), 5 soother steals, 10 saliva/snot drenched kisses to the head

TODAY'S GRADE: A