Cape Lookout

On Saturday, I experienced two "firsts"...I saw Cape Lookout Lighthouse for the first time and went searching for sand dollars for the first time.

Yesterday at the Fort Macon Marina, Tal, Savannah, and I jumped into Uncle Benny's boat with Aunt EJ and Grandma Barbara.

We took a 1-hour boat ride through the Sound to Cape Lookout, a secluded seashore that is only accessible by boat:

Cape Lookout Lighthouse

At Cape Lookout, Benny dropped the anchor in shallow water, and the 6 of us spent a couple hours swimming and shelling.

Everyone helped me search for sand dollars and Scotch bonnets (the state shell of NC) for a beachy bridal shower that I'm hosting next weekend.  

Much to my delight, we found 40 sand dollars and 12 Scotch bonnets hiding underwater in a couple of inches of sand.

When we got home, we put the sand dollars in a bucket of bleach water to lighten them overnight.

Then, this afternoon, we put the sand dollars in the sun to continue the whitening process (as shown below). What a fun day!