Humpback Whale spotted off CB coast!

It is not uncommon to see dolphins swimming just off the shore at Carolina Beach. We have seen our fair share of those things while spending time at Our Beach Place. However, of the hundreds (thousands?) of days I've spent on a North Carolina beach, I've NEVER seen a whale, let alone a Humpback.

Gregasaurus80 posted this video to YouTube. It's kinda shaky and grainy -- but, hey, I'd be excited if I saw a whale this close to the shore.

Enjoy!

CB videos on the old* YouTube

*And isn't YouTube now considered a mainstay enough to describe it as "the old?" I think so.

Thanks to the beauty of the old Google Alerts (see what I did there?), you never know what sort of Carolina Beach-themed items will wind up in the (very) old inbox. A couple the past couple of days have been to CB-related YouTube videos.

The first one comes to us from siradamcotton. It's just :30 in length; I'm not sure at what point of the island it was filmed; but it very much reminds me of the view from Our Beach Place.




The second one is from nightsweeper08. I gotta tell ya: I'm not exactly sure what this just-over-a-minute video is all about, but I like it. I think it's promoting The Lazy Pirate. There's even a theme song!



Enjoy them, kids.

Wrightsville bans the cancer sticks

Election Nights are always full of ups and downs. Without getting TOO political, this year's EN was a little more down than up for yours truly. But  I am encouraged by what happened in Wrightsville Beach. Hooray, local politics!

Let's let WBTV tell the story:

 The two-year battle has finally come to an end with Wrightsville Beach residents voting to ban smoking on the beach. 

Of 1,675 residents, 966 voted in favor of the smoking ban at Wrightsville Beach.
Town officials will now have to prepare the beach as a non-smoking zone, putting up signs and violation fines.

Law enforcement will also have to train officers and lifeguards on being vigilant and when to start handing out citations.

...

Wrightsville Beach is the first beach in North Carolina to ban smoking on its shores. The town was able to put this issue on this year's ballot because the beach is town owned.

Other North Carolina beaches have tried to ban smoking but were unsuccessful because of ownership rights. The Town Council of Carolina Beach passed a smoking ban but in order for it to take effect, the state would have to make it a law.

Freeman Park pass costs going up

We don't drive out onto Freeman Park much. (Well, ever.) But for those of you that like to purchase a yearly pass, be ready to pay more beginning December 1 to be able to access that nice area of wide-open beach via vehicle.

"The town is increasing the price of the yearly pass to Freeman Park from $60 to $100 starting December 1. The town will use the extra $40 to set aside for future water resource projects," according to WWAY.

CB changes roads for repairs; CB to sell pier properties

Once again, Carolina Beach is changing up its road business. Snow's Cut Bridge on Carolina Beach Road was recently reduced from four to two lanes beginning this past week, according to WWAY.

"Crews will do extensive repair work. The project is expected to last approximately four months. The lane closures will remain in place during the entire construction period."

 And in other news, CB is going to see how much it can get for its pier property, according to WECT.

It doesn't mean the pier project is dead because the town can still take the properties off the market. "If we get a good offer the council will have to consider that," said Tim Owens, town manager. "The other alternative would be to move forward on the park as we decided to do. It's really about whether we get a good price or not."
They're hoping a strong bid will help them with their debt.
The town is in the initial stages of listing the properties.

Mountains to Coast bike tour ends in CB

About 1,000 amateur cyclists from more than 35 states and four countries finished up the 14th annual Mountains to the Coast Bike Tour on Saturday. They crossed the finish line in Carolina Beach.

From WECT:

The riders started their week-long trek across the state in the mountains of Brevard to the coast of North Carolina. The event is designed to promote physical fitness and health, economic impact and publicity to communities across the state, as well as showcasing the state's scenic attributes.This year's participants range in age from 5 years old to 84 years, with an average age of 56 years. According to the North Carolina Amateur Sports, Cycle North Carolina risers are environmentally conscious.

Happy Island Day!

OK, so it was yesterday. My bad.

From WECT:

Despite possible rain in the forecast, Carolina Beach hosted its third annual "Island Day" at the Carolina Beach Lake Park without a hitch on Sunday.
Locals enjoyed free food and drinks provided by local establishments, as well as the Carolina Beach fire and police departments. Those in attendance enjoyed live music and fun activities around the park.
The event's goal is to bring the community together for a fun day and raise awareness of the efforts of the city's fire and police departments.