The mermaid moment ....

Another confession...I love the water (ocean, river, lake, whatever) and I should have been born a mermaid.  Nothing calls to my heart like being near the water.  And I think we found a truly beautiful place for a quiet picnic and a very breathtaking and relaxing walk.  We visited one of the most interesting attractions when we were in Washington, NC .... this quaint little town is home to the North Carolina Estuarium ( http://www.partnershipforthesounds.org/NorthCarolinaEstuarium.aspx ) .  What is an estuarium you ask?  Well an estuary is formed where fresh water and salt water mix together and this creates an interesting and vital ecosystem. The Albemarle-Pamlico estuary is literally the second largest estuarine system in the United States.  Amazing ... and its right here in a beautiful little town in Eastern North Carolina... go figure!



The facility is quite interesting and beautiful both inside and out.  With very informative and quite artistic displays inside the center and some absolutely breathtaking views as you walk along the very well crafted and quite extensive boardwalk system. 



Photography by Chris Harper ... love of my life



There are some lovely grassy spots near the center and some further up along the boardwalk that would make the perfect picnic spots.  And the beautiful part is after you've eaten that tasty meal, you have that extensive boardwalk to explore ... which we did!  Amazing .... and when we came to the vast expanse of water lilies in bloom and all those beautiful lily pads ... gigantic actually ... floating around ... my mermaid moment struck.  I was in love.... smitten!  It was one of those rare moments that something touches your heartstrings and you smile from ear to ear.  I gazed out over those lily pads ... some that I could literally wrap my arms around they were so big and some filled with glistening puddles of water.... and I could just imagine every sea creature being drawn here .... swimming and playing in this magical spot.  And then there were the turtles.... all, oh I don't know, well over 50 that we counted that followed us along the boardwalk.... swimming along just hoping that we would drop them some little morsel to eat.  Andrew was amazed!

We actually lost track of time just walking and stopping to take photos and mostly just gazing out over this amazing natural beauty.  And I, of course, daydreamed of lounging among those gigantic lily pads ... my inner mermaid ... basking in the sun and playing with the puddles of water that glistened in those lily pads.  It was absolutely magical and a true testiment that its the small things in life that bring us the most joy and that we shouldn't sweat the small stuff .... but rather just enjoy the moment ... especially when that moment is so perfect....