Holden Beach is a coastal barrier island, about midway between Myrtle Beach SC and Wilmington NC. The island faces south, has over 8 miles of sandy beaches, very few commercial establishments. It’s a great place for relaxing – eating seafood, watching birds (and people), checking out the shrimp boats, and long walks on the beach. Here are some pictures from our week at Holden .........










Our home for the week: 101 Ocean Boulevard - front and back views of the house and rocking chairs on the front porch.












Eating out - at Ella's in Calabash NC and at the Provision Company, across the Intracoastal Waterway from Holden Beach.
































Big excitement at Holden Beach - concert under the bridge and feeding the sea gulls.













Every morning, a member of the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol rides an ATV the entire length of the island, looking for signs of nesting loggerhead turtles. On one of our early morning walks, we watched while the red-shirted patrol members checked out a potential nesting site, with plans to move the eggs to a safer spot on the beach. This nest turned up empty - so far this summer, the group has had 10 false alarms and 17 turtle nests.

















Shrimpers still make a living around Holden Beach, but they're just about crowded out by houses that are being built everywhere along the Intracoastal Waterway.












Sometimes the beach was a colorful spot, with families playing in the surf and beach umbrellas all along the sand.








Other times, early morning and late afternoon, the beach was almost empty.



























Mornings and evenings were also marked by the flights of pelicans - heading west in the morning and heading east in the evening, presumably for fishing or nesting or whatever pelicans do. They were a beautiful sight against the blue summer sky.













All in all, it was a relaxing week - who knows, maybe we'll try it again next year....