A few weekends ago, I took a much needed break and headed over to Emerald Isle, NC for a few days. On our first full day at the beach, we decided to take a short ferry ride over to Shakleford Banks - a 9-mile long island known for its shelling and wild horses. I wasn't sure what to expect. Were we even going to see the horses? Nine miles is a lot of territory to cover in just a couple hours. Maybe we would just have a picnic on the beach and enjoy the beautiful weather. Either way, it was going to be awesome!
As soon as we arrived, we climbed over the first dune in front of us. Sure enough, off in the distance, a couple wild horses were grazing on the grass. This was already exceeding my expectations!
As we explored the island, we discovered more and more horses. We got as close as we *respectfully* felt comfortable and quickly realized the horses were barely taller than me - they looked more like ponies. They had gorgeous wispy hair and beautiful coloring. I especially liked these two...
Not only did we start the day off with seeing the wild horses, we also got to enjoy a little picnic on the beach. During the off-season, not many people were visiting and it felt like we had the entire island to ourselves.
We were graced with the presence of a wild horse taking a stroll along the beach. He walked right past us. How cool is that?!?
Back at the house, we gave the dogs a chance to explore the beach. This was Sadie's first visit so she had to stay pretty close to us...
The cooler temps didn't stop Eva from going for a dip in the water.
The next couple pics were taken with my iPhone. We had a wicked storm come through on the second day but the clouds parted just before sundown. Foam lined the beach and a gorgeous double rainbow filled the sky.
Next time I go back to Emerald Isle, I am definitely returning to Shakleford Banks. They allow camping and DOGS on the island! Looks like I'll be packing my tent!
