I often hear that Avon, NC is not an “exciting” vacation spot. There just isn’t enough to do. First of all, there is a very large ocean…… and since the island is so narrow if the ocean is too rough it is just steps to the bay. People surf, kiteboard, wind sail, boogie board, swim and fish. Others sit in the sun, read a good book and souvenir shop. There is a famous lighthouse to climb as well as many wonderful restaurants to eat at. That being said, the Avon pier is one of my personal favorite spots. When the kids were younger we would always take one evening to go out on the pier and fish. There are many interesting sights and sounds when you are out on the pier at night. When I say we, I am referring to our friend Mark and me. John and Mark’s wife Sherry were not interested in the pier so Mark and I took the kids. We had many wonderful adventures.
Journal entry Tuesday July 28, 1998
After a dinner at Barfoot Pub Sherry and John went back to the house. Mark, Drew, Liza, Gregg and I went to the pier to go fishing. This was when the excitement began…..
As we entered the pier a large bang and crashing was heard. I turned to see Mark standing in the middle of ice and bait. He had dropped the cooler! Of course we all became hysterical with laughter. Steve, a kindly pier man, went and got a mop. Mark, being the helpful soul that he is and feeling responsible for the mess, helped Steve in the door with the mop and bucket.
“Here Steve, I’ll mop,” said Mark as he grabbed the mop and whacked the drop ceiling knocking the panels askew.
As Mark mopped I swept ice out the door. Drew and Liza pretended they were looking at postcards and Gregg put a “slippery when wet” or “caution wet floor” sign up. We then went to pay for our fishing on the pier. I had a hard time convincing the pier people that I didn’t know Mark and that I was just there with my son and daughter. When we finally got out on the pier and set up to fish we asked Mark what happened.
“I slipped on the floor. The caution when wet sign was up and they must have just mopped the floor. I think it was still wet and I slipped,” Mark stated.
Gregg said, “I put that sign up after you spilled the cooler”.
Mark “Oh.”
More hysterical laughter……..
We never did find out what caused Mark to drop the bait and the cooler. We didn’t catch a thing that night. In fact, we didn’t even have a bite. However, we have a memory that we will never forget. In fact, it is brought up many times when we talk about some of our favorite vacation memories.