Hot Wax Surf and Paddle Shop, Emerald Isle, NC Review #MyCrystalCoast

Kayaking with Hot Was Surf Shop Emerald Isle, NC CarolinaMama Family


One our recent trip to Emerald Isle, North Carolina, Hot Wax Surf got word we're an active family and they invited us to Kayak the White Oak River!  Was there any question! What a treat. We love kayaking and hadn't been in a while so the boys had grown so much they had their own Kayaks. They were in kinda of a sporting heaven. So, really, we all were.

Hot Wax Surf Shop Owner, Mike Crews, Welcomed CarolinaMama and Family

The How Wax Surf Shop Owner, Mike Crews, welcomed us to the shore. He founded and has owned and operated the shop for 29 years! He has a wonderful business and professional manner about him. He is also very knowledgeable.  Here is a link to his website where he is Director.

http://www.hotwaxsurf.com/kayak-fishing.htm
Mike Crews, Director of Hot Wax Surf Shop 



We had the perfect weather.  Our family was so thrilled to take on this adventure together.  We met at Hot Wax Surf Shop on Saturday morning and were met by a friendly staff who got us set up. Then, the Instructor Sarah lead the caravan to Kayak! In a few minutes, we arrived here.


The site to launch was so serene and peaceful. We were ready for a Saturday morn kayaking adventure. We got instructions and were taught safety first! We were very comfortable at this point. 



The instructor got us all settled. WE were so happy to be on the water. I have to encourage you to just do it. This was so simple and well done. We all felt comfortable. We did have life vests - however, we kayaked the sound which was 2 to 3 feet and we all are swimmers so we just rode with them. :)


Here we are all out on the Water! :) Kayaking! We had a perfect day! Our Instructor took pictures, too. Hot Wax Surf takes wonderful pictures and you can purchase them after the event. Here is a favorite of ours! Our boys and so much fun! We loved seeing them enjoying the water! Sarah was a great Instructor. The three of them had their own pace award of us. It was fun to leisurely kayak along.




This is another great photo of us enjoying the Kayaking adventure. Our boys were so thrilled to man their own kayaks this time!



My sweet husband and I had a blast! We were safe and enjoyed the challenge all at once. 



The marshes were beautiful. One of ours was an explorer. 



Okay, they both were! We had a lot of time on the water! 


Always time for a selfie! And I kept my iPhone dry! Kudos! 
I was thrilled Mike got so many photos! That way I didn't have to worry about getting my phone wet .
Or, lost. :) 



Follow Hot Wax Surf Shop on Facebook for news and events like tonights' FREE Paddle Board Workshop! 

Plan your adventure with Hot Wax Surf and Paddle Shop Emerald Isle, NC and you will be delighted! We were so pleased to get to work together with them. Go for some adventure,  you'll be glad. 

Thank you Mike and Crew. :) 


Warmly, Carolina Mama

FTC Disclosure: 

Amos Mosquito's Best Seafood in Atlantic Beach, NC #MyCrystalCoast Crystal Coast

We love great food.  When we are traveling, great food is part of the anticipation!  And when we're at the Beach vacationing, the seafood has to be incredible.  We were excited to find the most awesome seafood at Amos Mosquito's, Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.  Amos Mosquito's has a story to their legendary name and food. They have impressed the Crystal Coast of North Carolina with the freshest and most delectable seafood for years now.


It was a beautiful Spring night as we arrived at sunset. Our wait was short for a Friday night! 
We put our name on the list and only had a 25 minutes wait. It was worth it indeed! 


The wait was no problem as we enjoyed the gazebo and company while we watched 
the sunset there on the marshes. Magical. 


The Co-Owners greeted us at the door. They were so friendly and energetic and involved in keeping Amos Mosquito's in excellent operating condition and serving the best seafood. 

Dave and Sandy, Amos Mosquito's Owners Welcome CarolinaMama and Family
Atlantic Beach, North Carolina #MyCrystalCoast

We loved reading the history and the ambiance of the Amos Mosquito's.  This was hilarious. 
The decor made for such an convivial atmosphere. They definitely have corner on the market with mosquitoes. I mean it has to be incredible to make a mosquito so famous! 


The restaurant is a little red house with a big delivery of flavor and service. You feel right at home.

How did the name Amos Mosquito's come about, you asked. We have to share it straight from the website, it's that good. 

THE NAME

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Amos.
Amos who?
A mosquito!

Not very funny, but it really is where we got our name. We had a picturesque, waterfront location. We had a unique, outdoorsy decor theme. We had a good start on a tasty menu. And, we had a long list of really bad names for a restaurant.

During a brainstorming session someone suggested “Skeeter’s”. We all liked it because it went along with our décor, but felt it didn’t sound nice enough to reflect the high quality food and service we planned on providing. That’s when Pam remembered how Hallock would mis-tell this joke: Hallock always said “Amos Mosquito” instead of “a mosquito.”
A lot has changed since then, but one thing has remained the same. Our food is always better than our jokes. 

And so it is! Read more about the Owners and the Amos Mosquito's History here. 

Amos Mosquito's Atlantic Beach, NC 

Here is more fun from the decorations. We loved seeing the Spanish Moss decorations. 
The restaurant is on the sound so there are tables available on the water and outdoors. 


Here you can see the spirit of the restaurant and we got all cozied up in the little corner that seated just (4). So it was perfect. We had this view of the windows on the sound. They easily accommodate
large groups and families like ours. We saw couples enjoying the food and atmosphere, as well.


We surely did! :) 


Our server, Dixie, was so helpful to our boys. She answered all of our serious foodie 
questions. :) She was very efficient, professional and knowledgeable. Thank you, Chelsey! She was
very helpful and we even found each other on Instagram.  


WARM CHEESY LOBSTER DIP

Seasoned with sherry, pimientos and green onions, served with toasted baguette

The description says it all about the Warm Cheesy Lobster Dip. We pretty much devoured this one. It had a unique flavor served in its own little cast iron skillet with the toasted baguettes. The boys loved these. 


The Parmesan Sea Scallops with Asparagus and Garlic Potatoes was delicious. 
We loved this unique and indulgent recipe! I'd order this again! 


Our boys LOVE a good Shrimp Platter. The Amos Mosquito's Shrimp platter was most delicious. The shrimp were succulent. We do a lot of trading bites. It's the best way to try everything! :) 


One of our boys ordered the Flounder and Shrimp platter. This was delicious, too. The Flounder was his favorite as it was so flaky and fresh. We all loved it. 



This specialty, "Catch of the Day" was the Tuna Steak with Grilled Shrimp and Scallops. 
This was a treat with a homemade mango sauce that was a highlight. The fresh seafood 
is abundant here. 


The evening hit a climax when we were offered the most amazing Chocolate Peanut Butter
Ice Cream Pie ever made. This was magnificent and we loved splurging. These were calories 
well spent. 


I just love all of the memories we make when we have Family Travel time. It is the simple 
photos like this one that capture the ambiance and the family fun. Thank you Amos Mosquito's for hosting us. We'll be back! 

CarolinaMama and Family at Amos Mosquito's Atlantic Beach, NC 

Definitely plan on a visit to Amos Mosquito's while visiting the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. Atlantic Beach was a short drive from Emerald Isle and is a short drive from Beaufort the other direction. Enjoy the history, service and most of all the memorable atmosphere and seafood!

For you locals, check out the Sushi and Karaoke Night! How fun is that! I mean Sushi and Amos Mosquito's has to be the best combination ever.



Warmly, Carolina Mama

FTC Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Crystal Coast Tourism and Amos Mosquito Restaurant, Atlantic Beach, NC. All opinions are our own. 

"Hart & Sole" Emerald Isle, NC Sun Surf Realty, NC Review #travelreview



When Crystal Coast Tourism invited our family to North Carolina's Crystal Coast for a Family Travel Review of our lovely coastline, we were overjoyed. We love sharing about our lovely Carolinas. Sun-Surf Realty of Emerald Isle, North Carolina offered to host our family in one of their fabulous oceanfront properties.  We found great beauty and activity with peace and calm at Emerald Isle.

We arrived to this beautiful, palatial property, Hart & Sole, at Emerald Isle, NC. It is a 6 bedroom, 5 bath oceanfront property. Immediately, we felt comfortable in this serene home. 

Hart and Sole, Emerald Isle, NC

As you know from visiting here at Carolina Mama, we love the shore. We love and adore our  Carolina Beaches. However, this was our first visit to the Crystal Coast and we couldn't wait to get there. These Southern Outer Banks were beautiful from the moment we arrived, early Friday morning. We grabbed our boogie boards and immediately hit the waves. The Atlantic Ocean represented. We were so elated to just be there and in the water on this beautiful Spring day.


We arrived at Emerald Isle early Friday morning to saunter on the beach a little before our check in.  To our delight at noon, while taking a break under our beach umbrella,  we found a text on my phone from Sun-Surf Realty... "It's time to get your vacation started! Hart & Sole is ready for your check-in!"  Like now! 


We checked in at the Sun-Surf Realty front office. The staff was so friendly and accommodating - just as they had been on the phone and through email. They joyfully and competently answered every question. We received a great list of items to remember for a fabulous beach vacation.  And the list of things that were provided at the home so we would not pack unnecessarily. So helpful!  Tiffany and Tina and Jaclyn smiled as we checked in and gave us our package to start.

CarolinaMama and Family Emerald Isle, NC




This was the beautiful view from the back of the home. This faces the Ocean. So, here I am walking to the home from the Ocean on the boardwalk. Look at the sprawling porches on the back of the house. These are available from every room on the back of the home. We love this feature. 
The upper level is a expansive screened in porch with patio furniture. This is off of the 
large living area and kitchen. We are an active family so we loved this access. 






Click here to SEE the Carolina Mama "Hart & Sole" YouTube video. 

This picture is charming to me as it shows how we lived and loved this home. The twinkle of the lights in the home at dusk as my husband captured this as we were just getting in from a wonderful day at the beach and were about to grill on the deck. See the blue adirondack chairs on the right upper deck, the grill is there and we spent so much time enjoying this together. 



This was our Hart and Sole Sunset at Emerald Isle, NC. This was our sunset one evening from our own boardwalk from the back of the home. It was so beautiful. 



Mornings looked like this from the upstairs porch as we enjoyed some quiet time, reading, painting and more. We got used to this view and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. 


Hart & Sole Boardwalk Emerald Isle, NC CarolinaMama 


As soon as we walked into this delightful kitchen, I was in love! The Kitchen is truly the center of activity and social time. We loved the convenience of this kitchen. It had EVERY.THING we needed and more. We enjoyed grilling and cooking here and spending time at the house together! This kitchen made it so comfortable and simple. It was nice to have every little luxury from hone here at our beach home away from home.




The eat in kitchen counter was very convenient. We spent time talking, cooking, laughing and more. Sun Surf Realty welcomed us with this great basket of Island specialties and snacks for our stay. We were well loved. 



Here is my lovely husband after a wonderful day on the shore - he approaches our luxurious oceanfront home for the long weekend. Hart & Sole is truly, a splendid and serene home, we were so comfortable and relaxed with everything easily accessible. The water hoses to rinse off the sand were at the back and downstairs entrances, as well. The conveniences here are all perfect.








Our boys had made themselves comfortable enjoying the hot tub off of the master bedroom. 
This was such a treat for everyone. It was a private closed in porch for the hot tub.  It was a perfect "prescription" after our full days of activities. 





Here is one of the six bedrooms. Each room is decorated so thoughtfully with every 
amenity. We loved all of the anchors, sand dollars and crabs throughout the home. 




Across the hall sat this great bunk bed room. All of the rooms had their own 
access to the porches and their own spacious bathrooms. This one has a great porch and 
plenty of closet space and is a walk straight out to the Ocean.  






Our boys LOVED having extra bedrooms. This became their Entertainment Room as it had 
lots of room for their games, and personal gear. 







Here is another beautiful bathroom with everything possibly needed.  The bathroom were spacious and stoked well with linens. We loved the colors throughout the home as it made for such a calm and peaceful setting. 





We loved the convenience of the under the home carport at Hart and Sole. This lead to a nice and convenient indoor entrance to the home and to the elevator! This was so convenient!  The elevator worked from the ground up to the third floor. Helpful! And fun! From this carport, there was an outdoor stair access that was nice and lead to the second floor. 

                                  

This King Size Bedroom was beautiful and spacious. There was a beautiful bathroom 
off of the bedroom with vanity and closet space. 


Here is the most beautiful marble Spa Shower. The marble and shower settings and 
roomy shower keep this home up to date with the latest amenities. 




Every morning I enjoyed taking pictures of this amazing view. Look the water, is there any doubt where Emerald Isle got its name! The water was splendid every day with every detail. 



Then, we would drink coffee here or on the many other decks and porches around the home. 
We ate dinner al fresco here a couple of nights as we listened to the ocean waves crash around us. 



Here is the great family room! This was fun having the family here while I cooked or 
while Boulder Mt. Man grilled off of the deck here. 





We loved working with Sun-Surf Realty for this beautiful reservation. Sun-Surf met our every need. They are open for office hours every day of your vacation. We appreciate their availability and ability to answer every question or solve any problems. Again, the Staff was so helpful and available to us.



Sun and Surf Realty, Emerald Isle, NC

Here is a lovely view from the main screened in porch with rocking chairs off of the large living area and kitchen. We loved the view. 






Then, the time came that we had to say good bye. We created some memories for a lifetime here and we were so grateful we visited Hart & Sole, Emerald Isle, NC. 
Here we are packed up and ready for our departure. 


Hart and Sole Emerald Isle, NC 6 bedroom 5 bathroom oceanfront property


This view is one you'll want to see, too. Check it out and enjoy serenity and calm here 
at the seaside. 




Warmly, Carolina Mama


FTC Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Crystal Coast Tourism and Sun Surf Realty. All opinions are my own.  #MyCrystal Coast