During the third week of July, all of Valerie’s immediate family packed up and headed to Holden Beach, North Carolina for a week of family fun.  Holden Beach (pics) is a small island with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Intracoastal Waterway on the other.  The much more popular and better known Myrtle Beach is about 50 miles south of Holden Beach.

Unlike its neighbor to the south, Holden Beach is quiet and low key.  The island consists almost exclusively of fairly large beach style houses, many of which are available for rental.  The house chosen for the family was on the Intracoastal Waterway with a nice large dock.  The total headcount for the week was 17 with family members coming from California, Maryland, Virginia and Georgia.

During the week, there was some beach time, a day trip to Myrtle Beach, fishing, family games in the evenings and lots of good times.  The weather was generally excellent with only minor instances of summer thunder storms.