One of my fondest memories is of riding to the Topsail Islandbeach with my Grandpa and my Uncle Carroll in Grandpa’s skiff. We left early afternoon from my Uncle Paul’s fish house in Sneads Ferry. It was one of those beautiful sunny days in the early summer and in the distance you could see puffy white clouds dancing in from the ocean. We were going to check on Grandpa’s oyster garden that was located on the sound side of North Topsail, very close to where the St. Regis is now located. Along the way, I found an oyster attached to a very unusual looking rock. I very proudly told Grandpa that I wanted to “plant” it in his oyster garden.