Pick up a book by North Carolina author, Diane Chamberlain. She will be honored at a reception on Saturday, May 16, 2009, in Surf City, NC. Her latest novel, “Secrets She Left Behind”, is the sequel to “Before the Storm”, and both are set on Topsail Island.

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.

Learning to live with CHANGE is the key to adjusting to island life. Every day brings new scenery, a different sky or sunset; I seem to avoid the sunrises. The early settlers here even built their small cottages and put them on logs or timbers making them fairly mobile.

Topsail Island, NC home prices are the most reasonable they have been in years. Now is the perfect time to realize your dream of owning a beach place.

Serve up some local Stump Sound oysters that are usually pretty plentiful around Topsail Island. Steam them and serve with your spicy cocktail sauce or a few drops of Tabasco.

Bryson & Associates - Topsail Island has become a perfect location for Camp Lejeune marines to visit their families prior to or following deployment. What a pleasant way to relax and re-adjust after spending time in Iraq, Afghanistan or some other remote location.