I've never been a beach person - nor much of a water person for that matter - there are only lakes and rivers in the land-locked Prairies scoured out of the ground by the glacial action of the last ice age and the meltwaters of the Rocky Mountains .

But, I think I could be...

Place name links like Carolina Beach, NC go to Wikipedia. Place name links like Carolina Beach use the local tourism or government website.

2012.11.23	Island of Lights
Comment	Christmas is approaching. Carolina Beach bills itself as the Island of Lights and tonight is the "Lighting of the Lake." A lake next to the ocean? Yes, a lake, 2/3 mile in circumference and once noted by the Guiness Book of World Records as the closest freshwater lake to saltwater. Around Christmas a number of themed light structures are erected around the lake and other places around the town. Tonight the lights are turned on. But first, some pics of a large cloud formation over the ocean at sunset.             That white dot is the half-moon    The Lighting was a short affair, with a couple of speeches, a school choir singing some songs, free hot chocolate and cookies, and then the lighting.             From a later walk around the lake, counter-clockwise, roughly in order.     Elf feeding a reindeer Swans     Lighthouse     Oops! Missing a fish     Something for the Jewish people                 One of several lit gazebos         Animated: the reindeer's feet move Animated: the train's wheels turn                 Animated: The doplins move from left to right     Unfortunately no Christmas tree this year: it broke during the last storm and couldn't be fixed in time.