If you haven’t been there yet you need to check out the Silver Coast Winery. It is located just 15 to 20 minutes inland from the beach and is Coastal North Carolina’s premier producer of premium wines.

Silver Coast Winery is a working winery with an annual production of 10,000 cases. They offer tours of their wine making facility, from the vineyard to the bottle. Visitors learn about wine making step by step during a 20-minute tour that will takes you from the grapevines to the wine cellars.

The vineyard and winery are set on 40 acres, surrounded by lush woods. It’s the perfect place to learn about wines, share a peaceful picnic with friends or enjoy art by local artists.

You can visit the vineyard, tour the winery and taste the wines in their tasting room. They have wines available for purchase by the glass or by the bottle. They even have Wine Tasting Seminars every Tuesday and Wednesday at 1:00pm.

Wines are available for purchase in the wine shop where you’ll also find a collection of enticing gifts.

You can also enjoy art by local artists. Their exhibitions offer visitors a chance to view exciting works by numerous local artists.

Your hosts at Silver Coast Winery are John and Maryann Azzato who combine a passion for fine wine with a deep desire to share good wines with friends and guests. You can contact them by e-mail or call 910-287-2800. The Winery business hours are: Monday – Saturday from 11:00am – 6:00pm and Sunday from noon until 5:00pm.

Click here to visit the Silver Coast Winery website

They’ve got “The Will to Chill” – Girls Getaways have become more and more popular. These three woman were getting away from the daily grind of kids, careers and homemaking and it looks like they were succeeding in some distracting fun. We found them laughing and joking at The Thirsti Tiki by the oceanfront pool during the last week of May. They say they’ve been mixing shopping, some yoga classes and some “laying out”in the sun and reading. Right now they’re taking a break and enjoying some kind of frozen tropical drinks.

The Winds offers a number of Special Romance oriented Packages on the Winds website. Check out the Take A Break Special for Two and save over 20%!

Relax on the sundeck near the beach access, in the shade of palm trees.

Listen to the wind rustle through the palm fronds overhead and the gentle rumble of the waves breaking on the beach just over the dunes. All tension and stress is banished from your body!

Doesn’t that sound great? It Is! 

Appointments can be made by calling the Winds’ office at 800.334.3581.

If a daily fitness walk could be put in pill form, it would be one of the most popular prescriptions in the world. It has so many health benefits. Walking can reduce stress and the risk of many diseases.

Research shows exercise slows the aging process. Adults who are physically active in their 50s and early 60s are about 35 percent less likely to die in the next eight years than those who are sedentary. For those who have a high heart risk because of diabetes, high blood pressure or smoking, the reduction is 45 percent.

A 2005 study confirms aerobic fitness and health benefits for both high intensity walking and lower intensity, high frequency walking.

The list of benefits goes on and on. Many other studies indicate a daily brisk walk also can help:

* Prevent depression, colon cancer, constipation, osteoporosis, and impotence
* Lengthen lifespan
* Lower stress levels
* Relieve arthritis and back pain
* Strengthen muscles, bones, and joints
* Improve sleep
* Elevate overall mood and sense of well-being.

Keep it Steady

A steady routine is the most important factor in getting the most out of your exercise program. Walking for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 or more days a week is recommended.

Use these tips to keep you on track:

* During your walks, you should be able to maintain a conversation. If you’re breathing too lightly, increase your pace. If you can’t catch your breath, slow it down.
* Walk around the local area after lunch or dedicate 15 minutes to walking up and down stairs. Climbing is an excellent way to strengthen your heart.
* At night, trade a half hour of TV for a brisk stroll around the block. Take a friend with you for company or get the whole family involved.

The Best Medicine

Any amount of walking is good, but for the best health results, set a brisk pace and walk for 30 minutes at least 5 times a week. Be sure to check with your doctor on the level of exercise that’s best for you.

Annual Sandcastle Build Week is coming up!

Sixteen years ago a unique friendship between two families began at The Winds. For eleven years the Delgado and Morrison families coordinated their families’ summer vacations so that they could always be at The Winds simultaneously.

It all started when Bill Delgado, a printing and graphics teacher from Twinsburg OH, and his family began building a large sand sculpture on the beach.

Bill (as always) encouraged other children on the beach to join in.

In the midst of the project, the children of the Morrison family, from Detroit MI, introduced their parents, Lisa and Gordon, to the Delgados. They all became fast friends and the rest is history. The sand sculpture that year was to be the first of somewhere around sixty sand castles to be built by the Delgados and the Morrisons.

A couple of years ago the Morrisons decided that Ocean Isle was where they wanted to be year round so they bought a house on one of the canals and moved from Detroit to their own little slice of heaven.

This June the Delgados return to The Winds for another go at it with the Morrison family and any others that join in. 

In the past they have created such fantastic sand creations as a Mermaid and Anchor,  a “Charlie The Tuna” sculpture complete with a cigar, a giant sea turtle, a huge, an extremely hip Alligator with shades, a headset and backwards baseball cap as well as a beautiful rendition of The Winds Logo. 

The end of anyone’s vacation at The Winds is always hard to face but the Delgados and the Morrisons have always made it fun with an end of the week party. This tradition begins with the construction of a fairy tale sandcastle in the afternoon, followed by a cookout. The grand finale that night is the sandcastle festooned with dozens of sparklers lighting the evening beach.

This June’s extravaganza will be no exception as they create many more fantastic sandsculpture and castles. We don’t know how they can top their past creations but we know they will!

Kids of all ages (from 2 to 92) can join in the fun. Be sure to bring your pail and shovel!

Ouch! – Sunburn Prevention

We all know the best way to prevent a sunburn is to avoid sun exposure but having fun in the sun is one of the reasons we all love Ocean Isle. Here are a few simple tips on how to not turn into a lobster in pain while still living it up at The Winds:

Limit your exsposureto the midday sun (from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon), which is the strongest sunlight. Find shade if you need to be outdoors. You can also calculate how much ultraviolet (UV) exposure you are getting by using the shadow rule: A shadow that is longer than you are means UV exposure is low; a shadow that is shorter than you are means the UV exposure is high.

Other ways to protect yourself from the sun include wearing protective clothing, such as:

• Hats with wide 4 in. brims that cover your neck, ears, eyes, and scalp.

• Sunglasses with UV protection.

• Loose-fitting, tightly woven clothing that covers your arms and legs. Some outdoor stores may sell clothing treated with sun protection factor.

Do not use tanning booths to get a tan. Artificial tanning devices can cause skin damage and increase the risk of skin cancer.

Preventing sun exposure in children

You should start protecting your child from the sun when he or she is a baby. Because children spend a lot of time outdoors playing, they get most of their lifetime sun exposure in their first 18 years.

• Keep babies younger than 6 months of age out of the sun. If sunscreen is needed, a small amount on the face or the back of the hands is not harmful.

• Teach children the ABCs of how to protect their skin from getting sunburned.

• A = Away. Stay away from the sun in the middle of the day (from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon).

• B = Block. Use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher to protect babies’ and children’s very sensitive skin.

• C = Cover up. Wear clothing that covers the skin, hats with wide brims, and sunglasses with UV protection. Even children 1 year old should wear sunglasses with UV protection.

• S = Speak out. Teach others to protect their skin from sun damage.

Sunscreen protection

If you can’t avoid being in the sun, use a sunscreen to help protect your skin while you are in the sun.

• Use a sunscreen that has a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 or higher. Sunscreens that say “broad-spectrum” can protect the skin from ultraviolet A and B (UVA and UVB) rays. Sunscreens come in lotions, gels, creams, and ointments.

• Apply the sunscreen at least 30 minutes before going in the sun.

• Apply sunscreen to all the skin that will be exposed to the sun, including the nose, ears, neck, scalp, and lips. Sunscreen needs to be applied evenly over the skin and in the amount recommended on the label. Most sunscreens are not completely effective, because they are not applied correctly. It usually takes about 1 fl oz to cover an adult’s body.

• Apply sunscreen every 2 to 3 hours while in the sun and after swimming or sweating a lot. The SPF value decreases if a person sweats heavily or is in water, because water on the skin reduces the amount of protection the sunscreen provides. Sunscreen effectiveness is also affected by the wind, humidity, and altitude.

• Use lip balm or cream that has sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher to protect your lips from getting sunburned or developing cold sores.