Dust has become a problem at the Fair, with the wind blowing and fine dust settling on everything in minutes. It’s nearly impossible to keep the surfaces of the tables and books clean. But everyone is in the same boat, so both vendors and fair goers are coping fine.

We extended our offer of a free copy of my Stupid People book to people who buy a BHM hat. I’ve listed yesterday’s T-shirt and hat wearers below. Although we’re enjoying ourselves at the Fair, there is little time to do anything else, even make a blog post. We come back to the motel, eat, and crash.

Operating the computer at the Fair to post to this blog is dangerous for the laptop because the dust infiltrates every crevice of it. So we keep our laptops zipped up in their bags, except on the few occasions we have to look up a reader in the database to see if their subscription has expired.

We spent a few hours at North Topsail Beach about 20 miles away. The water was about 75 degrees, compared to our beach in Oregon which stays in the mid-40s so this was a marvelous surprise for us. The kids swam and built a big sand castle.

It was lots of fun until I discovered my sunburnt feet when we got back in the car.

We’re just kicking back, mowing the lawn, and helping Erik and Annie get ready for their eventual move back to Oregon. Annie sorted through boxes of clothes she’ll give to the local Good Will store.

Although this climate is hot and humid, it’s better than the incredible 113-degree desert heat at the 29 Palms Marine Corps training area. You can at least go outside for a walk here.

Erik was home for two days and had to go right back out in the field for training for the remainder of our trip. These Marine Corps families sacrifice a lot for their country.