While Emerald Isle is primarily a small family vacation town with few shopping centers, the main Emerald Plantation shopping center (where Food Lion is) offers a nice variety of stores.

Two of our favorites in town are both in Emerald Plantation. Compass Rose and Planet Wear offer some of the most unique items you will find in Emerald Isle. Planet Wear is a true hippy shop, with loads of hand-made tie-dyes (made by the Planet Wear owners), as well as more consumer-oriented Liquid Blue tie-dyes, hemp jewelry, gorgeous skirts and dresses, incense and accessories, and all sorts of interesting trinkets and baubles.

Compass Rose (right) is a new age shoppe located behind Planet Wear and across the walkway. This mystical hole in the wall offers an extensive selection of silver jewelry, sun face art, statues, mystical power accessories, books, soothing new age music CDs, tarot items, incense, and much much more. Don't miss the frequent guest readers that frequent Compass Rose.

If you stop by either shop during your stay in Emerald Isle, make sure to tell Linda (right) or Phil that Dave and Tiff sent you!

We've posted a couple of times about fun things to do in Emerald Isle with kids. What about the adults in the party? Well, if you like bars or cocktails with your dinner, there are several to choose from here in town.

• Kathryn's Bistro and Martini Bar: Located near the center of town on the North side of Emerald Isle
• Flipperz Family Bar & Grill: in K&V Plaza across from CVS
• Portofino Ristorante & Wine Bar: in the shopping plaza on Coast Guard Rd near the Emerald Isle Bridge.
• Paddy's Pub: Also located in K&V Plaza, at the north end of the plaza.
• The Emerald Club: On Emerald Drive next to Jordan's Seafood.
• El Zarape: Located on Reed Drive opposite the Emerald Plantation shopping center (across Emerald Drive)
• Rucker Johns: in the Emerald Plantation shopping center
• Jordan's Seafood: in the downtown on Emerald Drive near Bogue Inlet Pier

You know when you come to Emerald Isle that you are probably here to get away from your daily struggles and looking to relax in a peaceful and beautiful location. If you bring kids, you'll naturally want to find things for them to do so that they aren't, God forbid, 'bored'.

One great solution is to take in a round (or three) of miniature golf. In Emerald Isle, you have two options. One is Emerald Forest Golf, located on Reed Drive, behind the Pacific Store that is across Emerald Drive (HWY 58) from the Emerald Plantation shopping center (where Food Lion is located).

The other option in Emerald Isle is Lighthouse Golf, located between Emerald Drive and Reed Drive off of Islander Drive (about half a mile from the Emerald Isle Bridge).

There are other miniature golf locations outside of Emerald Isle that are also close by, the Golfin Dolphin is in Cape Carteret near Lowe's Foods, and Professor Hacker's Lost Treasure Golf & Raceway is further down the island in Salter Path.

If you are vacationing along the Crystal Coast, and you've got kids, you know you need to find things for them to do in Emerald Isle while you are here.

One of the best places to take them is to the only Emerald Isle water park: Water Boggan. Located at the corner of Reed Drive and Islander Drive (about half a mile from the Emerald Isle Bridge), the Water Boggan is one of the oldest amusement places on the island.

There are several water slides, a game room, and even a snack bar. Prices are pretty good for a day of fun, and you know your kids will love it.

This isn't a huge park like you might find elsewhere, with dozens of slides and numerous other water-related areas. Water Boggan has 4 or 5 slides, but they are fast and fun, and in the 'things to do with kids in Emerald Isle' department, it is very near the top of the list.

The Town of Emerald Isle has a few employment opportunities to consider if you are looking for a job in Emerald Isle.

Right now, they have three positions posted, including a Full-Time Landscape Specialist in the Parks and Recreations department, as well as a Parks and Rec Seasonal Employee. There are also jobs in the Emerald Isle Fire Department for Part-Time Firefighters.

For more Emerald Isle Employment options, check out The Carteret County News-Times Classified Section. Good luck in your Emerald Isle Job Hunting!

It is the busy time of year here in Emerald Isle as thousands of families come to our beautiful town for weekly vacations. There are hundreds of properties in town available for vacation rentals, and several rental agencies you can choose from.

We would encourage you to consider Bluewater GMAC for your Emerald Isle vacation rentals. Other rental agencies are professional as well, but Bluewater's rental house inventory is the best in our opinion. Note that many of the properties will already be rented, but there are still numerous weeks available for vacation rentals right now, so have a look.

They offer several pet-friendly homes, oceanfront and soundfront locations, and all sorts of styles and varieties to fit your vacation rental needs. Check them out at bluewatergmac.com. Note that if you are in the market to buy houses in Emerald Isle, you can use the Real Estate Sales tab to search through the houses for sale.

We hope to see you in Emerald Isle soon!

First, Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. I'm a father to 4 very lazy cats, who seem to often exhibit the slowed-down pace of life that Emerald Isle offers both humans and animals.

While the summer months are more crowded and somewhat hectic for people who live and work here, our cats have no concern whatsoever that they might have to do anything than lounge and relax.

Tiff and I have gotten excited over our home search, looking at this house to the right (among others) along Highway 24 (not in Emerald Isle).

But, we've decided to temper ourselves a bit and wait until the winter for two reasons.

First, since we are both self-employed, it is important to save a 20% downpayment to get the best rates on a stated income loan. We have enough to probably get a loan now, but we'd expect to pay a higher rate. Also, with the higher downpayment, we can move our price range higher as well, which might even include some of the lower end homes on the island.

Second, housing demand in this area is much higher in the summer months (as it is many places), which means demand for loans is also higher, and the increased average loan rates have gone up significantly over the past few weeks, just as they did last summer. Despite not being sure if these rates are going to stay high all winter, we'll still take our chances that we won't see significantly higher rates then, and they could be much lower.

We've been very thrifty since Tiff and I have been together, and we're hoping that thrift will pay off soon with a new home. We'd absolutely love to stay in Emerald Isle, but the home prices here are premium as you might imagine in a beach town. If we wait six months, we believe a poor seller's market combined with greater down payment from us might give us a chance to find a good home here in EI.

My wife and I have been passively looking to buy a home in our area of the Crystal Coast for about six months now. We're in no hurry, trying to find a really good value in just the right spot. Naturally, we'd love to stay in Emerald Isle, but as you might guess, home prices here in this beautiful location are at a premium, even in this poor sellers market.

The land here is the key often times, as you are paying for the shifting sand that supports your structure. Take this home for example:

Almost $300,000 for a very run down mobile home. This lot is on the West end of town, down Coast Guard Rd.

For stick-built houses, you're going to pay even more.

$460,000 for a moderate-sized 1400 square foot house is pretty normal in this area for homes with little or (usually) no water view.

Of course, if money is no object, there are always the luxury palaces available to buy in the $2 million to $5 million range, like this one coming in at $3.5 million:

Visit Bluewater GMAC to search real estate listings for Emerald Isle and the surrounding areas.

Lots of folks like to bring their dogs with them to Emerald Isle when the come on vacation. Many of the rental houses will allow dogs, but be aware that there are usually non-refundable pet fees that range from $100-$300 depending on the rental agency and the unit.

Please remember that Emerald Isle has a leash law: always keep your dogs on leashes and absolutely always clean up after your pet. Carry plastic baggies with you so that you can easily take care of your pet's poop.

We like our beaches to stay as clean as possible, and no one likes to step in dog poop, or worse, have their kids playing around it. Be considerate of others, and everyone can have a relaxing, enjoyable stay in Emerald Isle!