Bacon Wrapped Shrimp on the Barbecue Grill

Fresh Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon on the Grill

One of the best parts about our vacation to Cedar Island, NC (behind the outer banks - North Carolina) was the fresh seafood. We were less than a mile from Quality Seafood and could see the shrimp boats come in. Then, we'd go down and buy shrimp right as it came in. This was just a mile or less down the road. Doesn't get any fresher. Plus the guys at Quality Seafood were super helpful. They gave up tips like how to get our clams to open up easier (freeze them for a day or more).

Getting the shrimp direct was only $3 per pound. Boy, I thought I was in heaven. At that price we bought all we could eat plus some to bring home, and I tried out all kinds of shrimp recipes on the grill. Our favorite was Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. We tried several ways, but the best by family vote is the way I made it with cooking the bacon partially.

A lot of people stay away from seafood on the grill. They think it's hard to cook grilled seafood. Actually, seafood is one of the easiest things to grill. The key is not to overcook. You're talking just minutes with seafood. The main mistake folks make in grilling shrimp or other seafoods is leaving it on too long. Then, the seafood tastes rubbery. Yuck. Just remember that it's quick. That's they key.

A Week at Cedar Island Beach in North Carolina with a Grill

Cedar Island, North Carolina is a beautiful area - quiet and relaxing.


Clams are plentiful out in the sound at Cedar Island.


Put out a crab trap and have fresh crabs the next day.


Full moon over the sound at Cedar Sunrise vacation cottage.

We spent last week unplugged at a remote island in North Carolina. Cedar Island sits right behind Ocracoke Island and is about 5 miles long by 1 mile wide. Most of the land area is a federal preserve, but there's a small community including a few rental cottages and a hotel at the ferry dock.

We found this little gem of a vacation spot at Vacation Rental by Owner. The house we rent is called Cedar Sunrise. It's right on the water with a small dock. We drop crab traps and walk out in the sand and feel around for fresh clams.

In the evenings we grill up delicous local seafood including shrimp right off the boat at Quality Seafood - less than a mile up the road.

There's no phone, and the cell phone doesn't pick up. The TV has three local channels. No internet hook up. If you really want to get away from it all, this is the place to do it. You can, of course, take the ferry over to Ocracoke or drive about an hour to Morehead City and Emerald Isle. Then again, you can just put your feet up and take a real vacation from the world. Either way, it's great fun.

Off to the Beach - Fun in the Sun - Grilling on the Deck

Bridge Over to Cedar Island, NC

We're headed to Cedar Island, North Carolina on Saturday. My son just graduated from high school, and I had him pick our destination. He wanted to go back to Cedar Island. We went a couple of years ago and had a great time.

Cedar Island is an inner barrier island - tucked behind Ocracoke Island (the bottom of the chain of outer bank islands). It's a small town - peaceful and beautiful. The cost to stay on the water is about half what it would be on Ocracoke, and the ferry is right up the road. We just hopped that and hit Ocracoke for a day last time.

There's a hotel on Cedar Island, but we work out better getting a house. I figured that out when the boys were little and bouncing off the walls in motels. I found Vacation Rental By Owner and discovered that we could get a house - and often for less than the price of a hotel. They have houses for rent all over the world. We've had great luck with VRBO.

The house we rent at Cedar Island is right on the sound. The water is shallow and great for swimming and for boating. The owners have a kayak and canoe which guests can use.

There are clam beds out in the sound. The boys discovered those. We enjoyed grilling fresh clams the last time we went. Since we know about the clams ahead of time, I've been thinking about different clam dishes we can enjoy.

The owners of Cedar Sunrise have a nice gas grill on the porch, and we grilled almost all our meals on the last visit. We found out where the shrimp boats come in, so I know we'll grill some shrimp. It would be really nice if I could locate my grill wok, but my son reorganized the basement. I can now find nothing, but it looks better down there.

Cooking seafood is really easy. The key is not to overcook. We've gone out to eat seafood - of course. But the boys like my cooking better. I've converted several folks to eating scallops. Scallops usually are not very good at restaurants, but I can fry them up and never have enough.

Renting the house at Cedar Island worked out great last time, and I'm looking forward to visiting again. I can putter on the porch and play around with the grill and still see the boys out swimming and boating. The boys are teens now, so I guess that wouldn't be essential, but I like to know where they are and what they're doing.

I'll be offline next week. No net service. Even the cell phone wouldn't pick up last time. That's OK. Being unplugged for a week is refreshing.