Vacation North Carolina

Harborcreek girl bitten by shark (Updated: 3:16 p.m.)

Ten-year-old Cassidy Cartwright's vacation started off fun like she thought it would.

The little girl from Harborcreek Township played on the beach in North Carolina. She made a castle in the sand. She swam in the Atlantic Ocean and even let her mother try their new boogie board.

But then, while they were standing in about 31/2 feet of water, Cassidy felt a tug on her right leg. She said "ouch."

Neither she nor her mother, Carolyn Cartwright, saw the shark that bit Cassidy. Twice.

"I just saw blood all around her," Cartwright said.

The shark attack happened June 26 at North Topsail Beach, N.C., the day after the Erie County mother and daughter arrived there on vacation with friends. The Cartwrights returned home Saturday after a trip in which ambulances and antibiotics, a helicopter and hospitals and five hours of surgery replaced the sun, sand and surf they'd expected.

"I was thinking this was going to be really fun," Cassidy said.

Instead, she spent most of her vacation in the hospital and came home to another hospital bed, this one in her family's living room. The bed has sheets from "Finding Nemo," a movie that Cassidy likes. Nemo's nickname in it was "Shark Bait."

The shark in North Carolina severed Cassidy's Achilles tendon and two others and took a chunk out of her ankle bone.

Cassidy said it doesn't hurt much anymore.

She has to keep her leg, which is splinted and wrapped below the knee, elevated. She can't put weight on it for six to eight weeks. She'll need physical therapy and possibly more surgery.

Cassidy will walk again, but the stability of her ankle is questionable, her mother said.

So is her willingness to go back in the water.

Asked if she would, Cassidy answered, "Um," followed by a long pause.

Her mother said she hopes Cassidy will go in the ocean again someday.

She said her daughter has always loved the water and wanted to see a dolphin on vacation.

They chose to go to North Topsail Beach, where they were staying in a rental house with an unguarded private beach, because it's a popular vacation spot and they'd never been there, Carolyn Cartwright said.

They bought the boogie board the day they arrived from a store named Shark Attack. Cartwright took a photo of her daughter and a friend in the mouth of a shark model at the store.

Recommend Asheville's Renaissance Hotel – No Way | Lori Lamb Scape ...

Article by Evans Putman

If you are a stickler for service, then the Renaissance in downtown Asheville North Carolina may not be the hotel for you on your next golf vacation. When we travel to Asheville, NC on golf vacations or any other vacation, the downtown area is our favorite lodging location. There are a multitude of great restaurants, bars, shopping and other entertainment options all within walking distance. However, there are a limited amount of hotel and lodging options in downtown Asheville.

On our last trip to this city nestled in the North Carolina mountains, we at http://www.PerfectGolfVacations.com chose to stay at the Renaissance hotel. This Asheville, NC hotel regularly receives high marks but it also charges high rates. Our nightly rate was slightly above 0 before taxes.

The outside design of this downtown Asheville hotel reflects an era gone by but the interior is modern and luxurious. The lobby is spacious and provides a comfortable seating area adjacent to an inside bar. There is also a nice outside patio for relaxing in the cool mountain air. Our room had amazingly comfortable beds, flat screen televisions and provided plenty of space. In simple terms, the atmosphere and facilities are first-class. Unfortunately, our experience with the hotel staff and the service they provided was more like no-class.

We travel often to research golf vacation locations and the local area and understand that everyone and every place can experience a bad day. Usually with an apology and a smile almost anything can be forgiven and rectified. However what we experienced at the Renaissance was borderline ridiculous for any service-oriented business and unforgivable for a hotel that charges over 0 a night.

Before departing on our vacation to Asheville, North Carolina, we placed an order to have a fresh fruit plate and hummus plate waiting on us upon arrival. When we arrived, neither was anywhere to be seen. Our bellhop promised to take care of this oversight. After an hour, there was still no food. We called the front desk and they forwarded us to room service. The phone rang and rang with no answer. Finally after another 45 minutes someone finally answered and our order was brought to the room thirty minutes later. No apologies and no discount.

We later called the front desk to get a cab. The desk clerk told us a cab would be there in fifteen minutes and we could meet them downstairs outside of the lobby. My traveling partner went down to have a smoke and I followed in fifteen minutes.

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