Beach Memories

We made memories we will forever cherish during this vacation!

Two amazing weeks with them❥❥❥

Dan, Michelle, Nathan, and Megan flew from California to Arizona

to pick us (nanie and tatie) up and take us with them!

We then flew across the country to North Carolina and then drove to the Outer Banks. When I made my first trip there I had no idea I would be in a teeny strip of land that looked like this. I think it was good I didn't know. The Outer Banks (OBX) is a 200-mile long string of peninsulas and narrow barrier islands separating the Atlantic Ocean from mainland North Carolina.

We drove from Raleigh to Manteo taking the first of many bridges to get across to Manteo. This is where we spent our first week traveling up to Duck and then down to Ocracoke Island. In between towns we would be on roads that had the ocean on one side and the sound on the other. The blue dot is our vehicle on GPS. Yikees!! We lucked out with beautiful weather! Not a good place to be if a hurricane hits.

Before crossing to the OBX we traveled to Digger's Dungeon, the home of the Grave Digger. See more of this HERE

Our travels included passing many farmer's markets. The peaches in NC are the absolute best I have ever tasted. They were mmmmmm good!! I guess that's why their peach wine was mmmm good too!

 

It was great to be on the road and just stop when we saw something we liked... like the Sanctuary Vineyards Winery, the Cotton Gin shops, and the Weeping Radish Brewery.

 We enjoyed the sunset at the Sunset Grill in Kitty Hawk

 

A favorite place to eat is Basnight's Lone Cedar Café!

It's our third trip here and eating here is a must!

We spent one night at the Elizabeth Inn in Manteo but then the next couple of nights we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk. We had gorgeous views from our room and we enjoyed sitting around the firepit at nighttime.

 

Did some shopping at the Waterfront Shops in Duck, My Secret Garden in Manteo, and others we found along the road.

 

 

Dan and David's fishing excursion was a huge success!!

Even though we've seen all the Outer Bank's lighthouses on our previous trips we couldn't stay away from seeing the Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras lighthouses again.

 

watching the sunset on our way to Ocracoke Island

Once on the island we stayed two nights at the Edwards of Ocracoke

Michelle and I would sneak out in the mornings and walk to the Ocracoke Coffee Co before the others woke up.

Mother/Daughter time!

We ate at so many great restaurants, but the Dajio Restaurant became one of our new f.a.v.o.r.i.t.e.s!! Definitely will be a must when we go back. Wish I could right now!

Our first week was over :( and we had to leave the island and head back to the main land. There were so many more places I didn't even mention, like the Busy Bee Café, the Rose Tree Shop to name a few, oh and Duck Donuts! Read about the best donuts ever HERE and see how much fun Nathan and Megan were having during our trip!! They were awesome!

 

So after our 2 1/2 hr ferry ride from Ocracoke Island to Cedar Island we then headed down the coast to our Myrtle Beach/Surfside Beach destination. But it would take about 4 hrs and there was more to see along the way... So we spent one night half way there. We roamed around in the town of Beaufort and ate at a waterfront restaurant, the Front Street Grill (more good food).

Lots of beautiful historic homes. Here's one that I fell in love with! Even ones with small side yards were beautiful! And I found my boat... the Sea Jewel! Must be mine!!

Another town we stopped at was Wilmington NC. There was a street fair going on so it was pretty crowded. We came hungry and wondered what our chances were to pick a good restaurant? 

Michelle picked a good one with more beautiful waterfront views.

The Pilot House

 

Then we continued on our journey down the coast excited to reach our beach house. The blue house as Megan calls it. It had absolutely amazing views. Couldn't get any better than walking a few steps down to the beach enjoying every moment we were there. As much as we enjoyed all the restaurants we ate at, we enjoyed cooking here and grilling and making ourselves at home. And one of my all time favorite things to do is being in the kitchen cooking with my daughter (the only thing missing... my boys and their families).  

 

 

Views from my bedroom!

Even found Dan out there fishing one morning.

 

David's kids, Angie and Jeremy and his girlfriend Casey were able to join us for the 2nd week here. Made for a very happy papa!!

 

A view from our beach chairs

 

Lots of beach fun.

Enjoying the beaches in Kitty Hawk, Ocracoke, and Surfside Beach!

Now I have to follow my own advice. 

"Don't be sad because it's over, Be happy because it happened"