Beach Week in the Outer Banks

After a solid three months of renovations, the house was a disaster and our nerves were fried. With the doldrums of summer approaching, we were both desperate for a vacation. A nice jaunt in the Caribbean would have been perfect (diving + frosty drinks + elaborate swimming pools = very happy Emily), we wanted to cut costs until this renovation is over. We settled on renting a house in NC's Outer Banks as an easy option to get away, and a good opportunity to research local beach options in search of a beach to call our own.

We drove down on Sunday, moved into our little one-bedroom unit in a multi-unit complex, hung around, and then drove home. Instead of giving you the day-by-day, I thought it would be more fun as a Top Ten List.

#10 - Yoga with a View
I have a yoga video that was shot on a beach in Hawaii. I brought it with me as an easy exercise option, but got to turn my mat towards the awesome view outside instead of pining over the beach in the video. Mine came with wave sounds too.

it's harder to do yoga when you have cats

#9 - Sand Castles
One day, after several of sitting on the beach reading, I decided to make a sand castle. It was amazing. I spent at least 10 minutes with moats, towers, walls, etc. Then we watched as the tide came in a slowly washed it back out. Time well spent.

#8 - Cat Naps
When we planned this trip, we expected the renovation to be complete by now. Since it is a couple weeks behind schedule, we had to change plans for the cats. We couldn't leave them alone in the house and weren't sure boarding would work, so we decided to bring them with us. While their presence totally ruined the car trip both ways, they really made the stay nicer.

I nap with both cats

Wally sets a lively mood for the afternoon

#7 - Beach Time
We got some great beach chairs that you wear like a backpack, and a good-sized umbrella. Each day we went out to sit in the shade of the umbrella for a couple hours to read. I usually wandered on the occasional beach walk to stretch my legs and spy on all the people around us, while R would go float in the waves.

reading on the beach

 

beach walk

 

#6 - Sitting on the Porch
While sitting on the beach was great, I would argue that it was slightly nicer to sit on our porch. It was shaded, and had a great view of both the beach and the pool. It was right off of our living room, so you could easily come and go without hauling chairs or anything else. All of our meals were consumed there blissfully.

view from the porch looking towards the pool and beach

#5 - Restaurant/Bar Place
After a couple days doing the sitting on the beach/napping inside with the cats thing, we decided to shake it up and see what the island had to offer. We drove down to their national seashore and lighthouse, which were both quite nice, and then stumbled upon an outdoor bar/restaurant place right on the beach. We both had serious difficulty getting up to leave.

the lighthouse on the way to the amazing restaurant

beach bar

happy beach bar face

 

#4 - Junk Food
So, generally we both try hard to eat well. We cook almost everything from scratch and avoid processed foods and junk. But this was vacation, so it was a different story. During our week, we went through 3 bags of chips, 1 bag of Oreos, 3 donuts, and quite a bit of liquor. Good times. No regrets.

ice cream on the boardwalk

 

G&Ts plus Dill Chips. yah.

#3 - Seafood
Just opposite of #4, we did actually eat really well on this trip. We found a fresh seafood market and picked up a different seafood or fish each night. The winner was salmon grilled on cedar planks, followed closely by the scallops and roasted multi-colored potatoes.

R mans the salmon on the grill

 

Shrimp and clam boil on the patio

 

#2 - Karaoke
Early in the week, we discovered that a restaurant within walking distance offered nightly karaoke, but that it didn't start until 10. We spent the whole week trying and failing to stay up late enough to make it, until our second-to-last night (because I napped in the afternoon to prepare). Once we got there, it was clear it would be everything a karaoker could dream of - complete with a large group of college boys that had had too much to drink. We brought the house down with a perky and poignant rendition of "Love Shack".

horrible picture- but the only evidence this actually happened

 

#1 - Heroism
So one night we were walking along the beach around sunset, just as all the fishermen were coming out and setting up their lines. As we neared one, we saw that they had caught something that was flopping on the sand. We got nearer and realized it wasn't a fish, but a bird, that was caught in the line and flopping and twisting itself around. The owners looked at it sadly and apologetically, but clearly didn't know what to do. Suddenly, husband rips off his shirt and confidently strides over to the bird, using the shirt to cover its head, calm it down, and prevent it from moving. The family then steps up to help, with the mother trying to untangle him from the line while the daughter uses her phone as a flashlight. The bird is clearly completely knotted and tangled, and it's starting to look grim- when the father arrives with nail clippers, to cut him lose. After roughly 15 minutes of working on it, the last knot is cut and the bird wriggles free and flies off. I don't know what the family would have done if we hadn't helped, but I don't think it would have been good. Because of my man, the bird lived another day. It was pretty awesome.

So, all around, it was a pretty fabulous trip. Not sure yet if the outer banks will be "our" beach yet, but they definitely set the bar pretty high. I'll leave you with some pictures of a sunset walk along the sound-side boardwalk.