We recently returned from a 5 day trip down to beautiful North Carolina. We had a wonderful time, first visiting Raleigh and then heading off to the Crystal Coast.
Here’s a rehash:
Day One:
Our drive down to Raleigh was a bit rough …. it poured torrential rains the entire trip, with maybe a 10 minute break of sunshine somewhere in Virginia I think. It was the kind of rain where you think your windshield wipers might need replacing, and you can barely see the car in front of you.
But we made it, checked into our hotel and later visited with our friends (s)wine and momentofchoice who graciously toured us around Raleigh (thanks again guys!) and took us to a nice little Irish pub, Hibernian.
During the tour, I was able to see where the design college is located, one which I’ve considered for perhaps continuing my graphic design education. Raleigh is also full of neat little shops and restaurants, beautiful neighborhoods, bike and walking paths … it’s a city with a unique and engaging ambiance. Not too big, not too small, and not too far away from the beach.
We didn’t spend much time there as we were leaving for the coast the following morning, but the time we did spend we greatly enjoyed. To Alex and Teresa, it was wonderful to meet you, and thank you for your hospitality, I hope we get the chance to visit again sometime =)
Day Two:
Heading to the Crystal Coast, we were greeted with wonderful weather. We had feared it would rain the entire time again but it was partly sunny the whole way. It took us about 3 hours to get to the beach .. part of the way I could smell the pine trees which lined the highway on both sides. It was refreshing to see nice, long, CLEAN stretches of highway … something you don’t see much around here.
As always, the beach looked fabulous. I’m always amazed at how seeing that first glimpse of the ocean never gets old.
After we checked into our hotel, we went out driving around … had some lunch, grocery shopped, then headed back to the beach to spend some time in the sand. The surf was harsh, so we didn’t do much swimming that day.
That night we had dinner at McCurdy’s on Moonlight Bay, a recommendation from momentofchoice, and it was awesome! It wasn’t very crowded so we got an outside table just as the sun was starting to set. Grilled seafood, veggies & Red Stripe beer, mmmmm …. it was a lovely dinner.
Of course we couldn’t miss Obama’s speech, so we hurried back to the hotel room to watch it.
Day Three:
Started the day off with a trip to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll shores. It was nice, not too crowded, which made me happy because my last aquarium experience was a horrid one … you couldn’t see the fish for all the children running rampant and their parents shoving them up to the glass to get a closer look.
Anyhoo, the NC Aquarium isn’t huge but it had a good bit of neat things to see … we took some great pictures there, two of which I plan to enter into the aquarium’s annual amateur photography contest. I’ll let you know how that goes!
At the aquarium I found an Orange Julius stand .. I love those! I don’t think I’ve had one since I was little. I didn’t even know they still existed.
There is a nature trail at the aquarium and we started off walking it, but quickly turned back as it was FULL of mosquitos and biting flies. I wasn’t wearing good hiking shoes and left the bug spray at home, so we decided to do that another time.
We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant which I can’t remember the name of, and then spent the rest of the day back at the beach. I was delighted because the waters were much more calm and clear that day. I saw my first actual fish in the water, of all the times I’ve been to the beach, I’ve never actually seen a fish near me until now. I also saw an abundance of crabs, all sizes! First time for that too …. I guess the quieter the beach, the more animals you will see.
Day Four:
It took us quite a while on this day to decide what we wanted to do. We wanted to do something really fun since it was our last full day there, but the choices were just too many.
We finally decided on taking a ferry to the Outer Banks to a particular part called Shackleford Banks. It was about a 15 minute ride from the mainland, and I was sooooo glad we chose to do that. The island is home to 140 wild mustangs, and we were lucky enough to see two of them. We were just walking and saw people pointing and saying, “Oh how cool!” … looked behind us and there they were, a stallion and his mare. I heard people saying of all the times they had been to that island, it was the first time they had actually seen horses.
We also saw tons, and I mean TONS, of little tiny crabs. I was amazed at how many there were, and how they scurry to dig holes and get out of your way when they see you coming. I tried to get a picture, but all you can see is sand.
We were lazy on the island for 2 hours until the ferry came to pick us up. We had dinner at a place called Finz which was recommended by our ferry tour guide and was right on the water. It was nice.
When we returned back to where we were staying, we strolled the beach around sunset, got some last minute pictures, and spent the evening at a little joint called Molly’s, which advertised beachside burgers and beer … it was right on the pier! The view was nice, the beer was cold, the live music was fun, and we didn’t ever want to leave.
Day Five:
We reluctantly left to come home, which is always depressing. I hate the feeling of driving away from the beach, not knowing when you can come back again. It’s so carefree there … it’s easier to breathe, it’s easier to get out and seize the day because there is so much more to do. It’s wonderful to soak up some vitamin D and I realized there how everything is milder and simpler … for the first time in a long time, I actually felt calm.
Just can’t wait to go back. That’s one beach I think I would never get bored of. Not too touristy, not too desolate.
Just right!
So now it’s back to my regularly scheduled bullshit … when I’m not at work, I’m sitting here at the laptop researching NC jobs and apartments, and when I’m not doing that, I’m trying to catch up on some reading. I have a stack of Harvey Pekar and Chuck Palahniuk books just waiting for me, and they’ve been waiting a damn long time. Note to self: Myspace/Facebook less, READ MORE ….
