(pardon my middle-agedness as I thought I posted this 2 weeks ago!!) but…better late than never I guess!!

Can you hear that? Do you smell it? Can you see it? I’m talking about the ocean. The sound of the waves, the smell of the salt air, the brilliant blue color….it seems like it’s been forever since I’ve been there and yet it was just last week!! But oh what a WONDERFUL week it was!!



We packed up as much stuff as the car would hold including all 3 dogs and off we went! We arrived in the Outer Banks on Sunday and as always, our first stop was at the Life is Good store(right next to Kitty Hawk Kites)
in Nags Head! I mean, a girl (and her husband!) can NEVER have too many Life is Good shirts and hoodies! Especially those that are made just for the Outer Banks!! I did manage to only purchase 3 for myself during my week long stay but Mark ended up with 4, we bought 3 as gifts, I bought a wristlet to carry my phone and money in, plus the small miscellaneous items like stickers and décor. We also visited the stores in Avon, Rodanthe & Duck. Kitty Hawk Kites & the Life is Good store is where most of the vacation budget is spent! LOL
We checked into our house that we rented thru Midgett Realty (who I think is one of the best!) This is the 2nd year we have rented “1 Particular Harbor” and we absolutely love it! 5 bedrooms, 3 ½ baths, a pool, a hot tub, unobstructed ocean views, and only a couple hundred yards to the beach! A bargain!
The weather this year was absolutely stunning! Sunshine and warm temps each and every day! Evenings were perfect and only once or twice did I need a hoodie at night on the beach. We spent several hours walking the beach with the dogs, fishing, lounging on the sand, swimming in the ocean, lounging at the pool, soaking in the hot tub and just simply relaxing! It was one of the best vacations ever—mainly because we did NOTHING most of the time but enjoy it!

We did leave the house Tuesday to make a trip to the grocery store and decided to find a place to have some lunch. We stopped at The Fish House Restaurant in Buxton and enjoyed a view of the harbor while dining on Fried Pickles for an appetizer. I then enjoyed a crab cake sandwich while Mark had a basket of fried BlueFish and fries. Both were delicious and the quaint building with slanted floors and walk in cooler right in the entryway made for a unique lunch!

We were joined on Wednesday by our good friends for the last half of the week. Being 1st timers to Hatteras Island, we did take them to see the Hatteras Light Station on Friday morning.

We made the climb up 257 steps to the top of the 187’ tallest brick lighthouse in North America. (That’s equivalent to 12 stories if you’re wondering!) Luckily, it’s a set-your-own-pace climb, so old folks like me can stop and take a break on one of the 8 landings between the flights of stairs! The views from the top are breathtaking and a must see for anyone who makes it to the Outer Banks.

Friday evening we went to dinner at Good Winds Seafood and Wine Bar.
Having dined there in 2013 we knew the seafood was worth going back for and we were not disappointed! Scallops, blackened mahi-mahi, fried flounder baskets, and so much more!! I even enjoyed the succotash that was the side dish with my mahi-mahi and let me tell you that as a kid, I would rather skip a meal all together than ever eat succotash!!



After dinner, we sat on the outside patio sipping a glass of wine and watched a simply stunning sunset over the sound. It seriously was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen!
Saturday evening we decided to not cook seafood and went to a local place-StingWray’s Bar & Grille-and dined.
Although the service was slow, the food was good. I had a tuna burrito that was outstanding! For an appetizer we had bacon wrapped cream cheese stuffed shrimp—yeah—it was delicious!!!
We packed up Sunday morning and headed out with the intention of visiting Corolla on our way out but the traffic was horrid so we stopped in Duck and visited Salty Paws & The Outer Barks to get the boys some treats and then we were on our way home.

After a short detour thru Washington D.C. (in the middle of Memorial Day weekend and 1000’s of bikers!) due to an outdated Garmin, we finally made it home late Sunday night.
This was absolutely one of the best vacations ever. Laid back, relaxing, warm, sunny and peaceful. I could use one of these weeks once a month! Couldn’t we all?!