Outer Banks Mini Family Vacation An Unexpected Blessing

We all need a vacation.  Real estate agents especially need a break from the long hours it takes to work out deals in today’s volatile market.  Over the fourth of July weekend my family gathered in Duck North Carolina on the Outer Banks for some R&R.

Why do we need a vacation? Donna Summer gives a good analysis in these lyrics “She works hard for the money, So hard for it honey, She works hard for the money, So you better treat her right”

It was our first visit to the Outer Banks and we had a great time.  I would summarize the time as grillin and chillin.

We spent most of our time on the beach.  The humidity was low even though the heat was high.  A fresh breeze off the ocean made just sitting on the beach the best activity of the day.

 

We got to the beach by about 10:00 every morning and then hung out for most of the day.  A long afternoon break for lunch and then some card games was followed up by round 2 of the day at the beach.

Our afternoon and evening shift at the beach featured entertainment from my husband Tim who broke out his surf fishing rods every afternoon.  Around six o’clock he would bait up the lines and stake out the rods along the surf.

We caught flounder, whiting (aka cod), croakers, and lots of other things.  The bluefish we were targeting had not moved to the surf areas so no big fish frys for the English family.

In the late evenings we turned in to gourmet chefs as we whipped up fantastic dinners with the local seafood.

Fruitti de Mare risotto with fresh clams,mussels and soft shell crabs, low country shrimp boils, grilled flounder with fresh tomatoes and peppers (a la Vera Cruz), gourmet burgers, fried eggplant, crab and artichoke dip, chicken Parmesan.  We definitely have some culinary minded folks in our family.

 

 

A highlight of the trip was fireworks on July 4th.  Fireworks are banned in Duck NC but the word must not have reached the die hard beach goers.  We saw spectacular fireworks all up and down the beach.  Honestly, these were commercial grade fireworks.  I do not know where they buy the mortar type fireworks that would light up the sky,  Must have been thousands od dollars per family spent on these incredible displays.  It was a festive way to end the fourth.

The town of Duck celebrated the 4th of July on July 5th with a parade.  We joined in as spectators.  I love small town parades and this one ranked high on my list of favorites.  Afterward we planned to line up for Duck Donuts but had to post pone this visit because everyone else thought home made donuts would be a good way to cap off the parade viewing.  We returned later and totally satisfied our sugar cravings.  Yum.

The last hurrah of the trip was a ten mile four wheel drive along the beach, yes in the sand right beside the ocean, north of the town of Carolla.  We were looking for the wid horses that populate this end of the island.

 

Tim was very hesitant about driving his Yukon XL in the sand but we were persistent and he drove us far up the beach one evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did not spot the horses until late in the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just loved seeing the horses wandering around the sand dunes.

 

 

The beach road was dependent on the tides.  We were driving along at high tide and had to use the “uppper” road that is mostly soft sand.

Yes, you do see houses in the back ground.  There are lots of houses along some portions of the beach.  Owners and visitors have to use the beach road to access their homes.

We returned to Atlanta and jumped right back in our daily routines.  Ah vacation, you gotta love summertime vacations.  Family, good food and fun.  Nothing better.