Thanksgiving at the Outer Banks, NC - Part 1

So we did something a little different this year for Thanksgiving. My sister, brother and I, along with our families rented a house in the Outer Banks, NC for the holiday! We even bought Titus along! I took SO many pictures, so I'm going to break our trip up into a few posts.

Lets' get started!

Fonzy had to work Wednesday and Elijah had basketball practice so Ezekiel, Titus and I left early. They would drive up later. Ezekiel and I packed up the truck and off we went! I LOVE the beach. I don't care what time of year it is, I'm willing to go anytime. The 3 hour trip was OK, until that last hour! The last hour was on a two lane highway, and you could only go 55mph! It took FOREVER! I was so excited when we finally pulled up to the house. This was Titus first time on the beach, so as soon as we unpacked, we headed to the beach. He was a little hesitant at first, but then he loved it. He wouldn't go into the water, but got close to it. By 9pm everyone had arrived at the house.

Thanksgiving morning my sister Karen, her husband James and I were up at 5:30am. Everyone else was still snoozing. Normally I would be too, but I wanted to see the sunrise, and once Titus heard them rustling in the kitchen he wanted to be up and out! In the kitchen, James was making his famous potato salad and took on making the mac and cheese from me. I'm so glad he did. His mac and cheese was so good! A lot better than mine would have been. While Karen and James were busy with cooking, Vicky(SIL), Titus and I headed to the beach for a bit. It was a gorgeous morning. And we saw dolphins!! About 4 or 5 of them. Such a great way to start Thanksgiving morning.
      After our beach walk, lots of coffee was consumed! Everyone was up and the cooking continued, along with some serious foosball playing throughout the day. Titus also received lots of loving. When James kids first meet Titus, I think they were a little afraid of him, but now Jaylan is his best bud!

Finally dinner was done and it was time to eat! Jay carved all the meat and Vicky set the table all nice and pretty for us. We normally just use paper plates, but we decided to be fancy this Thanksgiving and use real plates. We fancy ya'll! Everything was so good, and we all got good and stuffed!

In the evening it was spade time! Lots of trash talking and butt whipping! Karen and I kicked Fonzy and Jay's butts several times! They can't beat us! We are Spade Queens. I just realized I didn't take any pictures of our spade playing. No bueno.

I also finished my chunky cable blanket on Thanksgiving. I LOVE it. Karen tried to steal it, but that wasn't happening. I love her and all, but this blanket is all mine!

And that's the end of Thanksgiving day! Phew, that's a lot of pictures! And I still have tons from the other two days we were there. Part 2 and maybe 3 will be posted soon! There was fishing on Jeanette's Pier where we froze, but 2 fish were caught, more beach walks, lighthouse visits and a famous house from the movie Nights in Rodanthe.

Sister Beach Day

back home a shade darker and sandy

Karen and I decided we needed a sister beach day, so this past weekend we made it happen! We packed my truck with blankets, badminton, beach umbrella, and a cooler filled with fruit, cheese, crackers and water. We took a selfie and hit the road a little after 9am.

We sang to country music (a whole lot of Kenny Rogers, to Karen's dismay) talked about life and I tried to keep my speed under 90 mph. A little under 2 hours later and we were on the beach! We struggled a little pulling our cooler on the sand, but once we got settled it was all good. Well, until it started to rain! It was just a quick summer shower, and even though Karen wanted to leave, I told her were sitting through it! We had an umbrella.....all was good. The dark clouds stayed around for most of the day, but the weather was perfect! Not too hot, and salty breezes blowing. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

I finished my zigzag blanket a few weeks ago, and was able to get pictures of it on the beach. When I started it a few years ago, I pictured the bright colors on the beach. I'm so glad to finally be done with it!

After hanging out on the beach for a few hours, the sky got darker, along with low rumbles of thunder, so we decided to pack it up and head to dinner. Dinner was at a restaurant on the waterfront. We were full of sand, sunburned, and windblown hair, but we didn't care. The food was good! That crab dip in the picture was yummy! We both wanted to lick the bowl! Dinner was also good. I had coconut shrimp and Karen had a steak. As we nearing the end of our meal, we had a little drama. A couple came in, the man clearly intoxicated. They sat at a table to my back. He asked us if one of the yachts were ours, and then said, "you know I'm from Roberson County, right" Uh no....we didn't know that, but thanks for telling us. We didn't say that, but I wanted to. Not even 10 minutes after they sat down, the couple started arguing quietly at their table. All of sudden, the guy grabbed the glass salt shaker and smashed it on the table. He cut his hand and blood was everywhere. His back was to my back, and he pushed back in his chair hard and pinned me to the table. All I could think was this man was going nuts and I was pinned in my seat! He walked out the restaurant with blood trailing everywhere. It looked like a crime scene! The managers came out and asked the lady if she was alright. She said they were leaving and she was calling the cops. She left the restaurant. Behind me, the table was full of glass, salt and blood. The managers and our waitress kept apologizing for the scene. Our waitress was shaking as she handed us our checks. As we were leaving, there was a trail of blood to the parking lot, and the guy was out there, talking to the manager of the restaurant, trying to get on his motorcycle to leave! The girl was no where to be seen. Hopefully, the manager called the cops and wouldn't let him drive drunk, but we didn't hang around to find out!

All in all, it was a good day. Yeah, we had a little rain, a little drama, and a table next to us that looked like a crime scene, but still a good day.

Also, we both decided we need to stay away from people from Roberson County, wherever that is, because they may be a little crazy!

Beach Weekend

This past weekend Elijah had a basketball tournament in Myrtle Beach. I'm not a big fan of Myrtle, but hey, it's a beach, right. This trip seemed so short. Probably because we didn't leave as early as we wanted on Friday, then back early on Sunday. I had one full day at the beach, and it wasn't enough. I've already planned another day trip to the beach with my sister.

I got up early Saturday and watched the sunrise on the beach in my pajamas. Fonzy, the boys and Ezekiel's girlfriend decided to sleep in. They missed out. Sunrise on the the beach is magical.

Fonzy, the boys and girlfriend went to a water park. I spent the day on the beach. They are not beach lovers like me, so I was glad they had something else to do. I was able to just sit, knit, enjoy the salty breezes, waves, and sand in my toes. I could sit at the beach all day.

In the evening Fonzy and I headed out to dinner. The kids said they would stay in the room and order pizza. I guess that's the good thing about having teens. We can just leave them, and head out ourselves. We choose a seafood place with all you can eat crab legs. I think I had 3 plates of crab legs. They were so good. I hate fighting to get the meat out, but by the 3rd plate, I was a pro!

After dinner we picked up the kids and headed to the strip. Not my favorite....it was too crowded, too much noise, just too much! By 11:00pm, we were done! Or I was done, so back to the resort we went. This trip was short and sweet, but I was kind of glad to get back home. No place like home.

Myrtle Beach Weekend 3

Weekend getaways are so good. It's been a while since we've done a weekend away. It was much needed. It felt good to wake up and have nothing that needs to be done. No chores, no sports, no cooking....nothing. Just a day ahead full of adventure. A day spent lounging on the beach, salty breezes blowing, then out to dinner that evening. Ahhh.....

Dinner at the House of Blues was good. It was also the only time I took pictures of food! And it was so dark, I couldn't even get great pictures. We had an extra long wait for our food to arrive, but we didn't mind too much. I guess that's all part of being on vacation. No rush, no place to be. The cornbread with maple butter was good! Had little pieces of jalapeno and cheese in it.Sweet and spicy! Yummy! I ordered the lobster mac and cheese and loved it. It now has me searching for lobster mac and cheese recipes to make my own. I've found a few recipes that might be good.

After dinner we headed out to the deck to listen to live music. Fonzy and I have great memories of Ezekiel dancing the night away on that deck. Unfortunately, when we got out there the live band was on a break and the mosquitoes decided to eat Fonzy and the boys alive so we didn't last long.

Driving back to the hotel, the boys wanted to play Putt Putt on one of the many miniature golf courses they have in Myrtle. It seems there is one on every block. There's dinosaurs, pirate ships, volcanoes, mermaids. All types. We picked dinosaurs. Nothing like a friendly game of putt putt among dinos. Of course, being with all males, any sport turns into a competition. So the boys and Fonzy went at it. Ezekiel was the winner! We've decided we want to play putt putt more often. Good family fun.

Sunday, before we left Myrtle, Fonzy and the boys wanted to head to outlet stores. Now, I am not one for shopping. I dislike it immensely. But they aren't big fans of the beach so it was a give and take. So off to the stores we went. I found one store I actually enjoyed. Kitchen Connection I think it was called. I saw so many gadgets, cast iron skillets, dutch ovens, programmable crockpots....the list could go on and on with what I wanted. I really think the programmable crockpot is a must. Especially with Fall right around the corner. Haven't got one yet, but I see one in my future.

All in all our weekend was great. I wish we had more time away, but school and work call, so back to the real world.