Emerald Isle is one of our favorite beaches. I had been going there with my kids each July 4th week for several years. We always get the same ocean front house for the week. This year each of my girls were doing their own thing and not really interested except for Morgan and here husband, Lincoln, who would also be bringing my 2 year old granddaughter! They would be joining us for a few days. We had the house for Saturday June 29th to Saturday July 6th.
We hit the road about 9:30am on the 29th for a four hour drive to the beach house. This trip would be all about relaxing with no particular agenda. We were really looking forward to the down time.
After getting settled in we went over to the Crab Shack for dinner. This is a small local place on the sound side of the island where you can watch the fishing boats coming in while enjoying your dinner.
Emerald Isle is a barrier island that is with the beach oriented east to west. This means you can enjoy both sunrise and sunset on the beach. More sunsets for us, however. We are not usually early morning risers.
The next day Morgan, Lincoln, and Evelyn were to arrive late afternoon. We actually got up early enough to enjoy the sunrise, which is rather spectacular if you get up in time. We had to try a local place for lunch that is somewhat of a landmark here, Big Oak Drive In BBQ. How can you pass that up? Sandwiches were excellent but you need to be aware the sea gulls are a bit competitive.
Morgan and crew arrived about 6:00pm and we spent the evening enjoying the beach. This was Evelyn's first beach trip so she was not sure what to think about it at first.
The next day was all about enjoying the beach. Evelyn was quite the helper with putting up the canopy. We also celebrated her birthday since we would not see her on her actual birthday which is 7/7.
Wednesday and Thursday more of the same. We were really enjoying having Evelyn around.
On Friday we went to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. This is a great place for kids and during this week they had a patriotic themed sand sculpture on display as well. Evelyn was quite fascinated by the whole thing. After that, back to the beach for a lazy afternoon.
That evening we met up with John and Kay for dinner at Caribsea, which I consider to be the best restaurant on the island. It was great to see them again before we had to head home the next day.
So the next day being Saturday it was our check out day. We got loaded up and headed out with a plan to stop at Mother Earth Brewery in Kinston for lunch, where we would part ways and head home.
What a fantastic trip this turned out to be. We relaxed, ate, drank, laughed, soaked up the sun, and best of all got to spend some real quality time with family. Sometimes the best medicine is to just slow down and enjoy the here and now. Exactly what we needed.
"TRAVELING - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." lbn Batutta
Please feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below. Also, I can be reached at Rocky@Rocklyns.com should you feel the need to reach out.
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