OBX

          My sister’s in-laws introduced us to annual vacations in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My mom adopted the tradition and rents a beach house every August. It’s the highpoint of my year. It’s so much easier to get along with family in a big house on the beach with a fridge stocked with alcohol and ice-cream.  

         

Actually, my family is pretty copacetic and non-confrontational. We all balance freedom, space and companionship pretty well. My family tells the old joke constantly, “The only thing better than a week at the beach is two weeks at the beach.” I think both my sister and I are becoming teachers to find out if it’s true!

    Nags Head, NC is a magical place. Unlike most beaches in the northeast, there are no boardwalks or humungous hotels. Piers are used for dropping crab-lines and fishing poles, not for dropping dough on arcade games. Most parts of the OBX just consist of houses with a few shops, entertainments, and grocery stores. The ocean and atmosphere are the biggest attractions. It’s a family friendly vacation spot where you feel dressed up in a pony-tail and flip-flops.  Nags Head has more beach stores, tourist sites, and things to do than the neighboring areas of Hatteras and Corolla. My son and I spend hours swimming in the waves and boogie-boarding. Other family members get their fill of salt water and sand quickly then head out to the stores, fudge shops, or mini-golfing.

          One reason the beach is so special to me and my son is that it’s almost all quality time. We can leave daily responsibilities at home and just have fun. I can sort of drop the role of mom and we can be friends going on adventures together. We love to hike over the sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge. We recklessly kick off our shoes to explore the unique habitat. We do the hard work of climbing the loose sand to gain the views from the top, and then sprint down the sides – over and over. We also like to hike around Pea Island and Oregon Inlet. We’re keen on nature trails and bird sighting. Occasionally we rent kayaks for some paddling on the sound.

          Last year we stayed in Corolla and Keith and I rode bikes on the beach past where the road ends. We didn’t see the wild horses of Corolla, but we did see dolphins cavorting in the waves. It was great fun to speed along the packed sand, splashing through the surf under an intense sun.

          A few years ago we drove south to a go-kart park. It was nice to leave the little kids and old folks at “home” while we had some high-adrenaline fun. Afterwards, we had a delicious lunch of tuna steak at a restaurant that was basically a partially enclosed porch with ceiling fans instead of air-conditioning. Then we swam in the sound for the first time. You can walk out into the sound for over half a mile. In some places it never gets more than six feet deep all the way across. Being so far away from shore was cool (I won’t lie – it’s a little scary too.)

          At the beach we get to be the people and family we want to be if responsibilities didn’t get in the way. We loll around houses bigger than we ever could afford to own, talk for hours over morning coffee, and have evening drinks in the hot tub. Each summer we also experience new things. Those experiences bring us closer together. We create memories that will last forever!