hatteras.

John and I tagged along for a few days with his father and friends on their annual trip to the Outer Banks.  We were super grateful they offered to let us stay in the extra room of their beach house, appropriately it was the "kids room" complete with bunk beds.  John actually lived on Hatteras Island for several years when he was a kid, and then again when he was in college he'd spend his summer on the island working & having fun.  It's a very special place for his family and I can see why, it's lovely.  It was my first time in the southern Outer Banks.  I've been to a lot of beaches all over NC throughout the years and I have to say, there's something magical about the Outer Banks -- the villages and beaches are wonderful, definitely my favorite in this state.  We can't wait to go back next year.  We're also going to spend some more time visiting different beaches, it's a shame really, we live just a few hours away from the shore & we hardly go.  We'll remedy that.

We had fun baking in the sun, reading on the beach, watching the crabs in the morning, watching the dolphins in the evening, visiting John's old haunts, hunting for shells, jumping the waves, eating & drinking whatever we wanted, giving a home to a rescue crab (some tourists left a hermit crab & a shop owner gave her to me for free.  her name is Hilary Duff), lounging on the porch & in the hot tub, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean, waking up to the early morning light, and loving life.  It was definitely a nice, relaxing week.  Much needed.