Intro to Carolina Beach

So, we had Derek home for a couple of days, but it was kind of weird, because now that he's in college, his Spring Break isn't going to coincide with Riley's anymore. They did get to hang out a little bit over the weekend...but then Riley went back to his school and homework and weeknight bedtime routine...and that effectively put an end to the brother bonding, at least for this brief hiatus. Besides, Derek was only planning to stay until Thursday, at which point he'd be joining some of his SC buddies in Carolina Beach at one of their family's vacation houses.

Of course, this required him to be chauffeured to the rendezvous...Husband volunteered, earning him a side-eye from me, while I gave him ample time to think about the ludicrous thing he'd just proposed. I mean, in what universe does he imagine that I'm going to pass up a chance to visit my favorite relative...ahem..."Mother Ocean"? (Thank you, Jimmy Buffett...) Sure, it's March, when you never can tell what weather personality you're going to get--hot sun, thunderstorms, biting wind, even snow, who knows? But no matter what, there will be surf, and sand, and that's good enough for me.

Thus I made my own arrangements, to stay overnight after dropping Derek off with his friends, and the two of us hit the road. Once again, it was delightful to have him all to myself, for 3 hours of car convos. (It's not like I had to pay much attention to the actual, you know, "driving", since you literally take Route 40 East from Chapel Hill, all the way until you hit the coast...and it's ohhh sooo flat, straight, and boring. I just realized that tomorrow's solo trek back will likely be super-tedious...ay yi yi...but first, beach!)

As we pulled up into the driveway, we were greeted by a heartwarming "Norm" moment, when the boys chilling outside on the porch (appropriately blasting the surf-vibes tunes of Kenny Chesney) spontaneously yelled a collective "Deeerrrrreeek!" and raced down the stairs to welcome him. Alrighty, then....clearly he didn't need his mother any longer, so after exchanging pleasant small talk for a few minutes, I left the teenagers to it, and set out to find my own hotel.

But first, I did have to linger a few moments while I pulled up the address on my phone...and when I happened to glance up after finding it, I was startled to see the whole gang outside once more, enthusiastically waving me goodbye. Perhaps it was simply a "Dude, can we get rid of your mom, already?" gesture, but there was something sweet about it, too. (These are nice guys, that Derek has fallen in with...thank heavens!) Anyway, I was a little nervous about the venue, since I'd booked an unknown place (the chains being ridiculously expensive, even in the off-season), but it turned out to be fine ("quaint" I believe sums it up...). Oh, and also: Right. On. The. Water. (Yaaayyyy!)

(The one downside I'm noticing is how loud it is, with various noises easily penetrating my walls--such as each and every time someone locks their car...a small yappy dog that keeps barking at random times...or the live music being played at the tiki bar 50 yards away, which sounds like a personal concert happening right in my room. Yeeeahhh...we'll see how much sleep I get tonight...)

As soon as I dropped off my stuff, I hightailed it back outside, to stroll along the water for a bit. Aaahhhh, the sea breeze, the briny air, the...toasty temps? You see, it was about 10* balmier than the forecast had predicted, and I felt warm in a light long-sleeve shirt for the first time in...well, months, for sure. After reacquainting myself with la playa, I decided to do something else on my list: the nearby state park, where the big draw is apparently that it is one of the few places containing Venus flytraps in their natural environment (In the "you learn something new every day" category, these plants only grow in the wild within 60-70 miles of Wilmington, NC. Now we're all smarter, right? Cool...)

Now, it was undeniably pleasant to stroll around the grounds, appreciating the scenery and all. But I've gotta say....as someone who's not particularly...botanically gifted...I would have loved, oh, I don't know, SIGNS of some sort that pointed out these unique carnivorous specimens. I kept my eyes peeled, and was quite proud of myself for spotting one...kind of brown and shriveled...example. Perhaps they need to regrow after the Winter? Or I just flat-out missed all of them. Without some helpful markers along the trails, I guess I'll never know...

Then it was time for some food (Flaming Amy's Burritos...where I had a salad, go figure...) to fortify me for my last activity of the day: one more meander on the sand before sunset. I didn't intend to cover quite so much ground, but you know how when the landscape is very level, and there's nothing in your line of sight to judge distances, you might tend to...underestimate how far away things are? Well, instead of a 20 minute ramble, I ended up power-walking more than 2 miles...each way...to the jetty I was using as my target. Oops! (Oh well, it's been a while since I've had a 25,000 step day, so it's all good...)

Whew--now it's time to relax and rest up for tomorrow's continuing adventures: more beach time, and a historic stop, before heading back to Casa WestEnders. Keep your fingers crossed that the band across the street has a curfew! Zzzzzz....