Quick Carolina Beach Getaway!

Dan has been travelling a lot for the last few years and thankfully, has reached the end of it for a while.  He has no work trips on the books for the foreseeable future! So, to celebrate, he took last Friday off and we went to the beach, just the two of us.

I found an affordable ocean front condo at Carolina Beach. We've never been to this particular beach, so we were excited to see what it had to offer.

We arrived around 1:30 and had a late lunch at Sunny Daze BBQ which was located on the boardwalk.  We both enjoyed delicious brisket sandwiches with an ocean view!

After lunch we checked into our VRBO and hit the beach!

The beach will always be my favorite.

Dan didn't realize the sunscreen I handed him was white and wouldn't rub in!  I didn't realize it either so he spent the afternoon looking like a lifeguard from the 1970s!

After several hours on the beach we headed to dinner.  We chose a place called The Spot and got flatbreads.  We were still full from our late lunch.  The were quite tasty and left us room for ice cream at Squigleys.

Since it was our first time there, they gave us stickers.

Beach hair, don't care!  

The next morning, we enjoyed coffee and bagels on the porch. 

After our relaxing breakfast enjoying the beautiful scenery, we got ready for the day and then headed  to Carolina Beach State Park. Fun fact: Carolina Beach State Park is home to the Venus Flytrap.  Another fun fact:  Venus flytraps are native only to North and South Carolina and they are carnivorous!  We had one growing up and I remember watching one trap and consume a fly.  So cool! We spent a long time on the trail trying to spot one. 

Thankfully we bumped into some other people trying to do the same thing.  They weren't successful either so they found the ranger and he told them exactly where to go so we followed them.  And we found some growing in the wild!  In our defense, they were very tiny as they are just starting to come out and don't reach full size until mid May.  And even when they are full grown, they are still small.

After that we headed to Fort Fisher.  Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort that protected Wilmington's port from 1861 to 1865. They have a great museum on site that just opened last year.  We looked around the museum and then toured the grounds.

One thing about Dan - if we go to a museum, he's going to watch the video!

After touring the fort, we grabbed lunch at Island Burgers and Bites. Their specialty is smash burgers and they were delicious!! Then we headed to the beach where we enjoyed the sun, the waves, some music, some reading and an adult beverage or two.  It was the perfect afternoon!

The temps were in the mid to upper 80s, there was a strong breeze, and the water was chilly only for a minute after you hopped in.  We were in heaven and didn't come off the beach until well after 5:00.

We went to dinner at K38 Baja Grill and it was quite tasty!

On Sunday morning we enjoyed another bagel and coffee on the balcony and then got the VRBO cleaned up, packed, and the headed to Mass on our way out of town.  

It was the perfect little two-day getaway!  The weather was beautiful, it wasn't crowded yet, we had plenty of time to relax on the beach but were also able to visit some local sites.  And now, I'm ready to go back!!!

Easter Weekend 2026

The Lord is risen!  The Lord is risen indeed!

Sarah came home for Easter on Thursday evening.  Dan was still in Ireland so the two of us enjoyed dinner and Love on the Spectrum and got caught up on all the things.  And on Friday, she and Brad joined me and Mom on our weekly shopping and lunch at Village Tavern.  

Sarah left to spend the evening with Joe and his family and then Peter and Dan both made it home.  I fixed some pasta and we got caught up on Survivor.

On Saturday after errands and yardwork and baking, we had dinner at Quanto Basto and then came home and watched tv (I don't even remember what we watched, I just enjoyed having all of my people in the same room together.)  

On Sunday we attended Easter Mass and then had lunch at mom's house. It was a delicious steak dinner and I made my famous carrot cake.  Well, maybe not famous, but it's certainly delicious!

On Sunday afternoon, we headed downtown to visit a couple of breweries and to watch the Canes game.  When we got home, I made a batch of my famous pepperjack pimento cheese toasts.  Well, maybe not famous, but they are certainly delicious!  And then, just like that, our Easter weekend was over.

I said my goodbyes to everyone on Monday morning before I headed off to work.  Dan was working from home in the morning before heading back to the airport.  Peter was working from home before heading back to Raleigh and Sarah was heading back to Charlotte for a night class.  

Imagine my excitement and surprise when I got a text at work asking if I wanted to join them all for lunch at Dario!  My yes was immediate and they picked me up shortly after that and we spent another hour together before we all official went our separate ways.

It was such a nice laid-back weekend with my favorite people. I enjoyed every single minute.  And why is it that I sleep so much better when everyone is home under one roof?

I typically try to get family photos on mom's front porch on Easter Sunday after lunch but it was chilly and rainy and I totally forgot.  That's my one and only regret of the weekend. Here are the only pictures I took this weekend...

The Easter Bunny came!

Posing with mom's two new kittens who are more like teenagers now.

Grandma makes the best Easter baskets!

A drink with my girl.

Trying out the zoom lens on my phone.

Peter is a notary now and was notarizing some documents for Brad. 

The sunset was beautiful on Easter.

We won't all be together again until next month when we are celebrating Sarah's college graduation.  Where oh where has the time gone?

Super Bowl Sunday Weekend!

On Saturday, February 7th,, the local brewery that Dan and I frequent on our date nights, was having an IPA fest on Saturday.  As soon as we found out, Dan immediately texted Peter and he said he wanted to come home to attend with us.  Unbeknownst to us, until Friday night, they were also having a Jerry Garcia cover band playing all afternoon.  When I told Peter that, he was elated.  He's a huge Grateful Dead fan so this was icing on the beer cake!

The band was playing from 2:00 to 5:00 so we decided to get there right at 2 to make sure we got a spot.  HA!  It was already standing room only.  The bar had 13 of their own IPAs on tap and they had 14 guest taps with other IPAs from all over the country so a lot of people were there for the beer but I'd say more people were there for the band.  They were fabulous and I'm not even a big Grateful Dead fan.  

The band's name is Jerry's Dead and they are out of Asheville.  They sounded great and they just rolled from one song right into another. They didn't stop to talk between songs they just played.  And at the end of their set, they said they were going to play another so we ended up staying there until after 6:00.  It was such a great day!

And Sunday, our sweet Sarah came home to join us for Sunday lunch and to watch the Super Bowl with us.  Even though the Patriots lost, it was still awesome to watch the game with the family. I made my Pepper Jack Pimento Cheese toasts, a giant pretzel, candied kielbasa, and a fried pickle dip.  Here's the only picture we took:

Dan and Peter are wearing the Patriots sweatshirts they got from Dan's brother's family, for Christmas. We were hoping the sweatshirts would bring the Patriots good luck.  Oh well, there's always next season

and itt was such a great evening hanging out with my favorite people, watching football, and eating! 

And on a side note - my mom rescued two adorable kittens, and we cannot get enough of them.  They are so cute!  They were a mess when she got them but they are looking better and better every day.

Rest In Peace, Kitten

Our sweet Kitten, passed away on Wednesday.

She showed up at our door in July 0f 2010 as a tiny little kitten and has been with us ever since. For the last 15 and a half years, she was at my feet the minute they hit the floor in the morning to make sure I feed her immediately.  And when I would walk through door after being gone, she would be there to greet me like the good and faithful friend that she was.  And every evening, I could count on her sitting on my lap while I was watching tv.  And every night in bed, she was at my feet so that she could be right there in the morning to remind me it was breakfast time.

Knowing when to let a suffering pet go is never easy.  I am very thankful that Sarah was able to come home and go with me.  She loved Kitten as much as I did and I'm glad she got to say goodbye.  

She was the sweetest cat and we will miss her dearly.  

Rest easy, sweet girl.

Special thanks to Jennifer and Quinn for being so good to my sweet girl.