So I’m finally getting back on schedule after my vacation in Emerald Isle North Carolina, so much fun and relaxing. Unfortunately I came home to a pretty sick dog with an upper respiratory infection from Kennel Cough. I won’t list the name of the kennel but our regular boarding place was all booked so we took her somewhere else. I wasn’t happy with her stay, but she’s on antibiotics and is finally getting better. I was such a worried dog mom, I feel like our pets are like our children.
I really wanted to tell you all about our trip though, so first, long drive down and back but totally worth it. We had some really beautiful sunny days in the beginning, so we spent most of our day on the beach. We brought down some books, magazines, sunblock, and of course, white claws. Three white claws in and I found myself fearless of the sharks, (I’m sure they were close by) and I was out in that ocean boogie boarding and getting sand in places no one wants sand in. It felt so good to let go of fear though and just enjoy that ocean, I mean the water was so warm.
Two days in we found a place to paddle board, and let me just say I have never down really any water sports before. I guess you could say I was nervous and honestly afraid to try. I mean you are out there in water with an island about 2 football stadiums away that was called shark tooth island. Needless to say I didn’t paddle to that island, it was just too far and when you turn to come back to shore you are fighting against the current and it takes a lot of arm power to get back in. For a while there everyone kind of paddled off on their own, and surprisingly I wasn’t scared like I’d thought I’d be. I actually felt calm and at peace. One with nature, the water was pretty calm and you could see oyster shells around the green marsh, and the closer in the more shallow, so I felt safe. It was first thing in the morning we went out, before I ate or had my coffee and it really made you start your day off well and refreshed. I see why successful people get up early to work out, makes sense.
As far as the food, let me tell you, they have some amazing restaurants down there. Now it wasn’t all the healthiest and I had to majorly detox when I got home. So I’ll start by telling you about the first restaurant we went out to, it’s called Kathryn’s bistro and Martini Bar. I had a sip of Matt’s sister Jen’s s’more martini and it was very yummy, but I ordered a glass of red wine because we all ordered the best steak we have ever had!
Next night Matt and I went to a fairly new restaurant called Caribsea. We each had these really fresh cocktails, mine had water and basil served in a martini glass and he has this really fresh cucumber collins. I ended up having 2 of those after my watermelon drink. We started by sharing a crab cake because we heard it was better than a Maryland crab cake, and it was pretty damn good I must say. Then for my meal I finally got to try shark! It was a pan crusted Mako Shark filet. It was actually better then I imagined,so very pleased, but it does have a slight fishy taste to it, just so you all know if you have never had shark before. There was a little roof top bar on the roof and that’s where we at for a while with our cocktails watching the sunset before heading back to the beach house.
My third favorite place we went to, was called Jackie’s, known for their fries, because they offer a create your own fry platter. Their fries were shaved and curled and thick. The best fries Matt and I have ever had, and we tops our with sharp yellow cheddar melted with mushrooms and sides of ranch and honey mustard for dipping. I was also told that the burgers were excellent so I ended up getting that too and yes, they lived up to the hype. Now I am so excited to tell you all that I discovered one of the best beers ever, called Red Oak, a red lager. Their brewery is located right above Raleigh NC and I am going to try and have it ordered from my local Liquor store, it’s that good and just refreshing and crisp almost.
Later into the week we ran into some rainy days. Luckily there are a lot of things you can do down there in case that happens. One thing we always bring with us is board games. There is also an Aquarium (checking that out next year), there is a place where you can bowl, and it has a huge arcade, so we did that one night, and we also did an escape room down there too. That was my first escape room and it was so much fun, mentally challenging too which was cool. Our plot was to locate the “real” declaration of independence. We broke it up into teams, girls against guys and we were happy to find out we got further than the guys did!
You have plenty of other activities there as well, like mini golfing, go carting, the movie theater, and shopping. Matt and I loved this little shop called Ely’s. He picked up a t-shirt, hat and sweatshirt, and I got a teal Emerald Isle wine glass that was pretty thick glass, and a fall sign that reads, “feed me chocolate and tell me I’m bootiful;” Matt picked that one out for me, he really knows me by now. There was also a women’s clothing boutique there in the same shopping center, a little pricey but they had the cutest clothes, jewelry, and shoes. So I plan to save a little extra money for next years trip.
Matt and I really enjoyed our weeks vacation with each other and his amazing family. Only thing I hope will be different next year will be the water pressure in the shower, there was practically none. Other than that I was a happy camper, in a pleasant and relaxing environment. With sand between my toes and finding a mystery bone on the beach ( possibly a whale bone) I’ll find out soon at our Baltimore aquarium and keep you all posted on that. Ocean waves as you eat your breakfast, yummy food, romance with the best boyfriend ever, and family. It’s good to be back home though, with my family, dog, friends, coworkers and water pressure. OK, I’m now ready for fall, who’s with me?
