Life’s A Beach!

We just got back from a glorious long weekend at our favorite beach – Emerald Isle, NC.  I’ve been going there since I was 6.  Yep, SIX.  And I still love it.  It’s my all time favorite beach.

Let me tell you a little more about it.

There’s the sound side where we kyack and canoe right next to pods of dolphins so close you can reach out and touch them.  There’s the harvesting of wild crabs and fish right off the end of the pier, which we catch, name, and throw back as my children can’t stand the thought of ‘taking them away from their families :o).  We paddle to Shell Island to collect…well, shells… and watch breath taking sunsets.  And the feeding of the birds is always great fun – especially if like me, you love a Mary Poppins throw back.

Then there’s the ocean.  What else needs to be said?  Looking out across the emerald waters of the Crystal Coast really has a way of putting life in perspective.  It’s so majestic, so sparkling, magical almost.  We’ve seen wild skates (like stingrays), schools of fish, and dolphins swimming through the waters.  We take long walks down miles of soft, sandy beaches, jump waves, boogie board, relax and read under an umbrella.  We’ve seen wild sea turtles on the beach at night searching for a place to lay their eggs (they are HUGE I can tell you – and you can hear their heavy breathing even before you see them clearly in the dark as they work to drag themselves across the sand with their flippers).  Of course I love to visit the plethora of cute beachy shops, and the kiddos love to feed the snapping turtles in the lagoon, play minigolf. We have go cart races, visit an historic civil war fort in Atlantic Beach just up the way called Fort Macon, where the real Black Beard the Pirate’s shipwreck has been discovered!  And of course I can’t resist whipping up some delicious seafood dishes to go with a prefectly delightful bottle of vino chilling back at the pad.

So now you know some of what we do and why we love Emerald Isle…

Now don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying it’s the only beach where there are these things to do.  There are many others I’ve enjoyed as well. I’ve  been lucky enough to see the French Rivieria, the roiling pacific waters off California’s magical coast, the tranquil, turquoise, Caribbean, Maine’s rocky, craggy, shores and even jumped waves in Maui and Kauai, Hawaii.  My advice? If you get the chance, go there. Go to all of them and then some if you can!  Life’s for the living – right????

But even with all those wonderful places, Emerald Isle has my heart. And I continue to return as often as I am able.

So anyway, you get my drift (no pun intended!) about my trips to EI and this time was no different. I loved every minute – except one, which I’ll tell you about later.  Keep in mind it’s October… and we were still able to spend every beautiful afternoon hanging out by the ocean – jumping waves, boogie boarding, throwing the football, and watching the graceful, pterodactyl like Pelicans skim across the waves with the tips of their great wings never touching the ever returning swells of the Atlantic.  It was sunny and right about 80 degrees.  No humidity.  A light breeze.  Ahhhh!

And I guess the thing is…we ALL felt it. One big family ahhhhhhh.

We laughed more, we played more, we felt life more – and even though it was just 3 days, we all came home refreshed.  Our home felt so comfortable again -and our own beds, our missed pets, and even our familiar responsibilities somehow felt better than they had before.  And we were better able to recognize all our blessings, which makes one feel…well…content.  And when I’m content, I’m happy.

And Jason and I realized again how important it is for our family to take the time, however we can, to reconnect the four of us, because in the end, what’s really more important or leads to more happiness than your family?

Ok so now remember there was 1 thing I didn’t love about this trip?  Here goes.  When we got to our friends condo (those wonderful friends who are always so willing to share with us!),  we found the normally functioning fridge – dead.  Unsuspectingly, I opened the door to put away milk and a couple other staple items we grabbed at the local Food Lion, and was greeted by a swarm of fruit flies and a smell that would kill a cat.  You should have seen the green/grey fuzz growing on the items left in the freezer and fridge!  YUCK!  Normally I refrain from cleaning refrigerators on vacations, but this time there was no choice.

So in true Kubicki (say Q-bicky) fashion, we teamed up and tossed and/or recycled all the rotten leftover condiments, eggs, cold cuts, juices, butters, frozen (or should I say unfrozen) chicken , put little bowls of wine (needed to open a bottle anyway at this point :o) )around the kitchen to attract and drown the swarm, cleaned and disinfected the fridge, threw a bag of ice into the freezer along with our luke warm milk, yoghurt, and eggs, lit a candle to rid the place of the horrific stink, and called it a night!  Phew!  Literally…

But you know what?  Even during the great fridge extravaganza we all just enjoyed being together and frankly, I’m sure we’ll enjoy a few more laughing family moments when we think back to the way that refrigeration unit smelled.

In fact, we already have.

So I guess what I’m saying is I learned again that banking some future happy moments and memories is the good that often comes from the unexpected, not so good instances that pop up for all of us day to day.  And I was thinking about how maybe I should apply that approach to life everyday and not just recognize it during vacation…

Have any great family get away stories of your own?  I’d love to hear them!

And thanks so much for spending some time with me and my story choice today!  Come back soon!