OBX: The First Love

As you could probably tell by our earlier entries, we have an abnormal obsession with the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and just thinking about it gives me the same butterflies that a very pretty girl does. 

It was my first real road trip and didn't really know what to expect.  I volunteered to drive the midnight shift because I am always staying up late, so I drove from 11pm to around 5 am because I was getting tired, and sticking to the rules of the road, I used my communication skills to let people know I wanted to switch. 

It took us 21 hours to get to our house (partially because of a two and a half hour stop in the Pennsylvania mountains due to a accident and partially because of cranky people and Nathan having to come back to pick Tom and I up because for some reason we thought we could walk faster than the "beach traffic") but we quickly realized that it was worth the wait.  However the first night was spent eating Dominoes Pizza and trying to get some rest for the week ahead.

It's become a somewhat unspoken ritual that we find the beach on the first night.  At OBX, at least at the location we were at, had a long fishing pier that was open 24 hours.  I don't know what it was about that place, perhaps the notion that you can just walk out above the water and watch swarms of jelly fish just float there or watch people catch ocean creatures, or even just getting away from the congestion of the beach, but I fell in love with it right away.  I would like to add, that the Nags Head Fishing Pier also has a restaurant inside and they have one wicked pulled pork sandwich.

Since we're all young and Jessica wasn't pregnant yet, we spent most of our free time at night drinking.  As you might recall in a previous post, I point out that having a counter or table with proper beer pong dimensions is important, and Sun Spot (which our vacation home is affectionately known as, mainly because that's the name of the real estate company that rents it out) had a little breakfast bar type thing that had just the right counter space for pong.  I don't remember who won the most, I do know "George" and I won a few games and I vaguely remember Nathan doing a dance in his boxers in an attempt to distract us, but it was definitely one of the staples in our nighttime routine.

Another point to vacation, especially when you're with a bunch of your friends, is finding the right balance between doing things as a group, and having some personal time which is so very important during your time away from "the real world".  During OBX Part 1, we always made and ate dinner together and most beach trips were taken as a group, especially our trip to the amazing Cape Hatteras.  One thing that I thought would be awesome to do, is eat out on our last night at a restaurant unique to the area.  On this specific trip, it was the Outer Banks Brewing Station, a brewery that was self-powered, thanks to a wind-turbine in the backyard.  It was a great way to wrap up the trip before we all packed up and went back to the rat race.  It was also a good way to forget about Colin throwing up over the railing of the Dolphin Tours boat ride that we had taken earlier that day.  Good thing it was only a pontoon boat and wasn't really going that fast, although I hear that's the best way to experience dolphins in their natural habitat.

Most of the personal time was spent reading and sitting outside smoking and taking in all the smells and the faint sounds of the waves crashing on the beach only a block and a half away.  I also ventured up to the fishing pier just about every night sometimes by myself, other times with Paul or Paul and Tom, just to sit there look up at the stars without any city lights fucking it up.  Also, you think that the ocean is vast and overwhelming as you look out at it during the day time?  Try looking out at the ocean at night when the only thing you might see is the small twinkle of some random boat doing it's thing in the distance, other than that it's pitch black.  To me, that makes the ocean seem even more powerful and mysterious.  After sitting and contemplating life on the pier, I or we would make our way down to the beach and sit down closer to the waves and talk and appreciate the scene before us and just how beautiful life is.

Now, on our last morning at OBX Part 1, we all got up extra early before we had to leave, to go watch the sunrise.  It was a very bittersweet moment because while the sunrise was amazing, it also signaled the end to our trip.  After the sun went through its motions, we made our way back to the house to load up the cars one last time.  However, there was just enough time left for Colin to have one last popsicle and drip it on the floor and for some reason let Katie clean it up.

I don't remember how long it took us to get home, but it wasn't 21 hours.  When we got back, we gathered our things, said our goodbyes and a few days later, went right back to the drawing board for what would become OBX Part 2 with a few new faces.  We shall discuss that at a later date, and I will inevitably go into more detail about my love for the one they call The Outer Banks.