Within four hours, I was in the Outer Banks area of North Carolina. The trip was nice, and the weather was nicer. I pulled into the beach house and hung out with Michelle as she handled some contractors who were repairing flood damage on the first floor (a rogue fitting sprung a leak in the bathroom). With the contractors finally gone, Michelle and I hopped in the car and drove to see the lighthouses.

We first stopped at Hatteras, on the south end of the banks. It wasn't open, which meant that we got to take pictures of the outside, but couldn't climb to the top. We took some shots and hopped back in the car for home. Seeing the Bodie Island lighthouse on the way, we got some shots of that too and then left to get some dinner.

I don't have words to accurately describe how delicious was that Michelle made for us. I bought a 2" filet mignon and a pound of raw shrimp that we both prepared and she then cooked to perfection. She prepped the shrimp like an expert and man, when we put the rub on the filets and grilled them, we had a FEAST.

The next day, we took it easy around town and enjoyed the weather. Duck is a very quiet area, not a college party zone at all. The natives are really nice to tourists and, being a community of rental owners or weekly renters, there are always new faces around town that local vendors seem to take a liking to. The beach in Duck was gorgeous. I was really shocked to be honest, because my previous experience with the Atlantic along the South Carolina coastline has been cold water beaches with muddy brown water and low waves, crowded beaches, trashy areas. It has always been rough for me to evaluate a beach without comparing it to the Caribbean, but in Duck, the water was amazing.

I came home on Wednesday night because I had work to do on Thursday, but when I got done with those jobs, I really missed being on the beach. We had such a nice time.