If you follow me on Instagram, you’re well aware that Bill and I drove down to the Outer Banks on Wednesday. Bill’s parents built the beach house in 1987, and we now own it with his siblings.
We left our home early in the morning and arrived in Duck around 1 PM. Our first stop was at the Coastal Cantina where we decided to treat ourselves to a margarita with lunch. Don’t laugh, but this just might have been a first for me!
Bill ordered fish tacos and I got a grilled chicken salad. Both were very good, but not nearly as good as the frozen margaritas. They were perhaps the best I’ve ever had! I’m the queen of margaritas, so that’s saying a lot!
The weather was perfect, and we had no choice but to sit outside. Seriously, there wasn’t any indoor seating, but we didn’t complain because the weather was perfect and it sure didn’t hurt to have a view like this of Currituck Sound!
After a leisurely lunch, we headed north to Corolla and stopped at Harris Teeter to stock up on groceries before heading on to the beach house. As you can see in the first picture, our beach house is on the 4-wheel drive section of OBX, and we don’t like to drive into town any more than we have to.
The breeze was coming in off of the ocean when we arrived which was great because that usually means that it’s a little cooler and less humid. Our first order of business is taking down the hurricane shutters and getting the air conditioning turned on to cool off the house. The breeze was amazing, and we were able to open the windows and cool the house down the old fashioned way! That doesn’t happen very often in August here on the Outer Banks.
Our dinners usually consist of some sort of seafood, a veggie, and a salad. Wednesday night was a salad, shrimp, and asparagus.
Low tide on Thursday was 10:30 AM, so we headed out around 11 for our run. Running on the Outer Banks can be tricky, especially if you live on the 4-wheel drive section of the beach. We either have to run at low tide, run in deep sand during high tide, or drive into town to run along the roads.
I forgot to bring any of my sun visors, so I had to borrow one of Bill’s hats. It looked and felt terrible because it didn’t have a ponytail hole!
We hadn’t even gotten off of our deck when we saw the horses meandering toward our neighbor’s house. We stopped and took a picture before heading on our way.
We set out for a 6-mile run, but then decided to run to the fence 3.5 miles south of our house with the plan to run a round-trip run of 7 miles.
On the way back we decided to stop running at 6.5 miles, and do a cool-down walk for the last half mile. It was the longest half mile of my life! Once back in front of our house, Bill took his shoes and socks off and walked in the cool surf. I chose to just sit and chill.
After our run we checked out our neighbors’ little beach vehicle. They use it to tote their beach umbrellas, chairs, drinks, etc. back and forth from their house to the beach. They are retired and spend most of their summer down here, so they put it to good use!
And there you have it; the first of hopefully several great runs while vacationing on the Outer Banks!
- Questions:
- What’s on your agenda for the week?
- What your favorite food and drink while at the beach?
- Have you ever tried running on the sand?
MaiTais are my favorite beach drink (summer drink) because they remind me of Hawaii!!
Your pictures are awesome – looks like a great place for a vacation!!!
Kim recently posted…Combo Moves (8/3-8/9)
I had my first Bahama Mama today, and it was “okay.” I haven’t had a Mai Tai in forever, if ever… I’ll have to try one again.
Now that I have IG, I was actually in the loop! Imagine that! So glad you had a fantastic week at the beach. A good frozen marg is not a bad thing for a summery drink! I miss running on sand!
Amy recently posted…April Wedding Celebration in Pittsburgh
HaHaHa! You are on top of things now!
I’ve never been there, but always heard so many great things it’s on my list!! I love a nice easy run on the beach, but have to find that good packed sand or my ankles are toast the next day
Amanda – RunToTheFinish recently posted…Want to run faster, farther and have more fun? 33 Essential Running Lessons
You should definitely come to the OBX sometime! It’s so laid back and relaxing. I’m a morning runner, but this week it’s afternoons for me, because that’s when it’s low tide and the sand is packed for great running!
Running in the sand is TOUGH! There’s an ultra down there, but it’s almost all in the sand, so no, that’s not going to happen for me. 🙂 Love the Corolla area — I was just there for the first time over spring break. Have a great vacation!
Anne recently posted…Quitter
Thanks, Anne! There’s also a marathon and half marathon that we considered running for years, but it always conflicted with either another race or a home VT football game. Not sure if those races are on the same weekend as the ultra or not.
so fun to see the wild ponies!
kristin recently posted…PALMS IN THE PHILIPPINES
They woke us up at 4:30 this morning whinnying outside our bedroom window! 🙂
I have been LOVING the photos of your beach holiday. I’m sure it was needed after all the wedding excitement!
That beach house is so east coast picturesque! It must be so peaceful to go.
Running on sand kills me, but in a good way 🙂
It’s the first week back from summer vacation, so I hope to catch up on everything around the house!
Abby recently posted…Taking a break
Thanks, I’m glad you’re enjoying the pictures. Yes, it’s been a great break after all of the wedding excitement, but as the mother of the groom, I wasn’t nearly as overwhelmed as Julie’s family. They threw pretty much the perfect party, and I hope to post a few pictures next week!
How fun! That margarita looks like it was yummy!
Julia @ Vegas Mother Runner recently posted…ET Full Moon Midnight Race Recap {and a LÄRABAR winner!}
Yep, it was delicious! We’re headed to Corolla Cantina this evening. We’ll see if their margaritas are as good. 🙂
Love OBX – I’ve never ventured north of Corolla to 4×4 country – how beautiful! When we were in Duck last month we walked on the beach and ran on the path – beach running is hard!
Dana recently posted…Holey Red Tights, Batman!
Packed sand at low tide is a lot more forgiving on the legs than soft sand. We walked two miles this morning during high tide, and it wasn’t easy!
I love that first picture! It’s so neat to see it “then” and “now.” The area where your beach house sits is really pretty. I love how natural everything is. Pretty neat to have the wild horses meandering around, too 🙂 I love taking off my shoes and socks and walking around in the cool ocean water after a run at the beach.
Meagan recently posted…These Hanson Tempo Runs…
The wild horses (which aren’t so wild) are really cool. Even though we’ve been seeing them for 25 years, it’s still so neat to have them walk around and under our house. 🙂