Saturday, October 17, 2009

Duck, North Carolina

Monday morning after the wedding, we all met at Jack and Joan's for breakfast and goodbyes to Amber, Dad and Marilyn. By late morning, we sisters were off for our journey to Duck, North Carolina. After some wrong turns and funny moments of getting headed in the right direction, we were off for a wonderful five days at the beach. Ginny's beach cottage is pictured below. Really, that is the right place. Three floors, 8 bedrooms with private baths, complete with a pool room, study, laundry, downstairs tiny kitchen, living room, dining room and huge kitchen. The main living space was on the third floor so we got our exercise just climbing stairs and wandering around the over 6,000 square feet of house. Even though the place is BIG, it has a very comfortable and cozy feel. Tuesday dawned cloudy and cold. The day was spent mostly in our pj's enjoying each other, lots of conversation, some naps, a walk around the neighborhood and to the beach, good food and more conversation. The perfect beginning to a great vacation. The view of the back of the beach house, with the pool and spa as well as views to the ocean from the upper deck. Joyce and I had the middle level to ourselves. She at one end and me at the other end in the princess room. Really, we each had our own suite complete with sitting area, bath and flat screen TV. It was rough but we managed. Wednesday was spent exploring Duck and some of the surrounding area. Of course, the day began with a leisurely breakfast, sitting around in pj's and talking and then finally getting dressed and heading for Duck, about 15 minutes from the house. The need to do some shopping was met first, then a really great lunch at The Point (pictured below), followed by driving south to Kitty Hawk and finally on to Roanoke Island. By the time we got to Manteo on Roanoake Island it was closing time for the shops and actually for the whole island it appeared. We did a little sightseeing and walked along the harbor. Back to the house, for dinner and talking and a movie.

Thursday was set aside to celebrate Jean's 50th birthday. The day began with bringing her coffee in bed and then breakfast was enjoyed on the top deck. After a leisurely breakfast we adjourned to the living room for more talking and relaxing before preparing for a day out. Turning 50 is nothing to take lightly so we wanted to be sure there was plenty of celebrating and enjoying this momentous occasion.
At the north end of the island in Corolla near the light house is a beautiful park. We took a gourmet lunch of turkey sandwiches, chips, hummus, grapes, and chocolate cake and toasted Jean with sparkling juice. The setting was absolutely gorgeous and the weather was perfect. After lunch we drove to the light house and wandered among the old houses and shops. One of the shop keepers instructed us in the proper way to pronounce Corolla and it's not the same as the car but rather with a southern twang...Coraaaalla.
Turning fifty really should be celebrated doing something reminiscent of childhood. How about a game of miniature golf including a train ride to the first hole? We had a blast. And the winner is ME!!! In case you're wondering if there is a future in this for me, the course was a par 42 and I won with an amazing score of 60! The four of us in front of the fireplace just before having to leave. Although we are all smiling, none of us were really ready to head home. Not being in a hurry for the trip to end, we stopped in Williamsburg, VA for a little shopping and dinner at Chownings Tavern. Dinner was great followed by amazing desserts, especially the peanut-butter chocolate pie. There was even a magic show that commenced not three feet from our table and we really could not tell how he managed to get the oranges under the cups. The night was spent at Joan's house. It was raining when we left for the airport on Saturday morning, an appropriate response from nature for the end of a wonderful sister's time away.

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