Travel Tales: Rodanthe, NC

We spent last week in Rodanthe, NC, with C's family for our annual beach trip. It was a really relaxing week, and we had such a nice time. Given all the shark-related incidents lately, I didn't want a whole lot to do with the beach itself (but then, I never really do) but I was perfectly happy to spend my time in the pool and in the air conditioning!

In the past, it's seemed like there have been many more "activities" with the family throughout the week, but this year, with three little ones and two more on the way, there was much more downtime and relaxation. Totally fine by me! A week of decompression was just what the doctor ordered, and we took full advantage of the plan to have no plans.

Mostly, that meant reading (finished this and this), napping, late lunches, puzzles, and floating in the pool. That is my kind of vacation! We stayed at the same house that we stayed at two years ago, and it was kind of funny to be back and see everything the same. We had breakfast two different mornings at one of our favorite local joints, Atlantic Coast Cafe, and of course the whole family went to Top Dog for our annual lunch. Traditions that involve food are my favorite.

As if vacation wasn't enough fun, we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday while we were there, and I took advantage of the opportunity to make dessert... yellow cake with whipped cream and berries was so refreshing and delicious.

One morning, we went fishing at the Rodanthe Pier. This mostly involved C fishing and me watching, but I did manage to accidentally catch a fish. How is that possible? Well, I was posing with the fishing pole so C could take my picture like I was really doing something... and next thing I know, there was a fish tugging on the line!! NOT how I planned it... oops! C also "caught" a stingray, which was the craziest thing - more like, it was HUGE and it caught him, because it was way stronger than he was! I caught a glimpse of it flying through the water and it was massive. It took his line almost all the way out and then snapped it, and got away with his hooks and anchor and everything else on the line. I've never seen anything like it! That was enough adventure for one day, by far.

Another day, C and I went for a drive and ended up all the way down at Hatteras, so we had lunch at The Billfish, which we discovered last year, and went shopping for some souvenirs. It is always nice to spend a little one-on-one time with just the two of us when we are spending the week in a house with 15 people. We needed some time away! A lunch date was a great way to spend the afternoon.

C and I spent a lot of time with our niece, "practicing" - in fact, C, changed his very first diaper, ever. Makin' moves! We really could not stop looking at each other and thinking / saying, "this time next year, we will have a 7-month-old baby!!" It doesn't seem possible. Crazy to think this was our last summer vacation as the two of us, and that next year we will be a party of three! It will be here before we know it, and vacations will never be the same, will they? At least next year I will be able to enjoy an adult beverage while beaching - this year was a little DRY (puns... ha).

Overall, we had an amazing time, and we capped off our trip with a stop to Morris Farms for farm-fresh tomatoes and peaches, which I've been enjoying for breakfast, lunch, and dinner this year. Really good produce is just that - really good. Such a delicious souvenir to bring home and keep the vacation-vibe going. I loved our trip and the beach is one of my happy places, but I have to admit, sleeping in my own bed on Saturday night sure felt good. There is no place like home!

Race recap: OBX Half Marathon

This is a bit delayed, but..... Spoiler alert: I finished my third half-marathon!

HM#3 was the OBX Half in Outer Banks, North Carolina, over Veteran’s Day weekend. I prefaced the race with this post, in which I detailed how tough running has been for me since HM #2, and how my goal for this race was purely to have a good time and do the best I could. Butterflies and rainbows, right? Right.

My friend Lauren Lush (permanent nickname!) picked this race out for her birthday (race day was her actual birthday), and convinced a bunch of us girls to run it with her. Lush’s family has a beach house at OBX, so it was a nice perk to not have to pay for lodging and have somewhere nice and comfy to cook dinner the night before and all hang out together. We got down to the beach on Saturday afternoon, and went to the expo to pick up numbers and packets. It was there that I realized just how small this race was – only a few thousand participants between the half and the whole marathons, combined! Way different from the Rock & Roll race in Nashville.

I like smallish races, but they are also the ones that tend to be a little disorganized – and this was no exception. We figured that out on the morning of the race, when GPS took us to the address that was listed as the “start” of the race and it was an empty parking lot…. Fail. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard to figure out where we were supposed to be, and we ended up parked right by the starting line.

Birthday girl! And tired eyes.

The weather report for the race looked great – mid-50s and sunny – but let me tell you, when we first got out of the cars, it was cold & windy! Kind of hard to prepare that way… there was a lot of putting-on and then taking-off of layers while we tried to decide how to dress. I’m not sure why I forgot about the wind at the beach, but I definitely did – not a very nice surprise!

The whole group!

The race started at 7 AM (so early! not my fave), and we were a few corrals back. Slowly but surely, we moved toward the start as a bunch, and then we crossed the starting line & we were off! There were several of us doing the half together, but we were all kind of on our own – I think that by mile 2, I was running by myself, which was alright. The first few miles went by quickly. We were weaving in and out of the neighborhoods and side streets down the main stretch of OBX, and there were tons of people out cheering for the racers. There were also water & Gatorade stations almost constantly. I was very well hydrated!

Unfortunately, I decided wrong on what to wear – by mile 5, I had to stop and pull off my top layer and re-pin my bib. I tied my jacket around my waist, which was not ideal for running the next 8 miles. That is probably the only thing I would have changed about this race – I wish I would have skipped the pull-over and just braved the cold for the first few miles. I was comfortable in what I was wearing in the end, but the jacket at my waist was definitely awkward.

I paced myself pretty well for the middle miles with the people around me – I made several silent running friends, which I always like. Even if I don’t know the person and we’re not talking, it’s nice to have someone to be running beside. Always gives me that little extra push!

The worst part of this race was the bridge to Manteo. I thought I was prepared for it, but I was not, in any way, shape, or form. That thing it crazy! Not only is it a huge vertical climb (around mile 10, when legs are very tired!), but it is insanely windy – to the point that big warning signs are posted to warn drivers about the strong winds. Not ideal for running! I barely made my way up the bridge, stopping to walk several times, because my knees were just not having it. Luckily, the views were gorgeous – it had turned out to be a sunny, clear day, and you could see for miles in either direction while on the bridge (I was very glad I’d put on sunscreen before we left the house – I would have had a massive sunburn without it!!) It felt like it took an hour to finish that mile, though – the god-forsaken bridge was easily the hardest part of the race.

 I embraced the down-hill (which was MUCH shorter than the uphill!) and ran my way into Manteo. Around that time, my sister came driving by with Lush’s family, on their way to the finish line to cheer us on, and she leaned out the car window and yelled for me. It was just the push I needed right then – perfect timing for a pick-me-up! I found another one of the girls running the race right around that time, too, and it was nice to have a teammate, even though we didn’t really stay together. It was right when I needed some encouragement, and seeing people I knew did the trick.

My knees were starting to really hurt at that point, and I was checking my Garmin every few seconds, trying to calculate. I had just a few miles left, and I was thinking that if I really, really pushed it, I could get a PR. However, I might also miss the PR by just a few seconds, and I knew that would make me really unhappy. At mile 11 ½ or so, I had a serious pep talk with myself. I reminded myself about the goals for this race – not to PR, not to kill myself, not to injure myself, but rather, just to have a good race and a nice morning and to have FUN. Right then and there, I let go of the PR and the clock, and I focused more on enjoying what I was doing. I smiled and waved at the spectators, I encouraged the runners around me, and I pushed forward, slowly but surely.

Right when I felt like the finish line would never come into sight, there it was, right around the next bend. I did as I always do, and gathered every last ounce of strength, and broke into a sprint – every second I can shave off the end counts! Just as I was about to cross the finish line, though, the two girls in front of me SLOWED DOWN (why, oh why would you do that?!) and I almost ran straight into them. I couldn’t believe it! I had to zig-zag my way around them, and then finally crossed under the banner. A woman handed me my medal, and I bee-lined for the water. I actually felt great – my knees hurt, but this was the first half where I felt good at the end. I had a good idea of my finishing time from my Garmin, and I was pleased to see that it was almost smack in the middle of my previous two finishing times: a little slower than my PR, but a little faster than Nashville. Also, I was happy, I was dry, I was proud of myself – everything that was wrong with Nashville was gone from my mind. Mission: accomplished!

Done!

My personal cheerleader :)

Frendz.

Within a few minutes, all of us girls had finished and found each other, and my sister and Lush’s family found us, as well. It was quickly determined that showers and beers were in order, so we headed back to the beach house. Once everyone was cleaned up, we went for lunch at a Mexican restaurant nearby, and there was no shortage of chips, salsa, and enchiladas consumed… as well as a cerveza or two! Perfect post-race meal, in my opinion. I left the Outer Banks that afternoon feeling about as good as I possibly could – minus the ice on my knees and mighty tired legs!

This seems like the perfect time for some "outtakes" pictures... because racing makes everyone a little delirious!

Shivering!

Normal

Just a little post-race stretching...

 The end.

Travel Tales: Jockey's Ridge

Well hey there. I went on vacation, and apparently lost my blogging mo-jo. It's quite sad. However, I'm determined to find it again.... so what you get in the mean time is a lot of pictures. Because a picture's worth a thousand words... so this post is worth about a million. YEAH.

C's family has taken a summer trip to the Outer Banks for many years, and have been sweet enough to let me tag along ever since that very first summer we were dating (cue awwws). Now that I'm officially part of the family, I guess it's my trip, too... Added perk of marriage! Hooray! Anyway. The trip usually happens in August, but this year we weren't able to go then due to various family circumstances (mostly C's sweet cousin, who was our wedding photographer, was due to give birth the very week of the beach trip!) - but my mother-in-law was determined that we would get down to OBX anyway, and so she planned a trip for October! It was a much different experience to see the beach in the fall instead of the dog-days of summer, but we still had a blast. We were able to do lots of different things that C & I normally skip in the summer because it's just too dang hot. For example - we checked out the dunes!

I haven't been to Jockey's Ridge State Park since I was there with my family when I was much younger, so this was a fun experience. The dunes are such an amazing act of nature - and standing at the top of them provides incredible views. We hiked around for a while and climbed to the top, then ran all the way down as fast as we could (yes, we are children). It was super windy that day, and the sand was flying everywhere. I couldn't help but think that the dunes were changing shape that very moment, right as we stood there. This little side trip was so much fun!



A bit wind-blown...



After leaving Jockey's Ridge, we went to the Outer Banks Brewing Station for a semi-date - just beers and appetizers while we watched part of the O's game. OBBS was recommended to me by a co-worker, and it's America's first wind-powered brewery! They had six beers on tap, five made in-house and one "guest beer." My favorite was the Lemon Grass Wheat Ale. It had such a distinct flavor, but was still wheaty enough for my tastes. We ordered crab dip since I was craving it, and also tried the appetizer that the bartender recommended: shredded beef taquitos. They seemed a bit out of place on the menu, but they were delicious! I especially loved the micro greens and the herb oil drizzled on the plate. The rest of the menu looked delicious, too. I think we will definitely have to make a trip there again sometime for lunch or dinner.

And because I just can't help myself...

Nothing better than cartwheeling down the beach.

Travel Tales: OBX!

The past few days have been gloomy, at best, with pouring rain and thunderstorms and cloudy skies... and I'm not complaining, because a cloudy day at the beach is better than the sunniest day in the office, but still... vacation is more fun when the sun comes out!

The sun finally broke through this afternoon, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. We followed that adventure with a wine-tasting festival at the historic Whalehead Club - I'm almost positive this was heaven on earth. Really, though. Take a look at the pictures, and try to argue.

Bay-side

My sister-in-law and me! Love this picture :)

The wall is thicker than I am tall at this point...

Wine-tasting, at the beach, on a gorgeous October afternoon... perfection.

Top of the lighthouse!