Day 2: Beachin' It

I’m surprised that I’m even able to function at this point! We decided to depart from the hotel at 8:15am this morning and head for Carolina Beach- a 3 hour drive. The drive there was cramped but I knew when we stepped out of the car that it was worth it. We walked to the beach and took in the fresh air and the wonderful view. Being it my first time to the east coast, I was eager to touch the water. I expected cold, but I was not prepared for the chilling numbness of the Atlantic. An ocean is an ocean, though, and I was ecstatic to be in the atmosphere.

After serving up some cold pizza and cold meat sandwiches, a couple of us decided to make the trek to the boardwalk. I was hesitant, because I knew it looked like a far walk. After forty five minutes of walking and hitting the halfway point, I was positive it was a far walk. We pushed through, even though we considered turning back, and I had left my phone and sunscreen behind. I knew it was a bad idea, but hey, I was looking for a little adventure to keep me busy.

When we finally arrived at our destination, we were a little less than excited. There were no cute shops or drink stores to alleviate our parched mouths, so we had to go to the gas station across the street. After checking out the views and pelicans at the tip of the windy boardwalk, we started or long trek back to the beach. It seemed about 3x as long as the walk there, but we finally made it. At this point I was confident that I had burnt my skin, so I applied sunscreen for the first time since we arrived. After the 7 mile walk, it was too little too late. Hello, farmer’s tan!

We hung out and got to know each other for a few hours, took some group pictures, and then packed up and walked around the local shops while we worked up an appetite. At this point, most of us were looking similar to lobsters. Some worse than others. Kylee has a red patch on her leg from where she got burnt through the whole in her jean shorts. After taking a group photo per request of the Wing’s workers in the merchandise, we asked the worker and one of the customers where they recommended we go to eat for some seafood. They both mentioned Gibby’s, which was right next to where we were parked, so we called and warned the restaurant what was coming.

I was expecting a bar kind of atmosphere, but it was actually really nice at the restaurant. The menu had a lot to offer within my price range, and I ordered the Crab Meat Sandwich on a Kaiser Roll with Onion rings per the waitress’s request. Holy moly this food was fresh. I tested some of Alaina’s shrimp and I swear it was swimming this morning. My donut sized crab cake patty was made of actual crab and was so delicious I considered ordering more. When we’d all finally stuffed ourselves, we started heading back. Of course someone brought up dessert, so we stopped at Boombalattis. I was going to pass on ice cream because I was so full (which is HUGE for me), but the selection of hard scooped ice creams sounded amazing! Cinnamon Caramel Oatmeal Cookie, Salted Almond Toffee, Caramel Machiatto, and Mocha Oreo. Passing on this delightful experience nearly killed me. Thankfully, Holly didn’t finish hers and gave it to me, and I was able to enjoy some Mocha Oreo and Salted Almond Toffee!!

The GPS took us on a heck of weird way back to Siler City through some woods. The drive home was pretty miserable, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more tired. It’s going to be tough to wake up at 7am again tomorrow, but hey, I’ve got some tigers to save!

#CTR