Harrisonburg, VA and Kill Devil Hills, NC

Vacation time! This year, my parents invited us to come with them to Outer Banks at the end of June. (Due to some communication issues, we didn't really get the details until too late. So Levent and I made the decision that I would just go). In order for my ticket to not be too expensive, I flew into Charlottesville VA and hung out in Harrisonburg for a few days before driving down to the Outer Banks with my parents.

Part 1: Harrisonburg for the weekend

I arrived late Friday night and stayed the weekend with my sister and nephew (My brother-in-law was away for work). We did the usual things like sitting on my sister's back porch and walking the dogs down to Broad Porch coffee. (We actually ended up going there three times. oops. Lol). But since my nephew went to a sleep over on Saturday night, Leah and I decided to go out on the town. We went to three different restaurants and got apps and drinks at all of them. The best cocktails were at Illyria Mediterranean restaurant and the best food was the hot dog at Mashita. (We also went to Jimmy Madison's for some fried green tomatoes). But for real, that hot dog was maybe the best hot dog I've ever had. (How!) On Sunday, Leah and I went to yoga at Sage Bird Cider (and then had cidermosas afterwards), had lunch at mom and dad's house and then we basically chilled the rest of the day at the Baker's). It was a lovely weekend.

Part 2: Kill Devil Hills

On Monday morning, Mom and Dad came and picked me up and we drove down to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. We got there in time to settle into the Airbnb, pick up subs for supper (we traditionally eat cheesesteaks on the first night of the beach), wander over to the beach for a few moments before picking up ice cream. Mom and Dad like to go get ice cream every night of their beach vacation and they usually try to get it from a different local spot every time. This is where I get it from. 

First night of ice cream: I had Holy Cow's namesake ice cream

Day 1 at the beach:

There was a heat wave going through the country the week we were at the beach. So we spent most of our beach time in the morning. We would get up and have breakfast at the house and then pack a lunch and head down to the beach around 9:30. We'd struggle to set up the tent (lol) and then spend the next several hours relaxing and playing in the water. (My Dad and I love to boogie board, believe it or not). We packed up by mid afternoon (mostly because I would get too hot and want to leave, while Mom and Dad wanted to stay until at least 2). Afterwards, we would go get iced coffees at a local place (another one of Mom and Dad's beach traditions). I spent a lot of afternoons reading in the nice and cold air conditioning at the Airbnb. In the evening, we would make our daily run to Publix grocery store (which was just down the street) and then we grilled up some burgers for supper at the house. In the evening, we would go back to the beach and then, once again, go get ice cream.

Ice cream flavor: almond joy

Day 2 at the beach

Day two was basically a repeat of day one, except it was even hotter. At one point in the week the heat index was supposed to reach 109. Yikes. The sand would be so hot in the afternoon that it was literally painful to walk across, even with sandals on. The main difference was that this day was the day when the Bakers joined us. They got in town by mid afternoon (more or less when we got back from the beach). We had supper together at a BBQ place and then headed back to the beach for an evening stroll and romp in the water. Afterwards, of course, we went and got ice cream.

Ice cream flavor: Oatmeal cream pie

Day 3 at the beach

Our final beach day had the same pillars as the other beach days, except this time the Bakers came with us to the beach in the morning. No one has the same beach stamina as my parents (who want to be there for hours), so the Bakers left around noon and I opted to go with them since I was so hot. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading at the Airbnb (I finished three books on this trip). For supper, Leah and Jeron made their traditional low country boil (something they have done multiple times during numerous other beach trips). Then back to the beach for more romping. And the, finally, one last round of ice cream.

Ice cream flavor: Coconut lotus pie (on the right)

Travel days

Before we all headed back to Virginia, we stopped at had breakfast together at Henry's restaurant before going on the long journey home. We didn't know at the time how long it would be. The original drive is a little under 5 hours. But, since there was an accident on a bridge in a tunnel, we ended up having to take a three hour detour. So the road trip ended up being more like 8. It was such a long day. The only silver lining is that we originally weren't going to be able to finish our audiobook, but because of the extra hours, we finished it right when we pulled in Harrisonburg. (I road back with Dad, Mom and Malakai who was staying with us since Leah and Jeron were going to Richmond to celebrate their anniversary. They got through the tunnel before the accident and did not have to deal with all the delays that we did). To celebrate finally getting home, we got pizza and then went out for ice cream one more time. 

Ice cream flavor: mint chocolate chip (milk shake)

The next day was also a travel day for me as I was flying back to Columbus in the evening. I spent most of the day being so anxious because I woke up to my flight to Atlanta already being so delayed and it continued in that vain all day. But! Before I left, Malakai and I helped Mom stem this giant pile of green beans from their garden. (I also finished another book). 

I eventually got home around 2am after even more delays and sprinting through the Atlanta airport. But! I made it! I am so grateful too since Atlanta was a mess. There had been some bad storms or something that caused so many delays. All the hotels around the airport were completely sold out. I was very close to spending the night in the Atlanta airport. Thankfully, that did not happen.

And that was my June journey to Virginia and North Carolina! I was maybe grumpy for a good part of the trip (due to a lot of unchecked anxiety), but I am so glad I went.