The Nook

On Friday of our trip, Kevin and Amy sent us off for our "vacation within a vacation" - The Beach!  Want to know the wonderful thing about Chapel Hill, besides all the beautiful weather, big, tall trees, rolling hills, and perfect roads (no frost!)?  Travel a few hours to the west and you're in the mountains; travel a few hours to the east and you're at the coast.  It's a great set-up.

Kevin and Amy have a little condo right on the beach on a little barrier island off the coast of North Carolina.    They affectionately refer to it as "The Nook," and it's a perfect little weekend getaway.  They bought it as a fixer-upper, and I love what they did with it.  Amy has a knack for decorating with cute little accents to make a space feel cozy.  They sent us off to "The Nook" to enjoy a little family time at the beach.  Brandon LOVES the beach!  And once again, we had great weather.  We settled right in, and Jonah insisted we take a little tour, so here you go:

At the front of the condo, there's a little sitting area
My cousin, Em, painted that crab freehand!  Isn't it great?

Directly across from the sitting area there's a little eating space

Next, we wandered down the hallway, where there's a set of bunk beds built into the wall!  So cozy.

A little further down the hall is the bathroom.  My Uncle Kevin put in those slate tiles himself....I love how it turned out!  We got to see before and after photos of the whole place, and it was quite a transformation!

After all his touring, Jonah was ready to relax.  We made our way out to the porch.

Seriously, the ocean is right there!!  What a view!

Of course, there's a kitchen and a bedroom, too.  But after he spotted the ocean, Jonah couldn't be bothered to continue with the tour...so you'll just have to use your imagination :)

The ocean is surprisingly LOUD.  But it was so nice to sit out on the porch and listen to the waves roll in.  We did a lot of this during our time at the beach.

It just so happens that our good friend, Steve, is a Marine living at the base just a few miles up the road from where we stayed.  Unfortunately, he was in California doing some training while we were there.  Bummer!  But his lovely wife, Abby, and their 5 month old son, Josiah, were able to drive over and join us at the beach.   The boys are about a month apart (Jonah is older) and almost the same size - but built very differently.

They are so much more interactive than the last time we saw the Haacks.  So fun!  

Jonah really wanted to grab Josiah's crazy mohawk, but Josiah was not such a fan.

I'd say our first day at the beach was a success!  The next morning we got up early to catch the sunrise over the Atlantic.  It was a little cloudy, so it was a muted sunrise, but still beautiful.

Toes in the water

After a relaxed morning in the condo (and a nap for Jonah), we headed back down to the beach to wait for Kevin and Amy to join us for the rest of the weekend.

To be continued...