We arrived on the island at around 3:00 yesterday afternoon. We made our obligatory stop at Harris Teeter grocery store to get some essentials. We are either stronger than we were last year, or we’re doing better packing because we had everything hauled up to the second floor condo in twelve minutes flat! A new record!
Once everything was put away and we’d had a sandwich for a late lunch, we both stretched out for a little rest. When I saw that the sky was changing color, we headed out to the beach for our first walk of the season. It’s amazing how different the sand looks from year to year. There are stairs that cross the dunes from the private homes on either side of the condo complex that were covered completely with sand. And there was a large amount of very coarse red “sand” laying on top of the normal sand. It’s obvious there have been some really big storms down here since we were here last spring.
On our way back down the beach, Mr. FixIt was looking down for shells. There were just a very few that weren’t crushed and broken. Suddenly, he bent down to pick something up. It was a key from our complex. With a puzzled look on his face, he reached in his pocket to check for ours and it was there. He checked the number and it was for the building next to ours. We looked around and there wasn’t anyone nearby so we decided to take it to the office.
As we walked up the ramp and across the dunes, a young woman came along behind us. My daughters will tell you…I can talk to a tree. But I’ve met my match when it comes to my husband. He, like me, has never known a stranger. We struck up a lovely conversation with a teacher from Pennsylvania and ended up walking together on our way back to the condo. She teaches reading to sixth graders. I smiled. I love that…creating lifelong readers is a gift from God.
We said goodbye to the teacher and were almost to our building when a woman walking her dog walked up to us and said, “Could you do me a favor? I’ve lost my room key…”
“Is it for _____?”
She looked dumbfounded.
“Why…yes, it is!”
“We found it!!!”
She was so excited. She had arrived forty-five minutes earlier and took her dog for a quick walk on the beach only to discover she’d lost her key. That key fob is grey and just about matches the sand. What are the odds that A) we would find it and B) she would see us and ask for help? There are no coincidences. She was so excited and gave me a big hug. And look at her beautiful dog!
We got to the truck and drove straight to our favorite ice cream store. It’s really hard to find a hand-dipped ice cream shoppe these days. Most everything is soft serve and sometimes you just want REAL ice cream. There was a time in my life when I could easily scarf down two scoops in a waffle cone. I couldn’t eat half of one scoop in a cup, which is a good thing really. All that fat and sugar isn’t good for either one of us.
This is what I love about staying overnight and breaking the trip up into two days. That way we aren’t exhausted when we get here and we can get out and do something the first day. That being said, we were a bit dismayed at our hotel room in Williamsburg, Virginia this time. This was the third or fourth time we stayed at this particular hotel. The first time, the rate was a really decent $59.00. The next was $69. This time they quoted me $159! And, trust me…that place is not anything to write home about. The rate on a booking app was $119, so I went back out to the truck and reserved the room at that rate. Still, our TV did not work. Two lamps didn’t work. The alarm clock was making a weird noise all night and I finally got up and unplugged it at about 3:30. The refrigerator was ticking like a time bomb and the air conditioner roared like a harrier jet. Well, ok…not that loud. But it was pretty obnoxious. Let’s just say, we neither one slept very soundly.
We have decided that next year, we will leave a few days early and camp on our way down. There’s a storage place here on site where we can lock up the camper. Then we can camp on the way home for a few days. I mean, if you’re going to spend that kind of money for one night in a crappy hotel room, you might as well make use of the camper, sleep in your own bed, and have a much more enjoyable experience, right?
We’re off to a grand start here on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The weather forecast has improved tremendously and we may end up with a much nicer week than anticipated.
I pray you all have a Blessed Easter.
He is Risen!
✝️
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen…”
Luke 24:1-6 ESV