North Carolina Trip Days 1& 2

My mom, Evan, and I headed out to North Carolina to see my sisters and aunt.  We started our trip flying from Providence, RI to LaGuardia airport in NY and then had a long 2+ hour layover so we decided to grab some lunch. 

We each got a sandwich and fries with 2 iced teas.. and it cost over $80!  I think that was our most expensive meal of the whole trip.



We landed in Wilmington, NC 30 minutes early but had to sit on the runway since our gate had another plane there.  We picked up our rental car-- this bright mango colored Dodge Charger.  Other than the color I really liked it.


We rented a 3 bedroom/ 2 bathroom condo right on the beach.  Have I ever mentioned how great it is to travel in the off season?!  Not only was the price pretty reasonable but the parking lot was usually mostly empty and we never heard anyone else when we were in our room.


I only thought to take a photo of my room.

The view from our balcony



As soon as we got settled, we headed right back out to meet my sisters and their families at Uncle Louie's Pizza Lounge then made a real quick detour to pick up a few groceries for breakfast. 


Friday morning I was up early enough to watch the sunrise from the balcony.  It was a beautiful day. 



After a quick breakfast at the condo I talked my mother and son into a nice long walk on the beach. 
















After our walk my mom and I headed back to the grocery store and then met up with my sister to walk the loop at Wrightsville Beach. Then the 4 of us (including Evan) just hung around the condo all afternoon.  My sister eventually left to pick up her 2 boys and my aunt came over too. 


That night my mom treated us all to burger, fries, and chicken fingers from P T's Old Fashioned Grille. 

I'll post about days 3 & 4 tomorrow.

Linking up with:



















Comments

  1. The beach is so pretty! I can see how off season would be appealing- though it likely also means it´s too cold to get in the ocean. The price of that meal at the airport! That is insane!! Have a great Monday!

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    1. People were in the ocean (which was 74 or so degrees; much warmer than it ever seems to get up here in New England) but the air was not nearly warm enough for me to want to go in. I have been in the ocean on previous October trips where they just had a tropical storm blow through; it just depends.

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  2. Airport food! That sandwich looks yummy but not for $80 and that sunrise, wow! I hope you're having a great time!
    Hugs, Maria

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    Replies
    1. If we hadn't been so starved we would never have bought that airport food. LOL

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  3. How in the world does a sandwich and two ice teas come to $80???? That's insane! I would have starved before I paid that. Anyway, the hotel and beach look beautiful. Visiting from SSPS

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    1. Unfortunately we were starving; I hadn't yet eaten at all that day and it was well past noon so I just sucked it up. I get much too nervous to eat before flights and we figured dining was a good way to fill in the long layover (just not in New York, I guess!).

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  4. Replies
    1. Thank you! I really enjoyed my sunrise mornings; it was so nice not having to rush off anywhere.

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  5. It sounds like you had a lovely trip.
    Oh wow! That meal was expensive, it does look good though but it wants to be for that price.
    It looks like you found a fantastic place to stay, looking out onto the beach must have been amazing.

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    Replies
    1. We really did have a lovely stay and I loved staying right on the beach.

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  6. The sandwiches look good but not $80 good! Beautiful sunrise photos #MMBC

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    1. Right?! We couldn't believe it when we saw the total... the drinks were crazy expensive. My son opted not to get a water since the cheapest option was $8.

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  7. I love all your water photos. I went to NC for the first time 2 years ago and just loved the beach. Visiting from Love Your Creativity linkup.

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    1. Thank you! We've only ever been to this section of North Carolina since our family lives there but I'd love to check out the Outer Banks and Asheville one of these times..

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  8. Beautiful photos! (Bummer on the $80 price tag!) Thanks so much for sharing this post at the Will Blog for Comments #12 linkup. Hope to see you there next week, too.

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  9. The $80 sandwich meal. That's the most stressful thing about traveling. The off-peak beach time though, that's genius!

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    1. Yes, it really is. But I figured we had other days where we hardly ate or spent anything so they compensated for one another.

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  10. What beautiful views, I have always wanted to visit the Carolinas. Maybe some day...

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  11. Airport food is always tough on the wallet. What beautiful views from your balcony!

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    1. It sure is! They know they have a captive audience.

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  12. I still haven't been out to Wilmington yet but the beach sure looks pretty! My family has always preferred traveling in the off season as well. Considering the heat and humidity during the summer now is probably the best (and most comfortable!) time to be there anyways. But gosh, $80 for an airport meal is insane!

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    1. It really was quite comfortable weather wise. Warm enough I rarely needed any sort of coat but cool enough that we could walk around comfortably!

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  13. What a fun trip! Airport food...sigh.

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    Replies
    1. At least it tasted good! It could have been expensive and just awful.

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  14. Sounds great - minus that wildly overpriced sandwich and fries! Oh my! You could find that car in the parking lot - which was empty! I agree - traveling in the off season is the best!! Don't you just love the views at the beach??:)

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    1. My mom and I joked all week that at least if we forgot where we parked the car it would be easy to pick out.

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  15. Airport food is just ridiculous! At least you didn't have to worry about losing that car in the parking lot! It looks like such a nice getaway!

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    1. Exactly what we said about the car! It was either that or a truck and my mom (who drove) is barely over 5 feet tall. I think she really liked it; just wasn't a huge fan of the color.

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  16. Love the pictures of the ocean and so nice you all could be together is such a fabulous place. Visiting you from SSPS #284. I'm delighted to be joining you this week with posts #77 through 81. Look forward to reaching out to other fellow bloggers to see their posts as well. Warm regards, Nancy Andres @ Colors 4 Health

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  17. Looks like a great start to your trip and looks so relaxing! Airport food prices get me every time.

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  18. What a wonderful time to visit the beach. No crowds?? That's pure heaven.
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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  19. Wow! I haven't eaten in an airport in years, and I doubt I will now...$80!!! The photos of the sunrise are amazing. I hope they make the cut for your scrapbooking. How did you find the condo? AirBnB or VRBO? It looks like the best way and time to go. I've always wanted to go this time of year, but I worry about hurricanes.

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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  20. So beautiful, great shots. Thanks for sharing with SSPS, but I as breathless at the $80.00 lunch tab!

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  21. What a wonderful family time and I love the condo where you stayed - the views are gorgeous and the room looked beautiful. I actually even liked the mango colour of the car! Much better than a boring white buzz box car that most hire companies offer here in Australia.

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    1. Yes! We figured it was better than the standard white or black that everyone else was driving too.

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  22. Wow Joanne, that airport lunch was expensive. I love those beach photos and I hope you all have a fun time. I am looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

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  23. Is that the Caprese sandwich? And were the fries more like curly wedges? I think I had that same meal when I was at LaGuardia recently. I was shocked too to be paying over $20! But I had to because I left the bagel I was going to take with me at my son's house lol! Looks like you had a great trip so far in NC, I'll be back to see what else you did in my hometown!

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    1. YES! That is the exact same meal (well that's what my mom and I got while my son ordered a burger with fries).

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  24. I love the beach in the off season!

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  25. Beautiful sunrise photos. Sounds like such a nice day.

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  26. Joanne how fun! Your photos are beautiful. I love virtually traveling with you.
    Visiting today from SSPS 284 #37

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  27. What gorgeous photos from your balcony! Oh my word, you just cannot beat that view!

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    1. Thank you! It was wonderful; it had been far to long since I had heard the waves crashing against the shore like that.

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  28. Every photo that I've ever seen of North Carolina is just beautiful.

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  29. 80 bucks for a lunch? For two? Ouch, I sure hope the food was tasty! :)
    The wave images you had taken on the walk with your mom are my favs from this set of pictures.
    Thank you for sharing your vacation!
    Take care and best wishes.

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    1. It was lunch for 3 so that made it slightly better; the food was pretty good.

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  30. Congratulations, your post will be featured on Monday as one of the top 5 most viewed posts. See you at InLinkz 285 Senior Salon Pit Stop.

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  31. Just checking: DO you have an FB and or IG account? If so please email me at esme@esmesalon.com with your handles in order for me to be able to tag you as one of our top 5 most viewed posts on Monday. Thanks in advance

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    1. I do have both but I don't really use either of them for anything... I'm not one for social media. Thanks anyway!

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    2. OK thanks for letting me know Joanne. I will just do the post without tagging you, but if you wish to check FB and IG it will be great

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