This was the first time I had ever been to the Outer Banks! One of our friends organized a group trip and 14 of us rented a big house in Avon, NC for a week!
felt kind of like Real World, without all the craziness…well a little craziness
We drove. From Massachusetts to the Outer Banks (OBX), and that should be roughly a 13-14 hour drive. Of course I have no luck when it comes to traffic, and even though we split the drives over 2 days (staying in a hotel in Delaware), it was rough!! I hate that my last memory of the trip is being stuck in a car going 8mph through NY and CT, so hopefully this post we make me remember the fun stuff!!
(I will say I am going to think hard before doing another road trip that long again…I’m a flying kind of girl ;)
Our first “taste” of N.C. came in the form of this baby:
We all stopped at Morris Farm to stock up on fresh produce rather than dealing with what may or may not be available once everyone and their mother hits up the grocery stores down there.
That pecan roll was heavenly…not greasy or anything just soft dough with cinnamon, sugar, and pecans!
We at at the house for nearly every meal, and most of my mornings started off like usual…
Greek Yogurt + Fruit + Granola.
I brought plenty of TJ’s Greek Yogurt to last me the week :)
And those PEACHES!!! OMG!!! I wish I brought back bags and bags of the peaches we got down there….best I’ve ever had!!
Most everyday was spent basking on the sandy beaches and playing in the water which was a perfect temp.
Speaking of peach, this guy was deliciously refreshing:
Each night one of the couples or groups of people would be in charge of dinner. I wanted to go first to get it out of the way so we cooked that first Sunday night!
I really wanted to do something “different”, not crazy different but not your standard “group dinner”. I did want to grill and wanted to make sure there were lots of veggies involved :)
(check out these ginormous zucchini’s from our garden we brought!)
To set our meal apart we went with lamb! I know that’s not very “different” but turned out that almost half the group had never tried it before! I LOVE getting people to try things!
I knew they’d love it because it had been marinating for about 2 days and this marinade was AWESOME. Recipe to come!
To accompany the grilled lamb, Brian and I did grilled veggies plus an orzo salad with more veggies and Feta! I’ll have to save the actual breakdowns for another post, this one is too long already!
(excuse the classy paper plates and craptastic picture, most were taken with the old camera)
The verdict? Everyone LOVED it! Score.
I also whipped up a homemade key lime pie that came out sooooo good.
Other adventures of the week included:
A trip to one of those fabulous beach stores to get the boy new sunglasses as he sacrificed his to the waves.
You know, the place where you can get anything airbrushed on a t-shirt??
A mini crab-fest by the pool…mmmm I love crab meat!!
A Ferry over to Ocracoke for the day.
A little thunderstorm
Boogey Boarding!!
And a final delicious dinner out with Brian on our way home at Ocean Boulevard Bistro
I got a GIANT crab cake, it was divine.
Such a fun trip with great friends!!
Wish my tan would stop fading though ;)
Great recap! I totally hear ya about the drive down - John and I stopped over at my parent's place in PA, but it was still a loooooong trip down to the OBX.
ReplyDeleteI can still taste those divine peaches... I think I ate my weight in them over the course of our one week stay :).
That looks like so much fun. I can't believe you drove 14 hrs. I would go crazy. Glad you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous. Love the Carolinas <3. The food all looks amazing. I love that you had parfait like breakfasts every day (my ideal). Since going veg, crab and shrimp are the only things I've missed...and those crabs look pretty awesome. Hope your week is great baby doll
ReplyDeleteLooks like so much fun!! I looove the Outerbanks! :)
ReplyDeleteaww, i've always wanted to go to obx!!! maybe someday :) glad you had a good time, looks like you had plenty of fantastic eats!
ReplyDeleteWhat great pictures! It sounds like you had a fabulous week. We drove to Delaware earlier this summer, and though it was only half the driving you all did... maaan, it took forever! (We sampled many a Dogfish Head beer while we were there, though!) Hope you're enjoying these last few days of summer, girl!
ReplyDeleteahh the obx is like my second home!!! i'm so glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteit's different from other beaches, like the jersey shore because it's less populated and commercialized.
i just love it.
Ohhh that looks so relaxing. I've never been there but I have been to Hilton Head Island, which I love. My college girlfriends and I have been talking about doing some sort of roadtrip and OBX looks like it would be fun. Also love that you split up who cooked the group dinners. Seems like a fun way to try a lot of different foods.
ReplyDeleteWow, that lokos like so much fun! I've never been to the OB, nor have I ever been on a trip with that many friends. But I can imagine it's kinda like the Real World :) The pool looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSues
What a fun trip and cute pics! The dinner you made for everyone looks fantastic too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun trip, and no surprise that everyone loved your dinner!
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