You planned where you will visit and any day trips that you will take, as well as any dining and restaurants that you think you will enjoy. Your husband researched the airfare. Your daughters spent time looking at beach rentals, working within a budget, and presented you with their top three choices. This Christmas, instead of bundling up by the fire place and opening presents, your family is going to spend the Christmas holiday at a North Carolina beach property.
The planning actually started last year when you saw several social media posts that showed three different families that you know enjoying some war weather while you home scooping snow. It was not soon after looking at those photos that your husband suggested that he would not mind being somewhere he could golf instead of shovel for one Christmas. With two teenage daughters, it was no surprise that they were up for a holiday where they could enjoy the beach and soak up some sun. Even if the temperatures are not warm enough to enjoy the water, the girls just like the idea of enjoying some sunshine and any warmth that is available.
Searching through the beach rentals was a fun project for the girls, as they spent time comparing distance to the water, the availability of a heated pool, and other things that they thought would be important for the holiday celebration. And while the girls know that they will be spending plenty of time shopping and by the pool, they also know that everything goes better when their Dad gets to golf, so they also made sure that they considered beach rentals that came with golf course privileges.
As a final destination, the family decided on a great location on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a skinny strip of barrier islands that stretch for 130 miles along the Atlantic coast. With these beaches as a setting, the girls are planning to get up and run every morning along the ocean after they wake early to watch the sunrise. They figure that they can catch up on any rest later in the day while their Dad is golfing and before you take them shopping.
For yourself, you have planned a couple outings and know that you will enjoy them whether or not the rest of the family comes along. The one you are looking the most forward to is a trip to the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on Hatteras Island, a place where over 400 species of birds have been identified.
This will certainly be a different kind of holiday, but you are certain that it will be one to both enjoy and remember.