This weekend’s adventure not only took us to Ocean Isle Beach, NC, but also Myrtle Beach, SC!
We got to Ocean Isle Friday night and I had no clue just how close to the beach and ocean we were. You could hear the ocean, and little to my knowledge, my sweet boyfriend got us an ocean view. We stayed at a place called Islanders Inn. It came equipped with a medium sized flat screen, microwave, coffeemaker, a small fridge, and 2 sinks (one was for a kitchenette like area). The room had a queen bed as well as a pull out bed for only $82 which was pretty good. The balcony gave an amazing view of the ocean. It was gorgeous! It was almost scary, you know? Just this free-flowing thing. It’s so expansive and brings you down to earth. You relax for once because your life and problems just seem so minimal compared to the strength and beauty of the ocean. Just breathtaking.

In the morning we watched the sunrise along the pier and then went back to sleep; We had been up late doing homework. When we finally woke up we walked along the beach and took some video footage for our vlog here. We ended up collecting shells, and I touched seafoam for the first time. It seemed so magical as I went for it, but I regretted picking it up haha. My hands were sandy and dirty, so I wiped it on my jeans and my lovely boyfriend. As this was going on, I had turned my back to the ocean, which is a no-no considering the last time at the beach we both almost drowned, and that’s when the sea level increased and drenched out shoes. So with our wet and sandy shoes and shells in hand, we started walking away. We ending up seeing all of one bird, who was absolutely adorable. Have you ever seen that Pixar short “Piper”? That’s the kind of bird it was. We tried to follow it because we’re weird, but it flew away. Now that I think about it there were a few crows for some reason. Spooked!

We ended up having breakfast at a little place called DRIFT. We shared an acai bowl and salmon sandwich, both of which were really good. I had never had salmon like that or had the opportunity to try acai despite the craze for both in the recent years.

After brunch, we proceded to Myrtle Beach with the intention of going to their children’s museum. I’m an Illinois girl, so I had high expectations compared to both the Chicago and Indianapolis Children’s Museums. I was disappointed. When we drove up it seemed generally run down and only one story. I’m sure little kids would enjoy it, but I don’t think we would have so we didn’t even get out.

We had seen a pottery sign around the corner, which gave us the idea to go to a pottery painting shop. We ended up going to a place called “Harry the Potter”. We spent around 3 or 4 hours there!! We both decided on mugs that were $20 each. I took the aesthetic route, painting mine with cacti, while the bf ended up on the Spongebob meme route.

After painting, we were literally starving and ended up at Simply Southern Smokehouse. The food was really good and for the price, pretty good too. The owner was active in helping people out and taking their dishes. He was also extremely energetic! EXTREMELY. Birthdays were celebrated with two verses of happy birthday along with a custom balloon hat…no matter your age. He loudly sang “This Little Light of Mine”, clapping his hands hard like he was in church. He even gave a small child a little truck he had. It was in the package like he waited for moments like these to make a child happy. He was sweet and a little crazy, and he made great food.

We went back to the hotel and in the morning it was drizzling and foggy, so when I woke up in the morning attempting to see the sunrise, there really wasn’t anything to see. We left around 11 and had one more stop, the Bagel Dock Cafe. Their cream cheese selection was so beautiful! Strawberry, Sundried Tomato, Scallion, etc. They looked amazing, with fresh ingredients! Too bad I didn’t see the selection until after I finished my order, but there’ll be a next time. Despite that, my bagel was really good. Salmon and cream cheese with tomato and red onions on an everything bagel. Simple and delicious. My bf has a bad habit of picking either something identical or similar to my order, so he got a bacon and cream cheese on an everything bagel. We both admit it was good, but it was bacon. It wasn’t anything new or special, so he ordered The Godfather on Asiago. It contained Ham, Salami, Turkey, and Tomato with cream cheese I believe. It was good. We enjoyed it. 

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t the best, but we still had a really good time. More of our trip was based on food rather than the things we did. We struggle with that part, but then again, it makes everything cheaper for us. We’ll get better at it though.