We travelled to North Carolina by plane today. We caught a flight from Bradley to Raliegh-Durham and Rick met us at the airport. It was pretty amazing to compress what would have been two days of driving into just a couple of hours of flying. It was a small plane with about 60 seats. The flight was relatively smooth -- a bit of turbulence, but a very smooth landing.
After we arrived, we still had a few hours of driving to get to the beach. We stopped at McCall's barbeque place for lunch. They had a great buffet that included pulled pork, ribs, and hushpuppies. It didn't cost much, if any, more than fast food, but was much better.
We arrived just at 4pm and met everyone at the Diary Queen across the street from Summerwinds. After we got checked in, Rick, Greg and I made a run to the liquor store. Originally it was proposed that we wait until tomorrow, but I pointed out that tomorrow is Sunday and the liquor store would be closed. A bit of alcohol is a really valuable lubricant for interacting with the relatives, bless their hearts.
The condo this year is one of the best ones in the place. It is on the 5th floor and overlooks both the beach and the large, central swimming pool. There isn't a nicer place in the whole complex. You can see up and down the whole beach and there is a wonderful breeze that blows constantly.
We got several bottles and then picked up some groceries before we headed back. We had gotten out just in time -- on the way back there was a 5 mile-long traffic jam going the other way. We congratulated ourselves on having planned ahead.
The best thing about the beach is the relaxed pace. After I got back from the store, I went down and hung out with Alisa and the boys by the pool. Slow, calm, and relaxing. We're off to a good start.
StevenBrewer