Considering a trip to the beach for Labor Day weekend generally elicits one of 2 responses:
1. "Yeah, I'm going to drink beer/an umbrella drink/Budweiser Chelada and get a sweet taaaaan!" (tan = painful sunburn).
2. "Deal with all those crowds? No way. I'm going to sit at home and play Magic: The Gathering until 5am. Screw paying for parking and slathering on sunscreen every 15 minutes. And sand. Screw sand."
Chris and I went with response #1. Though only one of us got a sweet tan/sunburn. And neither of us drank Chelada.
We wound up going to Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach in North Carolina, mainly because that was the only beach within driving distance that had reasonably priced lodging on Airbnb. And there will be a report on the Airbnb part of this trip later on.
Bottom line, I think this area is my new favorite beach destination. There were long stretches of sand and beautiful blue water. There were plenty of public access points and far more available parking than I was expecting. It wasn't overshadowed by condo buildings trying to break the stratosphere. And it had sand crabs.
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Also, people were ridiculously nice and helpful. I know, it's the south and everyone is nice, but there are different varieties of "southern nice". There's sweet-as-over-sugared-pie-to-your-face-and-I'll-talk-shit-about-you-as-soon-as-you-leave nice. There's friendly-because-I-love-to-talk-about-myself nice. And then there's just regular down-to-earth nice. People here are down-to-earth nice. They don't want to make fun of your hair behind your back, and they aren't attention whores. They will help if you if you appear to need it, they'll smile while they do it, and they'll be on their way and let you be on yours.
The only problem was the no alcohol policy. I'd read stories about how militant the police are about drinking on the beach. But it's THE BEACH. A dehydrating beverage is a necessity. That was easily taken care of by drinking out of a squeeze bottle. But, seriously, Wrightsville. Changing this should be your top priority.
Sometimes a trip to the beach on a holiday weekend can be harrowing, and the relaxing trip you envisioned becomes a big fat ball of stress and road rage as you try to make your way to your tranquil little spot of sand by the water. There was none of that in Wrightsville. Things were easy. The beach was pretty much perfect. And the people were wonderful. The Outer Banks may get all the hype in this state, but Wrightsville deserves just as much attention. But if it doesn't get it, that's ok. Fewer crowds and cheaper rates for me. I just need to remember to bring a nondescript beverage container.
1. "Yeah, I'm going to drink beer/an umbrella drink/Budweiser Chelada and get a sweet taaaaan!" (tan = painful sunburn).
2. "Deal with all those crowds? No way. I'm going to sit at home and play Magic: The Gathering until 5am. Screw paying for parking and slathering on sunscreen every 15 minutes. And sand. Screw sand."
Chris and I went with response #1. Though only one of us got a sweet tan/sunburn. And neither of us drank Chelada.
We wound up going to Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach in North Carolina, mainly because that was the only beach within driving distance that had reasonably priced lodging on Airbnb. And there will be a report on the Airbnb part of this trip later on.
Bottom line, I think this area is my new favorite beach destination. There were long stretches of sand and beautiful blue water. There were plenty of public access points and far more available parking than I was expecting. It wasn't overshadowed by condo buildings trying to break the stratosphere. And it had sand crabs.
.JPG)
Also, people were ridiculously nice and helpful. I know, it's the south and everyone is nice, but there are different varieties of "southern nice". There's sweet-as-over-sugared-pie-to-your-face-and-I'll-talk-shit-about-you-as-soon-as-you-leave nice. There's friendly-because-I-love-to-talk-about-myself nice. And then there's just regular down-to-earth nice. People here are down-to-earth nice. They don't want to make fun of your hair behind your back, and they aren't attention whores. They will help if you if you appear to need it, they'll smile while they do it, and they'll be on their way and let you be on yours.
The only problem was the no alcohol policy. I'd read stories about how militant the police are about drinking on the beach. But it's THE BEACH. A dehydrating beverage is a necessity. That was easily taken care of by drinking out of a squeeze bottle. But, seriously, Wrightsville. Changing this should be your top priority.
 |
| Problem (kind of) solved. |
Sometimes a trip to the beach on a holiday weekend can be harrowing, and the relaxing trip you envisioned becomes a big fat ball of stress and road rage as you try to make your way to your tranquil little spot of sand by the water. There was none of that in Wrightsville. Things were easy. The beach was pretty much perfect. And the people were wonderful. The Outer Banks may get all the hype in this state, but Wrightsville deserves just as much attention. But if it doesn't get it, that's ok. Fewer crowds and cheaper rates for me. I just need to remember to bring a nondescript beverage container.
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