Nags Head, NC

 

 This year my daughter took each of her three children on their own, personal getaways. Her eldest came with us on our girls' Vermont ice skating holiday in February. Then she took her middle son to New York City for a fun-filled visit. Lastly, her youngest son chose to have a beach holiday. They asked if anyone else in the family would like to go along and I raised my hand. 

We booked rooms at First Colony Inn in Nags Head, NC. The inn was built in 1932 and is a registered historic landmark. I drove down to our daughter's home in North Carolina on Sunday morning and from there, we drove together to Nags Head. We had adjoining rooms on the first floor. We enjoyed everything this historic inn had to offer. The architecture, the gardens, the sparkling in-ground pool, the easy beach access, the friendly staff, and the breakfasts and social hour were all wonderful. The inn also provides beach chairs and an umbrella. We spent two glorious days relaxing at the ocean's edge. We built sand castles, played in the waves, swam in the pool, and ate dinners out. We also played miniature golf one evening at a really fun course called "Mutiny Bay", which is right across the road. The only thing that we didn't like at the inn was the musty smell in my bedroom and bath. As long as I kept the A/C turned up, it wasn't too bad in the room. But it was hard not to notice the damp smell in the bathroom. Given the age of the structure and the level of humidity in this climate, I understood the reason. This would not prevent me from staying here again. Although I might try a second floor room the next time. There are too many plusses about the inn that outweigh this one negative.

We prefer to avoid the southern beaches in the high heat of summer. September and October are my favorite months to visit the beach down here. For this trip, we had daytime temperatures in the mid to upper seventies and the ocean water was refreshing but not frigid. The water felt about the same temperature as the air.

It is a rare opportunity for me to have one-on-one time with any of our daughters these days. I cherished every moment of our time away. I loved digging in the sand with my grandson. My own inner child was at play when I knelt in the sand and ran in the waves. It was so easy to forget the problems of day-to-day life in this environment. Wednesday rolled around too soon and it was time to drive home. There are many things to do on the Outer Banks and we decided that another visit will be in order one day.

The inn holds a social hour every afternoon with a snack buffet and wine. Guests are welcome to mingle in the dining room or take plates out onto the deck or to their rooms.

Mutiny Bay Miniature Golf was a lot of fun. The eighteen hole course takes you up onto the deck of a pirate ship, up and down water features, and around perfectly landscaped greens. They even had water explosions as invisible cannonballs hit the water.

 

 

 

I don't think my grandson minded being doted on. It was his special getaway, so doting was a given!