Visiting the North Carolina coast on Father’s Day weekend has become one of our favorite family traditions. It helps that three years in, the weather has been pretty darn perfect each time (there must be something about that weekend in June!). Perfect weather or not, it’s a delight to discover new corners of this state we love in honor of our favorite dad.
This year’s trip was to Bald Head Island – come take a peek, if you’d like!
Longtime readers may remember that John and I have been to Bald Head Island just once before – almost 10 years ago, when I was pregnant with June! BHI is accessible only by ferry, and the only civilian vehicles on the island are golf carts, which makes it relatively inaccessible but delightfully relaxing. We left on Sunday afternoon after church and headed home around noon on Wednesday. It was the perfect amount of time to explore the island!
The first order of business when planning our trip was deciding where to stay. While there are lovely homes on the island, most rentals are for a week. Since we were staying just a few days, we opted for the Marsh Harbor Inn, which is an easy walk from the ferry. We stayed in one of the Shipwatch Suites. While the free-flowing popcorn in the dining room, the Fruit Loops every morning (a continental breakfast was included with our room), and the golf cart (also included with our room) were all highlights, the kids were UTTERLY ENTRANCED by their accommodations: three built-in bunk beds in the tiniest nook of a room. This was Annie’s first time sleeping outside of a crib or pack and play, and she was in heaven.
As for our itinerary, it was quite laidback. We arrived on the 4pm ferry and took the tram, which is included with your ferry ticket, to the Inn with our luggage. We got things sorted (and had a major squeal-fest over the bunk beds), then took the golf cart out to East Beach, on the far side of the island.
Almost everyone had gone home for the day, so we had the sand pretty much to ourselves to run and play.
We had dinner at Jailhouse Provisions (our first of several visits over our short stay!) then cruised home at sunset to watch the Olympic swimming trials. It’s funny how random things get associated with particular trips – the swimming trials will definitely be linked with this one!
Monday was a beach day – we headed back to East Beach and set up our Shibumi amongst 25+ others (!). While the waves and undertow were fairly serious, the shifting tide created the most perfect “ocean swimming pool.” It lasted all day and made going in the water much more accessible, especially for Annie (2). For lunch, we ate snacks from Maritime Market – cheese, salami, crackers, and pickled veggies.
We headed back to the harbor in the late afternoon, then cleaned up and walked over to the marina park where there was a kid-friendly DJ, hula hoops, and corn hole set out on the grass. Dinner was burgers, dogs, and pizza from Will O’ the Wisp. (I was not overly impressed with the pizza.) We walked over the dunes to West Beach to watch the sunset before turning in for more swimming trials. Here’s John in vacation mode at dinner :)
Every time we crossed over the marsh bridge in our golf cart Annie would shout “hey, Baldy!!” and Tuesday morning was her chance to go inside! Old Baldy is the lighthouse on Bald Head Island (the oldest in NC!), and we all bought tickets to climb the 108 stairs and peek out the top.
I’ve now proudly crossed three NC lighthouses off my bucket list – Currituck, Cape Lookout, and Old Baldy!
We also toured the small attached museum (including some Coast Guard history!) and spent a few minutes inside the beautiful Village Chapel right next door.
Then, in classic dad fashion, John led us on a few short hikes off North Bald Head Wynd (the main road). It was hot, but shaded, and we saw some impressive live oaks for our trouble. We also discovered the BHI Conservancy’s scavenger hunt, which June and Shep enjoyed completing over the next 24 hours.
After lunch at Jailhouse and stocking up on more snacks at Maritime Market, we set up camp at East Beach once again. More sandcastles, more wave hopping, more swimming in the giant tide pool, more beach reading.
Then back home for showers, dinner at Jailhouse (yes, twice in one day – we all agreed to choose a different meal than at lunch, ha!), and ice cream while cruising home in the golf cart.
Before we called it a night, we saw two beautiful things: one, a sunset over the tidal creek, with towering pink-tinged clouds. (All weekend, John and I debated whether our hypothetical BHI home would be on the creek, in the maritime forest, or on the beach; seeing this creek sunset clinched John’s choice.)
We also stopped by the wildlife overlook off Stede Bonnet Wynd and came upon an other-worldly scene: dozens (hundreds?) of snowy ibis and egrets roosting for the night in the trees ringing the pond. Everyone watching was hushed; it was just magical.
We took advantage of our last few hours with a golf cart on Wednesday morning by collecting the final scavenger hunt clues and turning in our sheets for small prizes. After our luggage was picked up by the tram, we walked around the harbor and watched the boat traffic coming and going before it was time to hop on the ferry ourselves and wave goodbye to another wonder of the North Carolina coast.
I’m feeling grateful, friends. These years with our kids (8, 5, and 2) are just incredibly sweet, and I’m savoring them. Thanks for letting me share!
P.S. Where should we go next?! Any NC coast recommendations you think we’d love? Please share!
After a scoot to Florida last year with the whole Thomas fam, we happily returned to Jekyll Island for this year’s spring break. While I love the idea of doing different things for our spring breaks, and I hope we will in the future, Jekyll sure is hard to beat in this season of life: relatively inexpensive, a quick road trip away, and warm, beautiful, historic, and bike-able – among other pluses.
Even as we returned to a familiar location, we managed to sneak in some novelty along the way. I’d love to tell you about it and share a few photos, if you’d like to see!
The first big change for this visit was where we stayed. On our last two visits, we chose to stay at the Jekyll Ocean Club – and loved it both times! The suite set-up is perfect for families, and it’s a dream to be steps away from the beach and right upstairs from the in-house restaurant.
This year, we opted to stay at the Jekyll Island Club, the Ocean Club’s sister property. Located about a mile away on the marsh side of the island, it’s a beautiful historic property built in 1888. The Island Club is a little more grand and formal in feel (there’s a croquet course on the front lawn!), but friendly to families, too. When we saw that staying in the turret room (!) was only about $100 more per night, our decision to switch properties was made.
For us, it was more than worth it. The kids loved winding up and down the circular staircase, sketchbooks and markers and stuffies tucked under their arms, while John and I sat on the lower balcony, Spanish moss under our feet and the beautiful marsh view just beyond.
The second big change was that we traveled with friends! Not in a formal way – it was more akin to a happy accident – but dear friends from home overlapped with us for most of our stay and so we got to enjoy Jekyll in a new way, side-by-side. While they were staying at the Ocean Club, we met up for dinner twice, for a late afternoon on the beach, pool time, a bike ride out to Driftwood Beach, and more.
Our kids loved playing together and it was a delight to get to enjoy each other’s company while they did so. Aside from camping, this was the first time we’d ever really vacationed with friends. Although I’d consider this the most-casual version of “vacationing with friends” (we didn’t stay at the same place, share all meals, or match up our itinerary from the start), it still had the thrill of something new. Not all good friends are good friends to vacation with, but these ones certainly are!
In the midst of those two changes, we enjoyed many of the same things that keep us coming back to Jekyll. On the first night, eager to stretch our legs, we walked to dinner at Red Bug Motors Pizza. It’s a tiny spot with average food, but the walk along the golf course was lovely and the playground right next door was fun while we waited for our order.
The next morning we rented bikes from Jekyll Wheels to complete our fleet for our stay (we’d brought my bike and June’s bike from home, and rented a bike for Shep and a bike with bike seat for John and Annie). We then biked to breakfast at 80 Ocean, which is at the Ocean Club – their waffles are legendary with our kids and always their favorite meal of the trip :)
Then, we biked out to Driftwood Beach, a 10-mile loop. It still shocks me that our kids’ little legs can do it, but the bike path is almost extremely flat, so that helps. We brought lunch from The Pantry, and John and I sat on a blanket and chatted for over an hour while the big kids explored down the beach and Annie puttered around in the tide pools, perfectly content in her own toddler world.
After a gray morning, the sun popped out and lit up a brilliant blue sky when we arrived back at the Island Club mid-afternoon. The kids were desperate to get in the pool, so we did that before cleaning up for dinner at The Wharf, the restaurant steps away from the Island Club.
The next morning was also gray, so after biking to 80 Ocean for breakfast (more waffles!), we drove out to Horton Pond to see if we could see any gators. The skies opened up while we were pulling in, but we dodged the raindrops to get to the observation platform and spotted a few despite the rain. We were stranded with a kind couple from Ohio who had been vacationing in Jekyll for 18 years – it was fun to chat!
From there, we visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (more about that here), had lunch at The Pantry, and then met up with our friends for a gray late-afternoon exploring tide pools at the beach.
We then hustled to our rooms to change before zipping back to the Ocean Club for dinner. The kids were beyond thrilled to be seated at the kitchen bar, where they had a front-row seat to the wood-fired oven and pizza-making station. Very fun and memorable.
The next morning we had breakfast at the Island Club restaurant’s buffet. It’s fun to eat in the formal dining room, but I might skip it next time – hard to compete with those waffles, ha. We spent some time exploring the grounds and cottages before meeting up with our friends for another bike ride out to Driftwood Beach (!). I don’t think our kids would have agreed to 10-mile rides on back-to-back days, but the lure of riding with friends and playing together at the beach was overpowering.
Afterwards, we briefly swam at the Ocean Club pool before hustling back to the Island Club with a thunderstorm at our backs. We met back up with our friends at Driftwood Bistro for a last dinner together of simple, classic, yummy Southern favorites before one more night in the turret and one more breakfast of waffles before heading back to North Carolina the next morning.
Each day with these people is precious. I’m so grateful we got to return to Jekyll this year, and to add another layer onto our spring break memories. Thanks for letting me share a peek, friends!
You may recall that one of my informal “resolutions” for 2023 was chronicling our trips on EFM within a month of returning home. I’m happy to say that I stuck to it, including for the Articles Club retreat, our road trip to Serenbe and Watercolor, weekend trips to the Biltmore and Beaufort, our anniversary weekend in Charleston, and a long weekend in Boone. It’s a resolution I’m carrying into 2024, so expect more prompt travelogues coming your way in the months to come :)
But before we kick off 2024 travel, there’s one trip from 2023 I have yet to chronicle: Thanksgiving week in the Florida Keys with my extended family. I’d love to share a few photos and details, if you’d like to see!
Like last year’s trip to Watercolor, this Thanksgiving trip was in honor of a major wedding anniversary for one of our parents – in this case, my parents’ 40th (albeit two years delayed!). They graciously paid for most of the trip, and once we jointly decided on the Florida Keys as our destination, they handed over the reins to John to plan the details.
This was an honor and something he was happy to do (travel planning is one of his hobbies!), but it was also intimidating! Though my family travels a well-worn groove to Maine each year, we haven’t done much other group travel. Within our numbers we have different accommodation, budget, and activities preferences, and so it was nerve-wracking for John to feel he was making decisions for a varied group, for a destination we’d never been to, and for an expensive (!) and milestone trip like this.
But of course, he did an amazing job. My expectations for the trip as a whole were exceeded and I think it’s safe to say everyone had a great time.
Where We Stayed in the Florida Keys:
After researching the many (many!) towns that make up the Florida Keys, we settled on Marathon for our home base. We were looking for cottage-style accommodations (versus hotel rooms), which limited our options. We ultimately decided on two side-by-side beach houses at Tranquility Bay in Marathon and were very pleased with the decision.
The beach houses each had a full kitchen, a dining room table, a living room area, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and upper and lower porches. The upper porches had expansive views of the ocean and the lower porches had wide steps down to a grassy lawn that led to the beach and pool.
Getting to the Florida Keys:
Since we were joining up from various points in the country, getting to the Florida Keys was an adventure in itself. We opted to meet up in Fort Lauderdale on the Sunday before Thanksgiving before caravanning down to Marathon the next day. My sister and her family drove from Charlotte, and the rest of us flew into FLL from our respective home airports: Nashville, Raleigh, and Hartford.
We rented an SUV at the airport and got everyone to the Pelican Grand Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, where we were staying the night. We had plenty of time to eat lunch by the pool, wade in the waves on the wide beach, and have an outdoor dinner that night along the canal at Casa Sensei.
We chose the Pelican Grand because it had suites, which is always helpful for traveling with kids, and because it was right on the ocean with a pool and lazy river. We ate breakfast the next morning in their restaurant, which was convenient and yummy, but, you know, expensive :)
After breakfast we packed up and drove about an hour to Gator Park in the Florida Everglades – another National Park to check off our list!
We bought tickets (no reservations required) for an airboat tour of the Everglades and it was… perfect. And perfectly hilarious. Our boat captain was straight out of central casting – everything you could hope for in a gator guide. He had a deep, gravely voice, skin browned from years in the sun, and personal names for all the gators. He expertly guided us through the reedy channels and opened the throttle as we skimmed over the marsh grasses. We saw LOTS of gators, many swimming right next to the boat. Annie slept through the whole thing :)
Things to Do in the Florida Keys:
After the gator tour and a quick lunch, we drove the remaining 2.5 hours south to Marathon for our next four days in the Keys. We worked hard to create an itinerary that reflected everyone’s interests, and it paid off – we pretty much stuck to it!
After checking in on Monday around 5pm, we headed to dinner on-site at the Butterfly Cafe, Tranquility Bay’s nicer restaurant. We ate outside on the porch at a verrrrry long table, and it was delightful.
The next day (Tuesday) we spent the morning moving between the pool and the beach, where there was cornhole, a giant chessboard, and a volleyball net. We ate lunch on the beach, too, at TJ’s, the resort’s other (more casual) on-property restaurant.
This was a very relaxed day — Annie napped at the house in the afternoon, and the rest of us read, played games, visited the beach, chatted, and swam in the pool. Kim, John, and I even made it to Tranquility Bay’s gym, which was actually really fun to do together :)
For dinner we headed to Burdine’s Waterfront, a casual bar and grill at a marina where we had hush puppies, cheeseburgers, shrimp burgers, key lime pie, and delicious fries — and a gorgeous sunset! We finished the evening with a round of mini golf and games back at the house.
The next day (Wednesday) was our day trip to Key West! I was a little unsure of what to expect because, you know, Key West is known for being kooky, but it was a great day. We started by touring the West Martello Gardens and Fort. The botanical garden is on the site of a former Civil War fort; admission is free and it’s beautiful.
We then drove a short distance to the Truman Waterfront Park, home to the US Coast Guard cutter Ingham, now a floating maritime museum.
As many of you know, my Dad was an officer in the Coast Guard for most of my life, and even served on the Ingham briefly during the Mariel boatlift. It was incredibly cool and meaningful to get to tour it with my kids and to share this important part of our family’s life, and I can only imagine how special it was for my Dad to get to do it with all his grandkids.
After about an hour and a half on the ship, we walked over to Kaya Island Eats for a late lunch. Fish tacos under a shade canopy hit the spot.
While we considered taking a photo with the famous Southernmost Point Buoy, the line was insane – so we hopped back in the car for the hourlong drive back to Marathon, which all of the kids took as an opportunity to nap. Once home, some of us went in the pool and we made tacos for dinner at the house.
The next day was Thursday – Thanksgiving! And what an unusual Thanksgiving it was :) We watched a bit of the parade in the morning, then set off for a kayak adventure through the mangroves of Boot Key (we booked our rentals through Key Kayak).
It was incredible! We saw dolphins, leaping manta rays, and manatees so close we could touch them (!!!) while on our two-hour tour. (For those wondering, I had Annie and June in one tandem kayak and John and Shep were in the other, while the rest of the fam took either tandems or singles.)
We headed back to the house to rinse off or hop in the pool while some of the grown-ups got Thanksgiving dinner ready. We had opted to order a meal from Publix catering, and while we were all pleasantly surprised at the quality and tastiness, it was more challenging than we expected to get everything warm and on the table at once. (Little things like not having tin foil tripped us up!) But we did it, and we were more than thankful to get to celebrate together :)
We closed out the day by catching the sunset from Seven-Mile Bridge, a Florida Keys classic if there ever was one, and with a performance by the kids of their original song about my parents – set to the tune of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys, which was their wedding song. John’s credited on the liner notes as a co-lyricist :)
On our last full day in the Keys we had yet another very special adventure: a dolphin encounter at the Dolphin Research Center! Needless to say, the kids were incredibly excited about this and I don’t blame them: this was something I desperately wanted to do when I was their age. (As an aside, granting my kids a wish that went unfulfilled in my child is an interesting experience: there’s joy and delight in doing it, yes, but it can also bring up worries about “spoiling” them or whether they’ll truly appreciate what they’re being given. But I DIGRESS.)
For both our kids and the kids inside us, this was a delightful excursion. We got to get in the water with the dolphins, touch them, lead them in skills, hold hoops for them to swim to, watch them leap out of the water, and learn more about the center and the research and rehabilitation they do. Very, very cool. We had lunch at Island Fish Co (good, but not my favorite), then headed back to Tranquility Bay for naps and more dips in the pool. Our last meal was a spaghetti dinner in the cottage – easy!
We packed up on Saturday morning and went our separate ways – some flying and some driving.
Though I wouldn’t want to spend Thanksgiving in the Keys, or even at a destination, every year, it was a fun adventure to do it this year. We squeezed in many memorable moments in celebration of a very wonderful anniversary, and I’m grateful we could be together. (And grateful to my parents for making it happen, in more ways than one!)
If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them in the comments! Thanks for letting me share, friends!
Of all of our family traditions, our annual fall trip to the mountains just might be my favorite. Eep! I don’t know if I can say that… but there’s just something about these long weekends, where we get to spend uninterrupted time together, surrounded by beauty, exploring somewhere new, eating good food and enjoying good conversation, challenging our bodies and then experiencing true relaxation, that speaks to my soul. I think every other family member would agree. We had a beautiful, memorable trip to Boone and Blowing Rock this October, and I’d love to share a few photos and details, if you’d like to see!
We often travel Thursday – Sunday for these trips, but since June had a Monday off in October, we skipped school on Friday and headed to the mountains first thing. Boone is about 3 hours from our home in the Triangle, so we arrived in time for lunch on a perfect blue-sky day.
About a week in advance, John and I put our heads together for an hour or two and plotted out our weekend, making meal and activity reservations as needed. We had planned to eat lunch at Lost Province Brewing in downtown Boone, but unfortunately they don’t take reservations and reported an hour+ wait. Disappointed but not deterred, we trotted down the hill to Melanie’s Food Fantasy (where we had planned to go later in the weekend) and were seated at an outdoor picnic table after about 20 minutes. Delicious!
It must be noted here, the parking in downtown Boone is atrocious. There are very few public parking spots or lots and no garages. Prepare for a lot of circling and pray for a little luck on a busy weekend.
After lunch, we headed to our adventure for the day: the Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster in nearby Banner Elk! While this was our most expensive activity of the weekend ($16 for adults, $13 for June, $5 for Shep), it was SO very fun. June and I rode together, and we laugh-screamed our way through the twists and turns. We loved it so much that we ended up buying the video of our runs, something that is SO out of character, ha! They put a smile on our faces, though :)
From there, we checked into our Airbnb, which was a few minutes outside of downtown Boone. We chose this rental for its backyard creek, and it didn’t disappoint – the kids made a beeline for the banks as soon as we stopped the car.
After an hour or two of playing outside, swinging in the hammock, and breaking out the Yahtzee set, we headed into Boone for dinner at the Beacon Butcher Bar. This may have been my favorite meal of the trip – the food was delicious and the space was cozy, with a big fireplace. We felt welcome with kids, but were surrounded by lots of couples and big adult dinner groups – definitely a spot you could get a little fancy for.
I should have mentioned – Friday was a delightfully warm fall day, with a blue sky and mid-60s to low-70s temps. When we woke up on Saturday, we still had the blue sky, but the temperatures had plummeted. We bundled up and drove to Grandfather Mountain, where it was 42 degrees (with whipping winds up to 30mph) on top. Brrr!!! At the gatehouse at the park entrance, they told us that the swinging bridge was closed due to high winds. However, it opened shortly after we parked at the top, so we streamed toward the bridge along with everyone else. However, we didn’t even get a third of the way across – the wind was blowing SO bitterly that we could hardly look up, and we were freezing even though bundled.
Something to note for trip planners: you can and should reserve your timed tickets on busy weekends. We had 10am tickets and had no trouble getting a spot in the top parking lot by the bridge. When we left to head to the visitors’ center about 1:30, however, the line of cars snaking up the road was incredibly long, as they were at a one-car-in-one-car-out standstill.
The kids were dubious at this point, but we headed off on our hike (the Grandfather Trail to MacRae Peak) and it quickly absorbed their attention. We could hear the wind whistling above our heads, but we were under tree cover and warmed up as we climbed uphill and scrambled over rocks.
Something we have noticed about our kids: the more adventurous the trail, the more engaged they are in the journey. Even though this was a strenuous and at times technical trail (with cables and ladders!), we heard hardly a peep of complaint. When hiking with kids, I know it might seem like a better idea to go for an easier trail, but in our experience, that sometimes leads to more boredom and complaining.
That being said, this was NOT an easy trail and I’d think carefully before attempting it. We did not see any other kids the ages of ours – and we only made it part of the way, through 5 of the 9 ladders, before deciding that between the wind, the ages and abilities of our kids, and the fact that John had Annie in the pack, it would be prudent to turn back. It was still an incredible hike, with gorgeous views and fun and challenging terrain. We will be back someday to complete the whole thing! :)
And, it must be said, John was the absolute MVP for managing both himself and Annie!
Once back in the parking lot, the wind had slowed down and the temperature had warmed up, and we were able to make it across the full swinging bridge – just gorgeous!
Then, we headed down for lunch in the visitors center and a quick visit to the animals in the nature center, including elk, black bears, and otters.
Once back at the Airbnb, we put Annie down for a nap and then the rest of the fam enjoyed a dip in the hot tub – bliss after a hard, cold hike! Afterward, John napped while the big kids played outside and I bundled up to read in the hammock. Double bliss!
Dinner was at Proper in downtown Boone, a homey meat-and-three in a former town jail. (The kids were disappointed it didn’t bear more resemblance to its former purpose.)
Sunday morning was again brisk and blue-skied! We set off on the Flat Top Mountain Trail at Moses Cone Park, a broad, 5-mile carriage trail that winds up a hill to a fire tower. Though we climbed up the tower, honestly, it was almost scarier than the ladders on MacRae Peak – eep!
For lunch, we headed into Blowing Rock. After a considerable wait (while the little kids played on the downtown playground and June and I popped into a few shops), we had lunch at the Six Pence Pub. My shepherd’s pie was delicious and warming after a chilly hike.
Then it was home for another dip in the hot tub, more naps, playing, and reading before dinner in Valle Crucis at Over Yonder. Set in an old farmhouse, its chef was hyped up in a lot of what we read beforehand, but I left a little underwhelmed. One fun little game we played with the kids while waiting for our food deserves a mention, though: we lined up items in a row, then took turns closing our eyes, removing one, and then trying to guess which one had been removed. Kept them engaged!
On Monday morning we finally made it to Stickboy Kitchen. Stickboy (either the kitchen or the original bakery location) is THE recommendation people will give you when you say you’re going to Boone, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s in an unassuming strip mall, but the bagel sandwiches, croissants, muffins, cookies, and loaf of rosemary olive oil bread we got for small group later that night were all delicious. I join the chorus of saying you must go! :)
From there, we drove out to an old favorite hike (Green Knob) with some old favorite folks (my sister and her two kids :)). They also had Monday off school and used it to drive out to meet us, which was a delight! Having cousins along kept a pep in our kids’ step for the third hike of the weekend, though it was hardly needed: I’d recommend Green Knob to almost everyone, with its stream crossings, cow pasture path, goldenrod, mountain laurel hedges, and reasonable 2-mile length. Just beautiful!
We had a big group lunch reservation at The Speckled Trout in downtown Blowing Rock and it was another favorite meal of the trip! Delicious food in a modern, cozy atmosphere. We ate, hugged goodbye, then got back on the road to head home feeling (it must be said) incredibly grateful and lucky to live in such a beautiful state and to get to experience its fall glory together.
If you’re planning a trip to Boone, I hope this recap was helpful! Any questions, I’m happy to answer – just leave them in the comments!