Here’s part one of our summer beach trip to Oak Island, NC!
Hi friends! We are home from our summer beach trip to Oak Island, NC and are totally recharged.
Actually that’s a half truth because four kids running around, three of them under the age of five, wasn’t exactly relaxing. However, we had a great time at the beach!! It’s my favorite kind of trip: nowhere to go except for down by the surf.
We were joined by my parents, my sister, her husband, and their two girls, Emerson and Avery.
Our destination was Oak Island, NC, the neighboring island to Bald Head. My sister’s husband’s parents actually moved there last year, so they joined us for a few evenings as well!
Arrival Day
Arrival day is always pure chaos. Our drive is almost 6 hours with stops, and with a 4pm check in we is eager to explore the house, set up cribs and unpack, and get an early kid dinner underway. No matter how organized we try to be, it always ends up feeling a bit crazy!
We ordered a bunch of pizzas and called it a night.
After dinner, we tested out the new Kadima set Thomas bought!
Even mom gave it a go!
Almost every night we got in a beach walk too. Dusk on the beach is the very best hour!
Beach Time
Our days started slowly with all of us hoping the children would sleep in as long as possible. It was always a coin toss!
We had yogurt and fruit bowls while everyone geared up for the beach.
I love to get my boys matching rashguards, and this year’s theme was grellow!
They played really well this year, and Birch was much braver in the ocean!
The cousins all had fun playing together too!
Mom brought this cupcake sand toy set and they were a HUGE hit both inside the house and on the beach!
And the grownups even got in the ocean all together!
Sandwich Season
Most days we made sandwiches for lunch – they’re just so easy to do as an assembly line!
And nearly everyday Mazen went up to one of the college kids selling Italian ice for an afternoon treat. He got to knew one of them very well!
Low Country Boil Night
Candace and David brought over cocktail ingredients and joined us for dinner on the special Low Country Boil night. Coconut rum and pineapple juice made us all feel very tropical : )
Dad and I made the Low Country Boil together. It’s always a crowd pleaser – even the kids like it.
Desserts
Dad brought Pride cookies for the kiddos. Yum!
And Larbs brought key lime pie for the grownups!! It was one of the best ever with some extra vanilla ice cream on the side.
Date Night
On Tuesday, mom and dad watched the grandchildren while we escaped for a lovely date night out to Koko Cabana’s!
We shared a pitcher of jalapeno margaritas while we waited for a table. The view was amazing!!
Tuna Nachos
We shared the tuna nachos and coconut shrimp to start – delicious combo. And for dinner we each had some combination of grouper and rice in various dishes.
Sunset pics on the pier
Dress by Stitch Fix
There’s nothing like a beach sunset!
Courtney says
My family has house on 69th looks like maybe you were around 80th or so. I’ve been going there for almost 30 years. One of my favorite places in the world.
Kath Younger says
I think we were in the 40s!
Peggy Taft says
Wr are there now! It’s our 39th year. Your overall experience sounds similar to ours, including the date nights. We have gone from being the people that had the young kids, to the grandparents of the young kids. We tried a new house this year and are here with our three children and their spouses and three grandchildren. Aunts, uncles and cousins fill another house. The memories we have made here are priceless!
Kath Younger says
Amazing how many years in a row!!
ellie says
ahhh a beach trip! I’m so jealous of the family time, and tbh, of the low country boil! we always throw brussels sprouts in ours — you should try it, if you haven’t! like little delicious nuggets. Is there a reason y’all went to Oak Island and not BHI this time around, even though you have a house there? I’m pretty sure I’ve posted on here before about trying to talk people into visiting Bald Head, and I was just wondering if I should be pushing Oak Island instead!
Kath Younger says
Oh love the idea of brussels! We always rent oceanfront in the summer (our Marsh House is also rented, so it’s a win-win). We took a break from BHI when the ferry was at half capacity from covid, but we’ll prob head back to BHI next summer. I would stay on Oak Island because it’s easier just to drive up and unpack, but I think most of the fam wants to go back to Bald Head.
Katie says
Looks like a great time! I always grew up knowing Low Country Boil as Frogmore Stew! I got so confused when I got older not knowing what Low Country Boil was LOL. So delicious!
Kath Younger says
Haha! I’ve heard of Frogmore Stew but didn’t know they were the same!
Just Googled where the name comes from:
“Frogmore Stew gets it’s name from a place that has only a post office on one side of the road and a two-story white country store on the other. Frogmore is the mailing address for the residents of St. Helena Island just off the South Carolina coast.”
Ellen says
Looks beautiful! It’s fun to see your sister and her husband … I’ve been reading your blog for a while and it’s nice to see people “grown up.” 🙂 We are heading to the OBX for the first time next month. Can’t wait!
Kath Younger says
: ) Enjoy your trip!
Bill Southers says
Live at Oak Island on 47th. Wonderful place…
Kath Younger says
Yes it is!
Teresa Sisco says
My husband and I go every October for our Anniversary. This will make our 10th year. We love this Island. So layed back. We also enjoy taking our puppies. They love the beach. Would highly recommend this Island. We also love to eat at Bob’s Dogs.
Lilah says
I recently came back from a trip to Oak Island. We swam at the beach there and it was absolutely beautiful. We saw a dolphin pretty close to the shore, it was just stunning. However. If you are a darker person be prepared to feel at least a little out of place. No people of color on the beach except us. A woman came and told us, and only us, that we were going to have to move our towel. We got stares everywhere we went. This is a beautiful area of NC but it is a different experience as a black person and others should be aware of that before traveling here!
Kath Younger says
I’m so sorry you ahead that experience.
Donna Thornburg says
Hi Kath… I really enjoyed ur Blog and Oak Island.!! Looks as though Y’all had a wonderful time.! Way Back…. bout 20-25 yrs ago, I had friends that ran a restaurant down at the POINT at Oak Island. U could literally walk across The Point to Holden but U better not get stuck on other side when tide came in.! My daughter and I enjoyed EVERY weekend at Oak Island, helping my friends in the morning for breakfast crowd, shut doors at 12:00p and then we were on the beach by 12:30.! This was so much fun.! My friends have both passed and it’s been yrs since I’ve been back. I know its grown up and out at Oak Island.! There was hardly anything there but the beach, which at that time, was alright with me.! Beautiful anyway.! And NOT CROWDED.!
I know things change. What I’d like to know is, I’d like to take my mom there. She’s in her 80’s but loves the sunset at the beach. Do U have any suggestions, Oak Island links, that I can look at to plan a trip there.?? Anything would be great.!!! Thanks for helping me if U can.!
I hope U continue have wonderful vacations at Oak Island.!!
Kath Younger says
Memories! Check out this link for some planning suggestions.