Carolina Beach weekend

I'm a little behind in my blogging!  Let me go back to my weekend with Nola and Jennie at Carolina Beach!  Each year, we get together at Carolina Beach for a scrapbooking retreat.  At least it has been a tradition the last few years.   I flew directly from Baltimore to Raleigh to get together with Nola.

Nola was great and picked me up at the airport and then we went to her house.  I couldn't wait to get there as they are remodeling their kitchen and I couldn't wait to see it.  I also was anxious to see Gregg.  It has been so long since I saw him.  In regular fashion, the Zarnstorff's were excellent hosts and I enjoyed our quick visit.  On Friday, Nola and I packed up our car for the ride to the beach.  Jennie decided to join us this year so she met up with us for the ride.  It was about 3 hours ride to the beach.

We stay in the Marriott that is right on the beach.  Each room faces the ocean and has a balcony with the wonderful sweeping views.

We got set up in the scrapbooking room (a huge conference room) and got settled in before going to dinner at Surf House.  Surf House has become another tradition for us.  We love the freshly sourced seafood and my favorite item is the shrimp and grits.  While they changed their recipe slightly, the taste is still fantastic!

Saturday, we spent some time scrapbooking but in the afternoon, Nola suggested we walk on the boardwalk.  Last year, they had it all dug out but this year it was all done and simply wonderful.  We enjoyed swinging on the swings that face the ocean.  We were talking and laughing and having a great time.

After sitting there a bit, I asked Nola and Jennie if they would help me try to walk on the sand...and they agreed!!  I really struggle to walk on any surfaces that are not firm.  Sand has proven to be a huge problem for me and it really throws off my balance and I get stuck but Nola and Jennie were very patient with me and helped me get my feet in the sand.  It was absolutely thrilling!!!

Me in the sand!

Sandy toes

That night, we went to Little Dipper.  It is a fondue place that I've heard about over the years.  Jennie found it when she was living in Wilmington for her internship at Corning.  I was fascinated and totally loved it.

Downtown Wilmington.  So cute!!

Check out the jelly fish in the aquarium at the Little Dipper!

Our delicious food.

Sadly, before I knew it, it was Sunday afternoon and time to head back to Raleigh to catch my flight home.  It is always hard to end our fun weekend but I really enjoyed it and I know we will do it again. On top of all the fun, I got 15 scrapbook pages done too!  Not a huge accomplishment but it was fun and I am happy with what we did.  Thanks for a great weekend Nola and Jennie.  Until next time!