There's Always Room for Cookies: Carolina Beach life

Ah what a wonderful escape to the beach! Nola and I found ourselves with an open schedule and an opportunity to go to the February Scrapbook retreat. Just like the cartoon animals, Chip and Dale, we indubitably decided to go.

I flew into Raleigh on Wednesday. It was the most wacky travel day. First off, we started out to the runway in Salt Lake when they had to pull over for some mechanical issue. We were parked while they fixed it which luckily happened fairly quickly. But we were an hour late leaving Salt Lake....and I only had an hour to connect in Atlanta. During the flight, I was able to use the plane wifi to change my flight in Atlanta. Problem solved...or so you would think.

When I got to Atlanta, it was an absolutely zoo! I was able to finagle a wheelchair ride to my gate. The gentleman never asked me anything (no potty breaks or anything) and dumped me at my gate in a big rush. I checked my phone and found the original flight was delayed and was in the same terminal. So I walked with the wheelchair to that gate and found I could get on as one of the last seats! Perfect. I would be in Raleigh in an hour!! We boarded the plane and sat...and sat...and sat. They came on and said the toilet was leaking so the plane could not be used. We all got off. At this point, I ran (figuratively of course) to the other gate and found out my seat was still assigned to me so I got on that plane. Thank goodness because who knows what they are doing with the broken plane!!

They said there were storms in the area so the flight was going to be quite bumpy. They weren't kidding! But there was about 10 minutes after we left Atlanta that we were above the clouds and the sun was shining! I am fascinated by clouds so I took photos!!

As we came closer to Raleigh, the clouds were tall and spikey. And then as we flew lower it got very gray. And things got bumpy!

We landed and I turned on my phone. Immediately, a severe weather warning came up that tornadoes are in the area and to take cover immediately. Ummm...I am in a plane!! Well I was able to get into the terminal and decided it was probably a pretty safe place to wait. I went downstairs to get my luggage and waited. Nola wasn't able to pick me up because it wasn't safe but Gregg swept on over to get me on his way home from work. It was raining so hard and the wind was crazy. It was raining sideways! Luckily we made it safe, had some yummy dinner, and woke to sunshine.

Nola and I packed up and headed to Carolina Beach. We stopped for lunch at this delicious place with the best brisket I've had. We chatted the entire 2 hour drive and before we knew it, we were at the beach! We got all set up and got to work being crafty.

Hello Ocean and beach. I've missed you!

We brought lots to work on. My big goal was to catch up my scrapbooking and get Washington DC done. We also wanted to have seafood! There is a place I love just a few blocks from the hotel called "The Shuckin' Shack". Nola didn't care too much for it but I practically begged her to go and so we did. We shared a pot of steamed shrimp, coleslaw, hushpuppies, and fried mushrooms. Oh em gee. It was so good. We also got margaritas which were so strong, we needed some additional mix to get it in. Needless to say, we were happy and giggling when we left...and my scrapbook pages are....creative!

Funny hole in the wall that is very popular by tourists or locals

We loved it so much, we went back the second night!

We were treated to a beautiful sunrise and sunsets although it was cold. We never did get on the beach and didn't spend much time outside. It was windy.

Pre Sunrise over the ocean

This is what a scrap retreat looks like. We are thinking
there were between 80-100 ladies there.

Nola getting scrappy!

This is the summary of my scrapbooking. Lots of goodies,
caffeine, and Ricola because I caught a nasty cold/cough.

Before we knew it, it was Sunday and time to pack up and head back to Raleigh. It is always bittersweet but I was very happy with what I got done and Nola and I had a great time. The flight to Atlanta was uneventful and efficient. I caught another gorgeous sunset while sitting on the plane in Atlanta.

That flight home from Atlanta is long. Over 4 hours. And I got a bitch off a woman sitting in front of me that reclined her seat the entire flight so my knees were jammed into the seat and my tray would not lay down flat so I couldn't use it well. She even complained to the other flight attendants about me and they came to talk to me. I ran into her in the terminal in Salt Lake. She pointed and was talking about me as I walked past. What the shocker is? She was a flight attendant for United. I expect more friendliness from a flight attendant regardless if she is working or not. May she break a heel on every flight and run her pantyhose. There is no reason to be so unpleasant.

I am home now nursing my cold/cough and trying to get the house on the market. It is a busy week!!

P.S. I got to meet Nola's new cat, Heidi. She is such a sweetheart. She is a....pudgy girl. But what a sweetheart. At one point, I came back to the guestroom from the shower and she was laying on the bed. I took full advantage.