Beach weekend

After my visit in Baltimore, I headed over to North Carolina for a beach scrapbooking weekend with Nola.  This is our same scrapbook retreat we've been doing for a few years.  I was thrilled to find a flight on Southwest for super cheap and it was direct so it was literally a 45 minute flight!!  Before I knew it, I was landing in Raleigh and ready to see Nola.

Nola carried the brunt of the weekend because she received my box of scrapbook stuff and packed everything else we needed for a crafty weekend.  She picked me up at the airport and we made out way to the beach.  It is about 2 hours drive from Raleigh and weekend beach traffic is no joke.  But we made our way and had a great time visiting and catching up.  We did stop for dinner in Wilmington at a delicious place Nola recommended named Sweet and Savory.  A very casual looking place with absolutely phenomenal food.  I couldn't resist the urge to get the Shrimp and Grits.  It was totally amazing.  My eyes literally rolled in the back of my head.  We meandered our way to the hotel for the weekend.

Shrimp and grits with sausage.

We are getting so good at this retreat, while we had a ton of stuff, we didn't over pack and it was easier than normal to unpack and get set up.  We got warmed up with a few layouts before going to bed.  We scrapbooked quite a bit on Friday and Saturday as well although I admit Saturday, I needed a nap in the afternoon.  Nola kept going though and spent nap time organizing herself.  We also scrapbooked Sunday until we had to leave in the afternoon.  We each got quite a bit done.  I got 25 layouts done, Nola got 16 done.  And we are talking with titles too!  Not too shabby.  Most important is we had a ton of laughs, lots of time to catch up and talk, and great food.

Each morning, Nola went to get us oatmeal at McDonalds.  We ate at Shuckin' Shack Friday and Saturday night.  I love Shuckin' Shack so much I will write a separate post about it.  Friday was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed a short walk on the boardwalk and spent time swinging on the swing the hotel has.  But Saturday and Sunday were cloudy, rainy, and cold so we didn't get to venture out much.  The ocean was stunning through with huge waves.

My sister and my best friend at the ocean.

Sea grass

What 68 scrapbooking ladies look like. I am barely in
the shot on the far right side in a red shirt.

Playing with my new selfie stick (it broke within 5 minutes)

We had the best time and already signed up for next year.  I think it is a great combination to get my annual Hopkins visit and a beach weekend of creativity with Nola all wrapped up in one flight.  I can barely wait for next year.