Returning from our yearly vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina is always difficult. We have such a great time with my mom’s family there, and the week passes far too quickly. This is a trip that we look forward to so much that we begin counting down the days to our return as soon as we leave.

The Outer Banks have a sort of cult following. Every summer, hordes of people travel hours in the car to reach its sunny beaches. (Now you know what those OBX bumper stickers mean) You may wonder why we endure those long hours since the NJ shore is so close. If you have experienced both beaches, you wouldn’t dare compare the expansive, clean beaches of the OBX with the often crowded, overstimulating environment of the Jersey shore. True, there are some Jersey locations that are nicer than the others. Also, the OBX are changing with the increasing amount of vacationers that crowd it each year. (we regularly leave between 12-2AM to arrive before the heavy traffic clogs the one main road on the island. If we arrive during the normal move-in time, it can add hours of traffic to our trip.) However, I still feel, as a native NJ resident, that the NJ shores cannot hold a candle to the beaches of the OBX.

Over the 20 years that our McTernan family has made the pilgrimage out, the OBX has been “discovered” by more and more people, and this has changed things a lot. New entertainment and shopping venues pop up every year, making it difficult to find parts of the island as remote as they were when we first arrived in ’87. The fine balance of remoteness and convenient activities is one of the draws the OBX has. It allows people to relax in large, beautiful vacation homes close to the beach but not uncomfortably close to your neighbors. Being on a barrier island means that you are cut off from the world. Charming and unique stores line the roads, and Starbucks is nowhere to be found. The beaches are large, clean and sparsely populated. An added bonus is that there are actual waves! While this may be frightening to new ocean-goers, it helps keep things lively, and allows us to shake things up with some surfing or body boarding when we get tired of just swimming. Of course, if you are opposed to a swimming experience where you may get slammed if you turn your back, you can just take a short jog over to the sound side of the island.

When a friend asked me recently what we do there, the first thing that came to mind was, “Nothing.”. Of course, what I really meant was permission to do nothing. Over the years, we have occasionally played mini-golf, taken Segway tours, gone shopping, gone horseback riding, driven on the beach searching for wild horses, gone kayaking, rented Waverunners, and even rented a Harley motorcycle, but the majority of our time is spent in a delicious vacation haze of nothingness. Allow me to outline a sample of our time at the OBX:

We arrive tired and bedraggled from a short night and long drive. We pull up to the huge house and get out of the car. Ah….smell that hot salty ocean air! Hug that cousin you haven’t seen all year and kiss your Aunt’s cheek as they pull into the driveway after you. We are officially on Vacation!! When the magic hour comes, the maids and pool guy leave, and we are allowed to enter our home. As our family grows, so has our house. This one has 10 rooms, 3 dishwashers, an outside bar and a slot machine! We all pour into the house and explore every air conditioned nook, claiming room rights along the way. It is almost as if we have regressed into childhood again. It feels like we are sneaking into someone else’s house and squatting for the week. After a quick wardrobe change, we all walk to the beach where those crashing waves beckon with their hypnotic white noise. Canopies and umbrellas up, we have nothing else to do but alternately read, sleep in the sun, swim and drink beer (or a malt beverage of your choice). When the shadows lengthen, we retreat back to the air conditioned house and hop in the hot tub or pool before showering and dinner. Happily, this is not our night to cook dinner for the hordes, so we can sit back and play Guitar Hero or start a puzzle while we wait. It is amazing what an appetite swimming and fresh air will give you. After dinner, we continue whiling away the hours catching up with family members, drinking Kahlua and milk and talking on the porch under the gorgeous night sky. Or we can always shoot Uncle Terry’s potato gun off the porch or set some firecrackers off in the driveway, if we want to see just how vigilant the police are this year. One of my favorite things to do at night is take a long walk on the beach. It is now cool and quiet, the moon shines like a creamy river on the ripples of the ocean. Small ghost crabs scoot out of the way as you walk slowly along in the surf, nowhere to go and no time to be there. Finally, it is time to collapse in your bed for some well earned sleep. I mean, you’ll need energy for relaxing during the rest of the week!

Ah! the Outer Banks… only 255 more days to go.