Monday, August 26, 2013

a sunset & the beach at sunset beach.

the sun and the sand and the ocean are my go-to. my place when life has been too hectic or work has lasted too long. its a view that never gets old and a drive i'm always willing to make. i find it fascinating that you can look into the eyes of the ocean for as far as they will go and you still can't see its end. it almost looks infinite.

the definition of  the word infinite has also always been a fascination of mine. like there's no end. there's no stop. it goes on and on and on forever... and forever is a long time.

but we know the ocean isn't like that. if we swim it, we will find an end and if we sail it, we come to a stop. but that doesn't take away the magic of standing there, toes in the sand, wind combing your hair, looking into what seems like an infinite miles and miles of salty water that lasts further than your viewing capacity.

so that's where i was lead this past weekend. three and a half hours away from the city lights, the bus stops, the corporate world, and the endless emails. i headed down to sunset beach, north carolina.

so after work, i threw my heels, gray corporate sweater and black work pants in my car because i finally didn't need them for a few days. i threw on a colorful cotton blue sundress and flats and jumped in the car with lee. we swung by the workplace of another two friends, jared & carlos, and we were on the way. our generous friend taylor and her husband, sean, were already down at sunset beach waiting for our arrival later that evening.

after fighting through charlotte traffic and braking for the random cop cars on the highway, we made it down & grabbed some necessities - wine, bread, breakfast food, wine, beer, butter, snacks, frozen pizza and wine. for some reason and some tradition that was started before i came along, we all cracked open a tall boy of milwaukee's best brew's to kick off the weekend. let's just say - i've had better beer. but tradition is tradition and i did it with some awesome people.


               {sunset at sunset beach}

we spent that night getting lost in a game of spades and a walk on the beach in the rain. i've never done that before and i got to experience a sweet kiss out there too.

saturday was spent playing volleyball, bocce ball, kan jam, drinking bud lights and soaking up too much sun. i currently resemble something like a lobster. or a tomato. or some variation in between.

          {volleyball}       
  {i hope you had a good day. because we did.}

{taylor & i}
 
later that night, we grabbed some fresh shrimp, sausages, sweet onion, red skinned potatoes, and corn on the cob and boiled it all together to make shrimp boil. i had never had it before and not only was it seasoned just right with old bay seasoning, but it was pretty healthy for you too.
 
 
    {shrimp boil}

{taylor got a bird's eye view of us around the dinner table}

on sunday, the boys brought out their inner child and built this estate sandcastle masterpiece before packing up our things and relaxation to head home. going anywhere with them includes guaranteed laughs on laughs on laughs. it's definitely in the top five reasons of why i just adore them.



{lee and i}



{determination}

{finished product complete with laser towers,
and a double wall for extra protection}

next weekend is the nc state game and we're camping on the beach for labor day. yes camping. tent in the sand kind of camping. but i'll grab any chance i can to go clear my head under the stars and fall asleep to ocean's sweet song.

xo,

-A