Before our trip to Europe, Jason and I took a road trip and spend a weekend in Topsail Island, NC staying with Jason’s family. It was a nice way to unwind right before the trip and spend some quality time with family, both the furry and non-furry members. On our way down to North Carolina we stopped to spend a day in Richmond but I’ll save that for another post. For now, check out what we did while we relaxed at Topsail.
I have been to a few East Coast beach towns and every one of them always has a similar feel. Most of them are obvious tourist draws as the East Coast populations flock for a chance at sand and sun every summer. That usually means bustling boardwalks, greasy foods and more souvenir shops crammed together than you ever thought was humanly possible. Topsail Island is definitely a beach town but one that’s filled with a lot less urgency than others in the same category. It has a very tight-knit, small town feel with only a small selection of shops that seem to provide the basic necessities for the locals. Jason’s sister and I dubbed it a Lifetime movie town. Not exactly an ideal place to live in my book but the lack of people make for a great beach town experience.
See what I mean? You get the beach to yourself. Granted, we were here in September – not the middle of summer – but it was Labor Day weekend. I could not wait to get up with my cup of coffee in the morning and take the dog out for a run.
Another great thing about the place we stayed at in Topsail was that it was dog friendly. Ellie was able to hang out with her friend Hector the Boston Terrier.
This was also Ellie’s first real swim at the beach and she LOVED it. These aren’t the best photos to showcase it as we didn’t properly go swimming until later in the day (and sans camera) but she is a total water dog. I was much more concerned with the crashing waves and salt water than she was. I can’t wait to take her out to the beach again next summer.
During the car ride down, we decided that we would attempt to introduce my taste buds to wine (I don’t like wine – yes, I know how strange that is) by picking up a few to taste test. We headed to Quarter Moon which is a combo book store, wine bar and coffee shop. I wasn’t expecting much but the staff was funny & friendly. They helped us pick out some wine and we stayed to chat over Mimosas.
Desserts and rap lyrics are right up my alley so I had some moscato with a leftover donut from Richmond.
Speaking of donuts, at the end of our trip there was only one thing left to do. We headed to The Daily Grind for a foursome of sweet morning treats.
One more photo for your viewing pleaseure 😉
Overall it was quite a nice weekend at the beach. Ellie ran her ass off and basically passed out for 90% of the car ride home and we had a nice weekend unwinding. Til next summer!
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