Last Hurrah of Summer

There's something magical about summer, and although Fall might be my favorite season, I'm never quite ready for Summer to end.  Those lazy summer days I remember from childhood seem to have been replaced by jam-packed hectic days of "to do lists, " work and maintaining a household. 

{My dad on his boat, 1982}

Time seems to fly by more quickly every year.  It really is crazy.  Family time is more important to me now than ever. We're heading down the Corolla (in the Outer Banks, NC) for our vacation next week with a quick detour in High Point today and tomorrow. 

But I cannot wait to hit that beach, even if it is a cloudy stormy day like this one a few years back:

 

I can't wait to READ A BOOK...  FICTION, not a design one.   (well, possibly 1 or 2 design books ;)

Hit the waves...  and maybe actually learn to surf this year.  (I've never attempted... pregnancy, new baby, the usual)

I love Corolla.  My family's been taking me there every August since I was kid and Dave used to go there as a kid too with family friends.  He's from New Jersey and how funny is it that all those years back, we've both been going to the same beach at the same time every year?  We'd all hang out at Tim Buck II, eating icecream and chatting it up with other kids, but we never met.   I also spent a summer working there in college (At Sundog's if you ever go!!) and Dave frequently visited his girlfriend-at-the-time who also worked there that very same summer. Still, we'd never met.  Funny how life works.  ...Now we go every year as a family and plan on continuing the tradition for the rest of our lives. 

Some places just feel like "home" even when you only go once a year. 

So this week, we're going "home..."  I particularly love this moment:

...The first time you hit the beach...  You've just taken the stairs up the dunes and you can hear the waves and smell it and you know you  have the whole week ahead of you to do nothing but be. 

laugh-read-eat-chill

savor these last couple of weeks.