vacation

well, i was lucky enough to have been on vacation this thanksgiving week.  it is actually the continuation of a tradition & in these uncertain economic times, i feel very lucky to have been able to continue the tradition this year.

back in the mid-80's, a friend & colleague of mine purchased a home in kitty hawk, north carolina.  we used to call it nagshead- now we call it the outer banks, or OBX.  the cottage was formerly owned by the camp family, who owned union camp in franklin, va.  union camp was acquired by international paper in 1999 & just last week, it was announced that the plant was closing.  this was the primary employer for franklin.  the cottage was an old nagshead cottage, built in the 40's that jane said needed a "little laura ashley."  it was oceanfront & kitty hawk has been losing dune for years.  the house had already been moved once to protect it.  the tradition started when we would come down to jane's the friday after thanksgiving & stay until sunday.  back then, thanksgiving was an owner's weekend.  we did this for 5-6 years.

then my family started renting a cottage for the week of thanksgiving.  you could find some pretty nice houses for not a lot of money.  my family has been coming to the outer banks since i was 9 years old.  we stayed in kitty hawk.  there were two groceries- wee winks & anderson's market.  typically, we brought our groceries because the prices were quite high.  i used to hate this vacation.  i don't like going in the ocean- i can swim- i just don't like sharing my space with unseen creatures & have always been afraid of jellyfish.  i always thought nagshead would be a great place to recover from a heart attack because there was nothing to do.  i would just hang on the beach, sometimes sulking & pouting- mostly finding shells.  we started coming for one week & then two.  we stayed in those old nagshead cottages- no tv, no a/c, no dishwasher.  we had to go laundromats b/c no washer/dryer.  after a bit, dad started bringing a tv with him.  we would play games, tommy & kathy would gang up on me (as my sister said recently, "let's face it, mimi, you weren't exactly a joiner!").  as time went on, the beach became a bit more built up, with more restaurants.  i remember one year we were down for two weeks & it rained every day.  finally, in desperation, we drove to elizabeth city (the closest theater) where "gone with the wind" was showing- that was the first time i'd ever experienced an intermission in a movie.

eventually, however, as we got older there were more schedules to coordinate- both mom & dad worked & we worked too.  when i was about 14 years old, we stopped going to the beach for our vacation.  then, in 1978 or 79, we started again.  i was out of college & seeing danny, so he accompanied me to the beach.  we would bring down multiple friends of ours & mom & dad always had friends.  the cottage could get quite crowded.  by then, there were some bars to go to & always a cold one at the cottage.  i would lay in the sun like a lizard for hours with baby oil slathered all over me.  i remember that i would get sun poisoning on a regular basis (throwing up in the bushes by the tanarama motel on my way back to the cottage).

mom & dad liked to find a cottage & then just keep renting it.  our first cottage was a small 3 bedroom job.  then we graduated to a four bedroom.  one of those had vinyl furniture- we called it the plastic palace.  we moved from kitty hawk to kill devil hills- that cottage was by port'o call restaurant.  getting to the ocean was like crossing the sahara.  kathy had caitlin & all her baby paraphanalia to carry & danny had a broken ankle one year; after his accident,  bad ankles.  there was the week that danny & armand went down to shucker dave's- it turned out that it was shucker dave's last week in business.  shucker dave's was within walking distance from the house.  the boys came home- bobbing & weaving.  danny was on crutches with his broken ankle- he still doesn't know how he got down the street & up the stairs.  the boys slept on lawn chairs on the deck that night.

we then graduated to a larger cottage & mom & dad went to the beach for three weeks.  that was great.  i worked in norfolk then & would take two weeks off & go to the office one day in the second week & do a 12-hour day.  the summer before grad school, during grad school & after grad school, i went for three weeks. that was pretty heavenly.  eventually, we stopped the summer vacation at the beach as a family- i'm sure it was a scheduling thing again.

then we started the thanksgiving week as a family.  we did that for a number of years- tommy came out some years.  it got more complicated when kathy & armand moved to illinois.  so we stopped.  we spent one thanksgiving at a hotel with mom & dad &  a couple with them in williamsburg.

the year we got sadie, i decided i wanted to start going to the beach again & danny & i rented a house.  mom & dad came down, as did some other friends.  we have done the week at the outer banks since.  this year, the two couples that typically come, could not.  we rented a 2 bdrm, 2 bath cottage in southern shores that was just perfect & it was just the two of us with sadiedog.

everytime i cross the bridge over the sound, all those memories of so many years come flying back to me.  to say the outer banks has changed is a colossal understatement.  i remember when the mcdonald's arrived.  there is a sense of peace & a touch of home that exists here for me.

we like our thanksgiving tradition & plan to continue it for some time.  there are days we don't leave the cottage- we just pal around watching movies, reading books, messing around.  of course,  we take sadie for a walk- we just don't get in the car.

as much as i don't like routine in my life, i do seem to treasure rituals.  & i plan to be here next year- probably with our other friends to celebrate thanksgiving & sadie's 8th birthday!