A little slice of heaven....

Growing up, my grandfather had a cottage on the beach on the Outer Banks of NC.  He rented it out most of the year (as most owners down there do) but always kept a couple of weeks aside in August for the family.  The adults would go down for a week, then the kids came down for another week.  It was right on the ocean.  We walked out of the screen porch onto the beach.

But as the years went on, it became much for my grandad to maintain.  After each storm, he'd drive down to check on it.  And worrying about it.

Finally, he sold it.  And in it's place, he bought a timeshare.

Of course, he always had high standards.  So he bought his timeshare at the above property when it was first built, and he bought it oceanfront.  After he passed away, it was passed down to my parents and aunts/uncles.  And they used it some.  But this year for my 40th birthday, they all gave it to me.  Permanently.

The unit, while oceanfront, has a dune directly in front of it, and since it's a first floor unit, you can't see the ocean directly.  Luckily, there is this covered gazebo attached nearby that was the perfect setting for morning coffee, watching the sunrise, or just chilling out!

So the first morning, we HAD to get up to watch the sun come up.

We waited groggily and ooohed and aaahhhed.

It got lighter and lighter, but the clouds were blocking the actual viewing of the sun.

We watched pelicans and dolphins out over the ocean.  If you look REALLY, REALLY close in this picture, you will see a dolphin, just left of center.  Yes, that black dot.....

Finally, the sun was all the way up, but wasn't to be seen until later.  The one set of clouds decided to hang around for the morning....

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In all of the literature when we checked into the timeshare, it said "Don't Feed the Foxes".  I really thought they were pulling my leg!  

But on the dune RIGHT outside our unit, we watched this guy most mornings.  He was feisty, and kept an eye on folks as they walked by, but hung out there in the same spot.  It's on a protected dune, so people can't access the area.

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We also had friends/family that had a rental house on the Soundside of the Outer Banks.  We stopped by there a few times to hang out at the pool, and watch the sunset.  Sunrise on the ocean, Sunset on the sound!

It was a great way to end a day....  Watching the sun sink into the water with all of the activity going on around it.

Now, I've got this little slice of heaven for one week, every August.   And because we loved it sooooo much, we decided to buy another week, in December.      I can hardly wait for it to get here!!

AMW