Ah, summer.  Welcome back, old friend.

Summer to me means hitting the beach with the fam for a week of fun in the sun.  Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina always hits the spot.

Choosing to go the week of July 4th meant lots of traffic onto the island on check-in day (blech) and a slightly more crowded beach but it was still a great week.  We made lots of new memories together (sharks!, swimming in the tidal pools, and fireworks from the pier) which is why we love our time together.

On the dining and activities front, we tried out some new places worth mentioning.  Locally, we went to Loaders Island Grill right off the Island.  Plentiful options for the whole family at great prices with good service made for two enjoyable dinners.  We also tried Wing & Fish Co in Shallotte, the mainland town from Ocean Isle, and had a nice dinner there as well. This is a local joint and somewhat tucked away but worth a trip.

We always love the Ocean Isle Creamery, an ice cream shop on the island.  The only bad thing is ice cream coupled with humidity means a sticky mess in short order once you walk outside.  My suggestion?  Eat super quick or skip the cone and go for a cup instead.  If you’ve never had Barbie ice cream, stop there and try some.  An interesting pink concoction that isn’t super sweet and is delish!

A trip wouldn’t be complete without a dinner show in Myrtle Beach so this time it was Medieval Times.  Go Red and Yellow Knight!  The food and show were the usual but our knight almost won this time!  I really enjoy the games and the jousting that the knights do.  Exciting and fun to watch!

Wrapping up, we saw no sharks (woot!) but were scared enough to stay knee deep or less in the water.  I thought that would really put a damper on our trip but it didn’t.  The girls learned how to skimboard and everyone enjoyed hanging out in the tidal pools.  The shelling was nowhere near as plentiful as usual which was a downer but our cars were packed to the gills coming home anyway.  We had some pretty good storms so that seemed to churn up an unusual amount of shovels and shoes on the beach.

See you next year OIB!