We took our first family vacation last week to Carolina Beach. We left Saturday and came back Wednesday so we would be home and not traveling on the 4th. I love Carolina Beach and all in all we had a very nice trip, if not an eventful one.
We rented a condo during our stay which I found on VRBO. Overall, the condo was very nice and clean. The decorations were very bright and beach-like and they even had a colorful chalkboard decorated to greet us. It was very cute! We also had a great view of the ocean from the balcony
The only downfall was that we had no air conditioning the first night. We had someone come out to look at it and he guaranteed us that it was fixed and we'd cool down after an hour or so. Well..that didn't happen. It stayed around 85-90 all night and was unbearable. Unfortunately there are no hotels in Carolina Beach so we would have had to drive to Wilmington and packing up an infant in the middle of the night just wasn't feasible. We toughed it out and it was fixed the next day.
We had so-so weather while we were there but did manage to get two half days out on the beach. Taylor slept in the tent most of the time and got to stick her little feet in the sand for the first time! We even ventured out on a 3 mile walk one morning to get some doughnuts from Brit's on the boardwalk. YUM!
Our last day we took the ferry from Fort Fisher to Southport. Southport is an adorable little town and we will definitely get an earlier start next time so that we can eat dinner there. They have several cute restaurants right on the water with outdoor seating. The ferry was still a fun experience though. Taylor's first time on a boat!
After our AC issues the first night, the property owners graciously offered for us to stay an additional night for free. We seriously thought about it since the weather finally seemed to be clearing up, but we ultimately decided to just head home and have a full day to relax on Thursday before Craig returned to work on Friday. Big. Mistake.
The weather was very spotty all along the coast and the whole way back to Charlotte. We had only been on the road for about 45 minutes when we hit some very heavy rain that seemed to come out of nowhere. Craig was driving and had just started to slow down from the 70 mph speed limit to adjust to the conditions when we hit a huge puddle and hydroplaned. After several 360 degree spins in the middle of Highway 74, we went off the side of the road and eventually flipped into the woods. A guardian Angel must have been looking over us that day because we all walked away unharmed.
We are so very fortunate and very grateful to the wonderful family that helped us out of the car and waited with us until the police and paramedics arrived. My car (which had just been paid off the week before) is now totaled and sitting on a wrecker in Whiteville, NC aka Middle Of Nowhere. Hopefully I can find a new one before returning to work at the end of the month. Until then we're in a rental and I'm spending everyday soaking up sweet little Taylor and thanking God that she wasn't hurt.
On a happier note, Taylor is 2 months tomorrow! We go to the pediatrician on Monday for her to get a second round of immunizations and for her 2 month check up!
