Come Rain, Come Shine

With Mazen settled in California, Thomas and I debated and debated if we should do a weekend trip. We didn’t want to do anything far away since we’re heading to San Diego in two weeks, so we researched 1,000 options within 4 hours of driving from Cville: the Chesapeake, OBX, Virginia Beach, mountain cabins, B&Bs, Washington, DC, staycations near Cville. I am always drawn to the ocean, yet the weather for the coast was not looking good. There was a 60%+ chance of storms the whole time. But I knew a year from now – when we (hopefully) have a little baby – we would regret not taking advantage of a wide-open weekend to get away. We waited until Thursday to make the call and ultimately it came down to this: I would rather read a book during a beach thunderstorm than read a book at home. So we took a risk and headed to the Sanderling Resort, where we got engaged a little over a year ago!

Flashback to our engagement night! Duck faces are totally cool in Duck, NC.

We arrived Friday afternoon to clear skies and sunshine. So far, so good! We were able to check into our room early, and had a glorious few hours on the beach. The ocean was actually freezing, so I could barely stick my feet in all weekend, but that was fine with me because I was happy to read and breathe in the salt air.

MY OTHER RECIPES

I read the book Leaving Green Island, which was good and cheap on Kindle. It flashed back and forth between high school girls’ summers on Green Island, Michigan and present time when the main characters were in their mid-20s. I liked the overall plot!

I had an awesome virgin margarita for mocktail hour on the beach. It was mostly fresh lime juice, a splash of pineapple, and salt. Simple but totally satisfying! I like my mocktails tart.

We stayed on the beach until after 6 not knowing what the weather would bring the next day, and then after showers headed to the Lifesaving Station restaurant on the property for dinner.

We shared a strawberry, goat cheese, candied pecan, and sorbet salad.

Mussels

And a yummy entree with shrimp, scallops, and mashed potatoes.

We were much too full for dessert, but we enjoyed listening to music on the Sanderling porch, watching the moon rise, and sipping some hot tea to end the evening.

The next morning we were braced for rain all day and the radar seemed to agree. There was green and red all around, yet the skies stayed dry. We had coffee on the balcony and breakfast from the stash we brought and kept in our mini fridge.

In-room dining : )

The rain never came though, so we set out for the beach. We went on a long walk to the spot were Thomas proposed a year ago <3 Baby B came along this time!

The skies looked ominous at times, but we were lucky that not a single drop of rain ever fell! We spent the whole day on the beach.

It was actually nice that it wasn’t too hot all day, and the temperature was actually perfect for reading, walking, and relaxing. Can you spot the crazy who got in the frigid water for a nice refreshing dip?!

We took a break and had lunch at the Sandbar, sharing a caesar salad and caprese panini.

Around 5:00 we left the beach, so glad we decided to come and the weather had turned out so nice.

We visited the dock where we took post-engagement photos last year before our dinner reservations at Kimballs.

28 weeks today!

We settled into a nice table with a sunset view at Kimball’s Kitchen.

Our dinner was fabulous, down to the butter, pink salt, and olive oil trio that came with the bread!

We started with a stone fruit carpaccio, which featured thinly sliced peach, whipped brie, bacon, blackberries and balsamic. Yum!!

I LOVED our second course, which was scallop and pork belly over spiced sweet potatoes and a bourbon sorghum butter.

We shared the grouper entree next, with grilled artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. Very delicious.

And finally a chocolate turtle tart.

On Sunday, after yogurts and fruit for breakfast, we squeezed in a final short beach visit before the clouds eventually opened up and the rain began – which was our cue to head back to Cville!

I am so glad that we decided to go. *Insert all the Moana songs here* to how I feel about the ocean! And of course The Sanderling will always be a special spot for us.

The end.

from Kath Eats Real Food https://ift.tt/2voIpHZ