The Beauty Around Us

Our Outer Banks Vacation – Fredericksburg VA to Corolla NC

By Linda G. on September 24, 2017

We ate a later than usual breakfast at 8:00 am. No need to hurry today, as the drive to our beach house will take only 4 1/2 hours without stops or any other type of delay. Check in time at the beach house isn’t until 4:00 pm. We have plenty of time for the final leg of our trip to the Outer Banks.

Breakfast was complimentary, in a room off to the side of the lobby.  As is customary at Best Western hotels, a large selection of breakfast items were available to include scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage patties, waffles, cereal, yogurt, pastries, breads, coffee, tea, orange juice, and fresh fruit.

Our Best Western Fredericksburg accommodations were on the second floor.  Sandy and Jim’s room was one door away from our room.  You can see Bob walking toward our room and Sandy standing in the doorway of her room.

We checked out of the hotel, after breakfast. The woman in front of me was asked if her stay was OK. She said that the bed was soft and too high. The hotel clerk apologized. The woman then said that the dogs liked the bed. All three of us laughed.

Leaving the hotel, Jim led the way to the nearby Walmart. The four of us picked up a few supplies that we had forgotten (or purposely left) at home.

Next stop was at the Walmart gas station to fill up.

At 9:35 am we began our drive to Corolla, NC.

We stopped and took a walk on Prince Street in Tappahannock, VA.  According to a Wikipedia article, Tappahannock is the oldest town in Essex County, VA.  It is located on the Rappahannock River and is the county seat of Essex County.  Tappahannock’s name comes from an Algonquian language word lappihanne, meaning “Town on the rise and fall of water” or “where the tide ebbs and flows.” In 1608 John Smith landed in Tapphannock but was driven back by the local Native American tribe.

The statue commemorates Tappahannock and Essex County’s native sons who fought and died during the American Civil War.

A building that looked like an old theater caught my eye.  I asked a man approaching us if he was from the area.  When he responded “yes”, I asked what this building was.  The building is the Daw Theater and is in the process of being restored.

Before leaving Tappahannock we made a bathroom stop at Sheetz. The stop provided an opportunity to pick up a mid-morning snack too. Bob purchased water and a Slim Jim. I purchased a Diet Coke. My mid-morning snack was the banana that Jim brought to me from the breakfast room, when he and Sandy checked out of the hotel. I wanted a banana, when we ate breakfast. The bowl was empty, though.

We were back on the road at 11:23 am.

We stopped for lunch at McDonald’s in Chesapeake, VA (off route 64). At the time we were approximately 2 hours (89 miles) from our vacation beach house. We were back on the road by 2:15 pm.

We crossed over the NC border at 2:40 pm and arrived at our vacation beach house, Flight of Fantasy, which is located on Pine Island in Corolla NC, at 4:00 pm.

After greeting Denise and Nic and Brenda and Terry and being given a tour of the beach house, we began to unpack our cars. We used the elevator to take everything up to the third floor. Sandy and Jim have the king master bedroom facing the sound side of the house. Bob and I have the king master bedroom facing the ocean.

After depositing our stuff in our bedroom, I helped Denise and others organize the kitchen and then unpacked and put away my clothing.

Later in the day I caught Denise, Brenda and Nancy in the pool area on their way to the beach.

They asked me to join. I declined. Sandy and I did go to the beach a little later. We didn’t put on our swimsuits. I did roll up my jeans and put on water shoes. Sandy put on a pair of crocs.

Denise and Nancy were sitting in chairs on the beach.  Brenda had gone for a walk on the beach, returning with a bag of shells.

Denise, Nancy and Brenda didn’t stay long, after Sandy and I arrived at the beach, as they were getting cold. Brenda did, though, take a few pictures of Sandy and me before returning to the beach house.

Oh, I almost forgot. Denise, Nancy and Brenda put together gift bags for each couple. The gifts bags included Kleenex, a roll of toilet paper, two bags of cracker jacks, two bags of peanuts, two Slim Jims, playing cards, two small flashlights, a 4×6 photo frame (Denise wants me to take a picture of everyone. She wants to have 4×6 prints made and give to each couple before we leave to go home.), a large squirt gun, a bag in which to collect seashells, a flip-flop bottle opener, liquid hand soap, a bottle of Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray and a beach towel.

Sandy, Jim, Bob and I watched a beautiful sunset this evening from the front side Currituck Sound balcony.

Tonight’s dinner was pizza and homemade cake (sweet potato cake). After dinner Denise, Sandy and I chatted with each other for quite a while.

Lots of people are sharing our vacation beach house.  Here are the couples who have arrived so far:

Jim and Sandy
Bob and I
Nic and Denise
Terry and Brenda
Donny and Nancy
Shawn and Sam

Still to arrive are:

Eric and Alexis
Jasper (one night)
Michael and Maggie
Sharon (possibly)
Jeff and Stephanie (who plan to spend Friday and Saturday nights)

We are keeping an eye on Hurricane Maria. A tropical storm watch was issued at 5:15 pm today for Corolla. Wind is forecast at 30-40 mph with gusts to 55 mph. The window for tropical storm force winds is Tuesday morning until Wednesday evening.

Bob and I and Jim and Sandy came up to bed around 9:30 pm.  Michael and Maggie arrived sometime after we had retired to our room.

Please click here for Jim’s account of the day.