Pea Island

I like to drive. And I've driven a lot of interstates, highways, avenues and boulevards in my day.  Only one road has my heart, and that's NC Highway 12. From the curve around Silver Lake harbor in Ocracoke to where the pavement ends, abruptly, in a sand dune north of Corolla, there are countless special places, and Pea Island is one of them. Just across Oregon Inlet, the wildlife refuge is mostly protected, but there are still spots where you can pull over, park, and sneak across the dunes. This past weekend, we spent two days there- walking the tide line, soaking up the sun, and swimming in the sea.

But first, girls gotta eat. My traditional roadside supper stop is Call of the Wild in Columbia. You'll drive right past it as you're headed east on 64 -- a shiny silver trailer parked outside of the fish market. Get the grilled scallops or a shrimp po' boy and always, always order the hush puppies.

I'll leave you with a lil bit of wisdom:

You can go out to eat, that's for sure -- but there's nothing a homegrown tomato won't cure.

Good morning

There's always time to cook, and walk the tiny bulldog.

Yadkin valley

On the way back from the mountains, I stopped and had a little adventure in the Yadkin valley. I will admit to being very skeptical about North Carolina wineries... but it was gorgeous, and you should go.

Canopy

A few more snaps from last weekend...

A new saying was born this trip: "We can't all be blessed with the hand we are dealt." 

We also discovered a new wildflower - monotropa uniflora, Indian Pipe (also called Corpse Plant and Ghost Flower).... Marit named it "the ghost of tulips past" before we looked it up. It doesn't produce any chlorophyll, hence the ghoulish appearance.

Mountain weekend

Here's a recipe: nine girls, two cabins, countless waterfalls, three dogs, a surprise birthday cake, a menagerie of board games, stacks of back issues of the New Yorker, and a bunch of really, really good food.