Fall Break

Fall break is a thing outside of California, and it's lovely. As our honeymoon consisted of a two-night stay in SLC before AJ flew back for school (it was actually perfect and delightful and amazing), we thought we would count this as our retreat...which we shared with nine other couples in a beach house...and a handful of small children. True romance! Thus, we found ourselves in the Outer Banks of North Carolina (OBX) enjoying the surf, sand, seafood, and all season one of HBO's True Detective while hunkered down in our room. (Seriously, sososo good. If you're a fan of Breaking Bad and looking for a quick fix while waiting for the new season of Game of Thrones, this is your solution. We are digging the excellent selection that the media section of the law library has to offer.)

While there are few places I'd rather be than the beach, I've never been much of an ocean person. Shark attacks are a great fear of mine (read Unbroken and try to not have a panic attack) and, though yearly beach trips have been had, the last time I actually got in the ocean was in 2008 in the Mediterranean while chaperoning a group of high schoolers through Greece and Italy. (I earned that trip, believe you me.) Before that, it was the south of France in 2004 with Jill and Sarah on a post-graduation trip. (HAHAHA, how annoying do I sound?!) This was my first dip in the Atlantic, and it was quite nice-much warmer than the Pacific, sand like powdered sugar, frolicking in the waves with my boo. I read Ruth Reichl (if you love food and autobiographies, read her!) and Janet Evanovich (if you want to zone out while losing brain cells and hiding the book from others out of embarrassment, read her!) and AJ cracked open The Bully Pulpit, a new one from Doris Kearns Goodwin (Team of Rivals) about Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and journalism during the Progressive Era. And of course, catch on the beach. Gotta keep that arm loose.

We ventured further south to see the sights at Kitty Hawk, site of the Wright brothers' famed first flight. According to my personal docent, AJ, both North Carolina and Ohio claim Orville and Wilbur, as their work and flight took place in the former while they were born in the latter. Look at these two babies fight it out via state license plates:

Props to the people of Kitty Hawk who assisted the brothers greatly in their continued experiments and in building the memorial to honor them.

A tad Orwellian

Oh, Orville

We did brunch at The Saltbox, a quaint spot on the banks of a creek-thanks for the recommendation, YELP! Hearing people speak with Southern accents is still new and charming to me, and this place was packed with such voices. I had the steak salad with bleu cheese (is there a better combination? Besides a Wendy's Frosty and fries, naturally), and AJ's dish was divine: shrimp and grits with andouille sausage. For dessert we had the key lime creme brulee...mmmm...C’est comme un petit Jesus en culottes de velours! 

                                  

We were very lucky to stay in The Black Pearl, an amazing three-story beach house that we got for a wicked good deal, as it was off-season. The area is famed for Duck Donuts, a local shop that allows you to customize freshly-baked donuts. Our room overlooked the ocean, so AJ and I had the brilliant idea of gorging on donuts while watching the sun rise at 7:08 AM. This meant awaking at 6 AM, racing to the shop 20 minutes south, and heading back. We got there just as it opened and made our selections, including maple glaze with bacon (sweet and savory heaven!) and a lemon glaze with coconut. (Side note-I love coconut EVERYTHING.) AJ was sharing our sunrise plans with the proprietor, telling her where we were from, giving her our Social Security numbers-his usual interaction with complete strangers. She asked where we were staying, then queried why we drove so far to that location when there was a Duck Donuts two minutes from our house...UGH. Whatever. We made it to our deck just in time to watch the magic happen, and it happens really fast. It's, like, one minute the sun isn't there, and 20 seconds later it's high in the sky. Yeah, I'm basically your own personal Neil deGrasse Tyson with that description. No need to watch the next episode of Cosmos.

Each night two different couples cooked for the whole crew, which meant maxin' and relaxin' most of the time, then one night of running around like a crazy person to get dinner on the table for a large group of people. BIG LOVE to my back-of-house crew in my places of employment! My sous chef (AJ) and I made a corn chowder (recipe in the link below), courtesy of my favorite Food Network chef, Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa. (Sorry, Linds.) I could watch her cook in her beautiful kitchen all day, making adorable beach picnics for her friends with kids and taking gourmet packed lunches to her pals in their music studios, all the while her amazing gay chums handle the decor. Sandra Lee, sit down, girl. Governor Cuomo ain't with you for your recipes. 

Barfeoot Contessa's Cheddar Corn Chowder

Some of the guys went crabbing, so dinner was followed by a round of fresh steamed crab, doused in Old Bay Seasoning. I'm not much of a shellfish person, but AJ is all about the crustaceans and cracked a few legs.

The weather was perfect until the day we left, which made departing a little easier. We stopped at one of the state's famed lighthouses, got in some history, then headed to Cravings, a local seafood place featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives! I was a tad hesitant, as I hadn't seen this episode and I like to fancy myself an expert on reading Guy Fieri's body language, and really paying attention to what he is saying when visiting different spots, trying to gauge if he's just being polite or if he's actually Donkey Sauce stoked on the place. (Yes, I love cooking and food shows! The best? Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown on CNN. Trust me. Past seasons are also on Netflix.) Our server was excellent, and made me grateful that I never worked in a restaurant where I had to memorize multiple and lengthy nightly specials. We had the seafood platter (lobster and mahi and shrimp, oh my!) and the caprese salad (pesto on fresh mozzarella is a YES)...and two baskets of warm buttery garlic bread. (Post-vacation gym sessions are at once terrible and exhilarating.)

On the drive home, we listened to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast Blueprint for Armageddon, about WWI and its deadly battles. Each podcast is a few hours long but so incredible; I can't recommend it highly enough. There are a variety of topics, but this might be a good choice, as the Great War began 100 years ago and Veterans' Day is soon upon us. It was an impressive reminder of the great strides and technological changes that occurred in the 20th century, for both good and bad. I can only imagine the awe and despair my great-grandparents felt watching the world completely change within their lifetime.

Speaking of changes, have you guys tried Taco Bell's Fritos Burrito? I discovered this gem in the middle of America during my trek across the country, and IT IS PERFECT. The spice of the beef with the creaminess of the nacho cheese, complemented by the crunch of the Fritos, all enveloped in a warm flour tortilla...oh, and it's on the dollar menu. So of course we stopped for a couple. You should, too.