We had the most amazing time last week at the beach!  I believe fall is the best time to go to the beach.  The water is warm, the crowds are gone for the most part, and the air is still really nice, less humid & hot than mid-summer.

We always go once a year with my parents and stay in the same house which we've all come to love over the years.  We travel separately since we are all coming from different locations - us from Greensboro, Mom from Asheboro, and the boys from Greenville.  Hurricane Florence made it challenging for all of us with road closures everywhere.  (Notice the brackish water in the image above.  All of the flooded river water made it look like red mud.)

It normally takes Mom 3 1/2 hours to get to the beach & this time it took 7!  GPS rerouted countless times so they drove around half the day until they found a way to Ocean Isle.  R and I nearly ran out of gas because power was out and every gas station was closed.  We were literally in the middle of nowhere on a two-lane road (with no shoulder) and had passed at least 5-6 gas stations that were closed.  The gas needle was BELOW the red line & we were certain that we were going to be stranded with no idea what to do next.  Finally, we happened upon a line of power company workers who were brought in for storm relief.  A very nice man shared enough gas with us to make it to a gas station.  Thank goodness for ni...