4.29.2009

North Carolina

Anna and I finally made the long-awaited trip to North Carolina to see Jordan. Only Jordan's in Iraq. We made the best of it though, spending most of the weekend lying on the beach. We both agreed it would have been much more fun if he could have been there to show us around "his area" instead of trying to navigate ourselves. But he left us his sweet truck to drive and some spending money for the weekend since he couldn't be there to treat us himself. What a nice brother, huh?!?!

Anna opening the card Jordan left for us.


This was really fun to drive. Parking it - on the other hand - not so fun.

We flew into Fayetteville on Friday afternoon where one of Jordan's friends picked us up from the airport and brought us back to Jordan's house. Well, it's actually Kelly's house - he's a friend that Jordan met playing hockey at Ft. Bragg and now lives with. So, yes, now I have a fourth brother, and he's awesome!! Anyways, it was really hot, so we got changed into our shorts and tank tops and spent an hour or so laying out in the yard soaking in the sun. Later that evening we went and explored the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville and then tried one of Jordan's favorite restaurants: Logan's Roadhouse. It's much like a Texas Roadhouse, but better (according to Jordan).

An exhibit from the Airborne & Special Ops Museum

Saturday morning we got up and headed out for Wilmington, which is about two hours east of Fayetteville on the coast. Along the way we stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast, Anna's first time. If you can ignore the filth, it's really good food. We made it to Wilmington at about 12:30 and decided to head to the beach since we couldn't check into the hotel until 3:00. Bad idea. It was Saturday afternoon and they were having record-breaking temps for this time of year. We spend two hours trying to get to the beach and once there trying to find a parking spot. We finally headed back to the hotel to lay out at the pool there. Much better. We spent the rest of the day laying by our hotel pool. For supper that evening we walked up the street to a southern BBQ restaurant called Sticky Fingers. It was fabulous!

Anna's first Waffle House experience!

Sunday we beat the crowd to the beach (Wrightsville Beach), got front row parking and a prime spot to lay in the sun. This was probably one of the most relaxing vacations I've had. So nice to just lay on the beach, read a book, and sleep. We headed back to our hotel about 1:00 and then went down to the historic downtown area. We got in on a 45-minute trolley tour that was pretty boring, unless you're really into architecture, got some homemade ice cream, walked the boardwalk along the Cape Fear River, and did a little shopping. Oh and we also happened along the fake storefront from one of our favorite TV shows, One Tree Hill, that is taped in Wilmington.

Anna pretending to be interested in the trolley tour.


The USS North Carolina docked in the Cape Fear River.


Anna and I in front of the "Clothes over Bros" storefront.

Monday was a couple last hours at the beach and then back to Fayetteville to catch our flight back to this cold, rainy, lovely Minnesota weather. I'm not the picture-taker I wish I was, and Anna got all the pictures of the two of us on her camera, so enjoy what's here. I'll try to get some of her pics and post them later. But that pretty much sums up our weekend in North Carolina! Thanks, Jordan, for being the best host from thousands of miles away. We love you!! And thanks to Kelly for letting us crash at your house for the night. You're the best!!


Fishing pier at Wrighsville Beach


A view of the beach.

5 comments:

Jill O. said...

Looks like you guys had a great time!!! Nice to see all the pictures, can't wait to see more!

Stacy said...

Looks like fun! Next time I will try to drive up and meet you! Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks!

Anonymous said...

Looks really nice! I think its so awesome you are making all these great memories together! I wish I could be closer to my cousins.

Katie said...

Anna looks so interested in that trolley tour! :) lol! The beach looks amazing and I wish that i could have gone with... next time lets make it a big girls weekend and all go see Jordan! Or just to a beach! Hope it was as much fun for you as Anna said it was for her!

ilona said...

i'm glad you decided to go even without jordan. it does sound wonderful - lounging on the beach with a friend and a book for company.....