Nags Head Day Trip

"I still love things that you don't even need to pay for. Going to the beach and being around five of your friends and having a good time means so much more than going out and spending hundreds of dollars."--Maria Sharapova

What do you do on a nice weekend after moving to North Carolina when it’s super sunny and warm outside? You pack up the dog, the boyfriend and hop in the car to drive to Nags Head for a day of fun in the sun with my amazing tiny family. 

We take our dog everywhere we possibly can and the OBX is the perfect place to take your fluffy family. On the way, we looked up local restaurants where we could grab a bite to eat and also bring Atlas. At a glance, South Beach Grill looked pretty good. Turns out pretty good was actually amazing.

The Grill had two stories of inside and outdoor seating. We got to sit outside at picnic tables on the ground floor. The food was fresh and the ingredients were locally sourced. Will had a fish burger and I had a sandwich. What was more important and rare was the doggy menu. Most places don’t allow dogs much less have their own menus just for dogs. The service was spectacular and the waitress loved Atlas so much that she kept bringing him bowls of crushed ice (his favorite). We even had people come outside just to see Atlas and talk about how cute he is. I’ll never get sick of hearing that!

Great service, good prices, and happy bellies full of delicious food were a concoction for a fantastic day. We even found free parking in the middle of beach season! HECK YES. It was a short and pleasant walk to a public access beach since we were closer to the residential/private beaches. The beach was pretty deserted so it was easy to find a nice spot to ourselves. 

Atlas loves loves loves the beach and as soon as we hit the sand he was determined to get in the water. We put our towels down and ran to the water so he could play, dig in the wet sand, and hop around like the super happy boy he is. While he rested after an epic playtime, I went on the hunt for sea shells. I have my own tiny craft company and drift wood wind chimes are one of the things I make and I’m always needing more shells. I got a ton of them while enjoying the heck out of the beautiful day walking up and down the beach!

Our walk back to the car was interrupted by a quick stop for one of our favorite things…ice cream! We stopped at Scammel’s Corner Surf Shop and Ice Cream Parlor. They boast having authentic Hershey’s ice cream and they were not lying. There were tons and tons of flavors making it hard to choose just one. We made our choices and enjoyed delicious ice cream on the way back to the car. Don’t worry, Atlas got a few licks of vanilla in too. 

By the time we got back to the car we were all satisfied, full, and ready to make the trip back home. It was all in all a great day out and I would absolutely repeat the day trip again and again! On our way home, we stopped by a Seafood Market which had an amazing selection of fresh caught seafood. There were crab legs, frog legs, fish, oysters, clams, etc. It was a seafood lover's heaven! You should absolutely make a stop here if you're driving west from Nags Head!

"The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach."--Henry Beston

Greenville Greenway

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better"--Albert Einstein

Greenville, NC is a large town in the middle of nowhere North Carolina. It is the home of the East Carolina Pirates and boasts a lot of school spirit and youthfulness. I attended ECU from 2007-2011 and loved my four years here. As much as I loved it, I never expected to be back, much less find a job here. There’s not much here in the way of jobs unless you’re a teacher, in the medical or criminal justice fields. I’ve discovered lots of new places and revisited old haunts. By far my absolute favorite find was a relatively new addition to the town that hadn’t existed when I lived here. What’s it called? The Greenville Greenway. 

Right now, it’s a series of paths, mostly paved, spanning throughout the town for walkers, bikers, runners, etc. It’s even dog friendly! Most of it runs by the river and, as the name would suggest, is very green and scenic. It’s my favorite part of Greenville, especially due to the fact that most of G-Vegas is either part of the college or consists of chain restaurants or just boring, old business buildings. It’s a patch of oasis in an otherwise concrete jungle. 

What’s so great about it besides the fact that it’s super green? There’s lots of places to put your kayaks or canoes in the water. Dogs and their owners get to walk along it and meet new people. It’s a much healthier, and not to mention prettier way to get around to certain parts of the town. I now bike to the grocery store, post office, and the local library. Why not? I love the exercise and being outside, plus it saves money! There are even places where I can let my dog hop around in the river and throw sticks for him. 

Speaking of dog friendly, there’s a dog park that is super well-maintained and almost everyone in town with a dog goes there to let their dogs have the time of their lives. It’s a great way to meet fellow dog lovers as well!

I love using the Greenway to run. I choose to do a 4 mile loop on the part that is right down the street from my house. There’s also a 2 mile loop for days when I’m a little more rushed. Atlas, my dog, also loves to have daily walkies on the Greenway to strut his stuff, sniff, and meet other dogs and humans. They have lots of benches along the way to look out over the water and several piers for fishing. They even have bins filled with plastic bags to ensure the pathways stay poo free. How cool is that?

For anyone of any age, the Greenville Greenway is the highlight of my time here and is sure to be a hit for anyone who enjoys being outside. I’ve never had any sort of problem on the Greenway and everyone I’ve met is always nice. What’s even better is that it never seems crowded. There’s never mobs of people, but you do see a steady flow of people without feeling like you’re losing your personal space. Most of the time I only see a few other people. It all depends on the weather!

The only downside is hurricane season. Greenville, NC is rarely affected in any major way, but every now and then, as was the case with hurricane Joaquin we suffered major flooding of the lower laying areas. The Greenway was one of those. Nothing was damaged, but it was under a little over a foot of water for about a week. I was so bummed that I couldn’t run my loop and get my daily fix of beautiful ponds, bridges, and river views in before heading to work! 

"We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts"--Williams Hazlitt

Knott Island Pet Sitting

"To err is human, to forgive, canine." --Anonymous



My boyfriend's dad and his wife, Carey own a beautiful house on Knott's Island in North Carolina. They have a fenced in backyard on about 1.5 acres of land. Will's dad works for the city as an electrician and Carey is a professional dog sitter who also works at a vet clinic. They have four fluffy children of their own, Leigh, Owen, Easton and Ramsey and watch anywhere from 1-7 dogs on top of that depending on the season. It is without a doubt doggy heaven.

Imagine your life as a furry, happy go lucky dog. You run in to this green yard, there's balls everywhere and someone to constantly throw them. There's other dogs who love to play and snuggle. There's even a pool they had built just for the dogs... not even kidding. Carey also makes sure they are super healthy, friendly with other dogs, gets their nails trimmed, etc. It's the bomb diggity.

We were set to move June 17th from Virginia Beach, VA to Greenville, NC. We gladly accepted their proposal of pet sitting for them from the 12th to the 15th. We didn't really want to pack anyway and who would pass up a whole 3-4 days of playing with dogs, lounging by a pool and just relaxing before a gigantic move? We were not one of those people to pass that up. We packed up some of the clothes we hadn't shoved in random suitcases already and made our way down to Knott's Island.


We were greeted by the furry brigade and 2 extras who were lucky enough to stay the weekend. We're down there enough that all the clients know who we are and their dogs know and love us as well. One of the things we were most excited about, besides the dogs of course, was the kitchen and grill set up they had. Will's family is Italian so cooking is in the genes. We both love to cook and grill so having an enormous, full stocked kitchen and grill was complete heaven for us.

Our first night there we had a few friends over to grill out with, have a couple of drinks, and just have fun playing with all the pups. It was an all around fun time seeing great friends, not thinking about packing everything we owned and transporting it only to have to unpack it all (UGH!), and just relax.

The next day was spent lounging by the pool, cooking, and playing with dogs constantly. We ended the day by cooking more and watching good movies on Netflix while all 6 dogs tried to snuggle us at once. Pure heaven.

Want to know something that's not heaven? Short story: taking a bath while 3 dogs stare into your soul THE ENTIRE BATH. Long story: Atlas loves to follow me in to the bathroom, except when I shower just in case that means he will have to have a bath as well. No matter what, if I'm just using the toilet he has to come in with me and stare at me. Turns out Easton, Ramsey and Atlas like to team up and marathon stare at whoever is in the bathroom and especially the bathtub. Easton is obsessed with anything water and will go nuts when he thinks he can get in a pool. Ramsey just likes being around people and Atlas follows me around constantly just because I'm mom.

This was my first bath in over 2 years and I was really looking forward to finishing my book and soaking in their giant jacuzzi tub. Little did I know I had an audience. The second I got in and couldn't get back out without soaking the floor the bathroom door flies open and in comes the creep brigade of Easton, Ramsey and Atlas. They didn't even lay down. I ended up just getting out early so they would stop staring at me. All I could see over the tub was 3 floating dog heads who seemed to be plotting how to best get in the tub without me noticing.



Anyway, it was a mostly uneventful, relaxing weekend full of relaxing, pool time, puppy play time, snuggling, exercising and cooking with friends. They don't go away much, but we're hoping the next time they go out of town we get to house/pet sit again and have another few days in doggy paradise. They came back and noticed the house wasn't burned down, the dogs were all happy, and we even re-stocked their fridge with beer. Who could ask for better house/dog sitters than that?




Did I mention Knott's Island has some of the best sunsets I've seen?

"No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich." --Louis Sabin