Monday in Paradise

Well, things rarely go as I plan.  I did not get up early as I had intended, but it's my vacation and I can sleep late if I wanna.  I did put on my yoga capris, t-shirt, and big floppy hat to head out to the beach as soon as I was fully awake.  It was a pretty day, even if it was a bit hot. 

I had my camera and a mesh bag for seashells.  Not too many shells on the beach here, but I didn't really expect there to be...that's why I'm heading to Shackleford Banks later this week. The beach is really pretty at this end

 

There are a few signs of Irene around, the most obvious being the mostly missing fishing pier

After my walk on the beach I made myself some brunch (breakfast at lunchtime in this case) and decided to head over to Beaufort after my shower.  Beaufort is a lovely waterfront town just oozing with history.  I am proud of myself for not getting lost getting there.

Mostly, for me...Beaufort is shopping.  There are lots of neat little shops and eateries there, as well as the Maritime Museum and boats out to the barrier islands.  Of course, there are the houses, mostly along the waterfront

Aren't they quaint?  Many have been turned into businesses (like antique shops) or B&Bs, but some remain private homes.  Always wanted to live in a place like that?

This one's for sale.  Needs a little help, but it's still cute.   These houses have awesome views out across the sound, like this one

Of course I did some shopping too!  Highlights include a purple t-shirt that proclaims "I can't remember if I'm the good sister or the evil one" and a copy of  "The Outer Banks Cookbook" which came in handy later the same day. I got some butter pecan ice cream for lunch and walked around some more.  I walked all the way up and down the waterfront, then the main street.  I found the General Store, which was my favorite place to shop last time I was here, and almost bought a pirate hat at half price.  I got a root beer float instead. Guess it was a mucho ice cream kinda day.  Had to take a pic of this restaurant sign 

When they started rolling up the sidewalks, I headed back to Atlantic Beach. I had already decided that this trip would be seafood filled, so I stopped at a seafood market on the way back. I stopped at the Atlantic Beach Seafood Market and picked out a nice piece of grouper.  They had a sign saying that they'll be closed tomorrow, but I'm definitely going back on Wednesday!

When I got back to my room, I looked through my new cookbook and decided to try the recipe for Pan-Roasted Fish.  I headed over to Food Lion for the few things I'd need and it started to rain on my way back.  Oh well, at least I didn't have to rush through dinner to see if I could do another walk on the beach.

I didn't do too bad with the grouper, although I did set off the smoke detector 4 times.  Nothing burnt, the thing is just too darn close to the oven.  It looked pretty comin out of the oven though

I made some homemade cole slaw to go with it.  I'm not big on the store bought stuff and if I'm planning to cook a lot of seafood this week I'll eat a lot o cole slaw too!

Yummo! Nice glass of wine and I had a feast! There's a Marilyn Monroe film festivus on TMC so I have that on while I'm typing this. 

I also picked up a tourist map today and I'm thinking about heading to the aquarium and/or to New Bern tomorrow (there is a farmer's market there).  At some point I think I want to head out to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse too.  Gonna be a busy week.