Pandemic Week 55: Happy Easter!

 It was a lovely Easter week and a welcome break from work and school.  While we still were not able to do an Easter gathering with family, we at least were able to get a way for the week and enjoy a change of scenery.  We returned in time to celebrate a quiet Easter, but enjoyed a lovely spring day.  Here are highlights from the week.

Spring Break in Beaufort, NC

After our initial vacation rental was canceled, we were able to secure a last minute, dog-friendly rental in lovely Beaufort, NC.  Everything happens for a reason, and this turned out to be a lovely week in a quiet, historic southern town with lots of beach options.  We avoided crowds, got to enjoy a historic town with some beautiful beaches and even got to visit Aunt Gayle.  Storm was very excited to go along and was particularly happy with the one level rental, which meant no stairs (definitely a vacation for him).  Here are some highlights:

  • We stayed in what was probably the nicest Airbnb ever.  This could be the fact that the owner normally lives there, thus the place was well equipped.  We were trying to wrap our head around renting out your own house (we decided we are not going to do that), but decided to go with it and enjoy.  
  • The were neighbors at our rental place were lovely and had just moved to the area from Northern Virginia a year ago.  They were full of tips on things to see, offered to lend us kayaks, and even let Storm out for us one day while were were out.
  • The town of Beaufort dates to the 1700s and has beautiful, historic homes.  One of the highlights for Theresa was a trip tot he old burial grounds which had interesting tales (a favorite was the wife who remarried after her husband was lost at sea, only for him to return years later...apparently the compromise was her new husband could keep her but her eternal resting place would be next to her first husband).
  • A trip to Fort Macon, a lovely spot on the beach.  We were able to hike on the beach and enjoyed the ruins of the fort.
  • An afternoon at Shackleford Banks, a 15 minute ferry ride off the coast.  There are no vehicles on the island, which is home to wild mustangs and lots of conch shells.  We enjoyed watching the dolphins in addition to searching for shells.....and watching one tourist get entirely too close to the wild horses despite many warnings.
  • A visit to Airlie gardens in Wilmington to meet Aunt Gayle.  It was another beautiful day with the flowers in bloom, including tulips and camellias.  We saw one of the oldest trees in North Carolina, a 400-year old oak.  The bonus for Anna was that she got to go home with Aunt Gayle for a few days away from her parents.
  • Joe & Theresa visited Harkers Island on a a cold and windy day.  Normally you can catch a ferry to Cape Lookout at the southern end of the Outer Banks, but it was too windy that day.  Instead, they visited a museum and took a hike around the area.
    Shackleford Banks
  • The trip concluded with a visit to Aunt Gayle in the North Myrtle Beach area (since Aunt Gayle was vaccinated and Joe is partially vaccinated and all have been quarantining, we decided to go for it).  Unfortunately, Gayle was battling vertigo.  We did get to enjoy her beautiful place and color some Easter eggs before heading north the next morning.

It was definitely great to get away, even if we were still sort of isolated.  No work.  No school  No problem!

Easter Sunday

We managed a few traditions for Easter along with a few things we needed to improvise on.  First, no Easter Sunday service in person again.  St. Mark's only had two services with a 200 person limit.  The other surrounding churches had sign-ups for members only.  This meant we were left to "mom church" this morning.  A few traditions we managed to keep, including:

  • A lamb cake - Theresa was able to find the ingredients and managed to make the best one yet (likely because she finally used the icing recipe from her grandmother).
  • An Easter egg hunt - Despite Anna's eye rolling, she perked up when she found out that some eggs had money in them.  This also peaked Joe's interest as the two of them competed to find eggs in the yard.
  • An Easter basket (slightly healthy) - in addition to a chocolate bunny and jelly beans, Anna found her basket full of protein bars and other healthy snacks (Uncle Rod and Uncle Tim would be horrified)

We enjoyed a roast chicken dinner along with the cake.  It was a beautiful day.  We look forward to celebrating with family next year.  We already have ideas for an Easter egg hunt.

Happy Easter!

Anna & Aunt Gayle


A successful Easter egg hunt


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