We took a much needed and long overdue trip to Topsail Island in October. We were invited by the Lucas family to spend a week playing in the sand, and the house and the company couldn’t have been more perfect.
Ocean-front, essentially deserted beach (October is the offseason), and enough sun for the kids to play in the water nearly all-day, every day.
The five kids — ranging in age from 10 to four — had a blast and entertained each other (yay), which meant the parents could relax a little. I brought a gigantic stack of magazines and made my way through most of them, took a few naps, and didn’t wear a stitch of makeup the entire time we were there.
We ate in and cooked for the masses every night, including one of Pat’s famous low country boils. The boys (Pat, Matt and Nathan) chartered a fishing boat and caught some fish. We walked along the beach to the fishing pier, where we watched anglers wrangle a 200-lb. shark up out of the water.
We learned how to search for sharks teeth, and by the end of the week had even gotten good at it (I found my one and only tooth by flashlight during a nighttime walk on the beach).
We had visitors — friends of Jessie and Matt came for dinner one night; Brad (Pat’s best friend from high school) and Jamie and their boys stopped by on their way home from the Outer Banks.
The week was a blur of sunshine, friends, laughter and smiles too big to contain. It was just what we needed.
The Sutherlands 