Airbnb: Awesomesauce, with biscotti

Our stay in the Wrightsville Beach area of North Carolina was my first experience in using Airbnb, a website where you can rent space in people's homes, or rent their entire house.  You can find anything from a nice little futon in someone's living room to palatial mansions with sculpted gardens.  And Airbnb has gotten pretty big, so you can find places to stay all over the world.  People leave reviews of the properties they're staying in, which sure does help in the decision process.  Also, the website is super user friendly.  I was a fan of the website as soon as I started my search. Prices are plainly stated and easily understood, pictures and information provided by the hosts are well-organized and easy to sift through, and the site even includes a map with the general location of the property.

Chris and I ended up renting a tiny apartment that was a part of a home on the outskirts of Wilmington, North Carolina.  The apartment itself was just perfect for 1 or 2 people.  It had a full kitchen, wifi, a TV with cable, and our hosts even provided plenty of coffee, tea, and their homemade biscotti that was f-ing DELICIOUS. I could have easily lived that weekend on beer, coffee, and biscotti alone.

The couple, Susan and Clancy, were just freakin' lovely.  They invited us into the main part of the home and gave us iced tea, and they proceeded to tell us that the intracoastal waterway was just a 5 minute walk away, and we could use their fishing equipment and 2-person kayak if we would like.  Susan walked us down to the waterway access point, and I was amazed at how beautiful the waterway was.  I picture the intracoastal waterway as being a muddy-colored wide swath of water filled with barges and cargo ships.  Well, I was a tad off on that.  The waterway was lined with lovely homes, and the only traffic coming through consisted of recreational boats.

That evening, Chris and I decided to try our hand at fishing.  Well, Chris tried his hand at fishing.  I just drank bourbon. It couldn't have been more beautiful.

The next morning, we just had to try out the kayak.  I love me some flat water kayaking.  

Getting the kayak into the water was its own barrel of fun.  There was a test that had to be passed before we could be rewarded with paddling awesomeness - we had to get the kayak through about 10 yards of limb-sucking, shoe-stealing muck.  Poor Chris had white street shoes on.  I was wearing heavy-duty water sandals, so I ventured forth, dragging Chris in the kayak through the oyster shell-filled muck, and with each step prying my feet back up to the surface to take another step.  My shoes were Keens, which are pretty sturdy suckers.  But the mud still tried to go all clepto on me and steal them.

Once we actually made it into real water and I climbed into the kayak with my shoes still somehow affixed to my feet, we were off!  Right into a sand bar.  I can't say that's the only sand bar we ran ourselves into, but we did have a grand time tooling around the waterway and a nearby channel that connects with it.  We paddled by a small marina, another couple in a canoe, mini islands covered in oyster shells, and more beautiful waterfront homes.  Unlike the mud, this did not suck.

Back at the apartment as we packed up to leave, Susan stopped by to wish us well and gave us another big bag of biscotti.  I jumped up and down like an excited puppy at the prospect of getting to shove more of this biscotti down my gullet.

I was a huge fan of this place, and of Airbnb for giving us an option that didn't involve a generic hotel room with a jacked-up price for the holiday weekend.  I would pick Susan and Clancy's place over the beachside Holiday Inn any day.  We stayed in a real home that was wonderfully cozy and comfortable.  Our hosts were fantastic.  They made amazing biscotti and have great taste in coffee.  And they have private access to the intracoastal waterway AND have fun toys to go with it.

If using Airbnb means that I can stuff my face full of biscotti while I kayak along the intracoastal waterway after 2 days at the beach,  then I'm sold.  Airbnb, I think I love you.

Hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife. I mean, hide yo' beer.

Considering a trip to the beach for Labor Day weekend generally elicits one of 2 responses:

1.  "Yeah, I'm going to drink beer/an umbrella drink/Budweiser Chelada and get a sweet taaaaan!" (tan = painful sunburn).

2.  "Deal with all those crowds?  No way.  I'm going to sit at home and play Magic: The Gathering until 5am.  Screw paying for parking and slathering on sunscreen every 15 minutes.  And sand.  Screw sand."

Chris and I went with response #1.  Though only one of us got a sweet tan/sunburn.  And neither of us drank Chelada.

We wound up going to Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach in North Carolina, mainly because that was the only beach within driving distance that had reasonably priced lodging on Airbnb.  And there will be a report on the Airbnb part of this trip later on.

Bottom line, I think this area is my new favorite beach destination. There were long stretches of sand and beautiful blue water.  There were plenty of public access points and far more available parking than I was expecting. It wasn't overshadowed by condo buildings trying to break the stratosphere.  And it had sand crabs.

Also, people were ridiculously nice and helpful.  I know, it's the south and everyone is nice, but there are different varieties of "southern nice".  There's sweet-as-over-sugared-pie-to-your-face-and-I'll-talk-shit-about-you-as-soon-as-you-leave nice.  There's friendly-because-I-love-to-talk-about-myself nice.  And then there's just regular down-to-earth nice.  People here are down-to-earth nice.  They don't want to make fun of your hair behind your back, and they aren't attention whores.  They will help if you if you appear to need it, they'll smile while they do it, and they'll be on their way and let you be on yours.

The only problem was the no alcohol policy.  I'd read stories about how militant the police are about drinking on the beach.  But it's THE BEACH.  A dehydrating beverage is a necessity.  That was easily taken care of by drinking out of a squeeze bottle.  But, seriously, Wrightsville.  Changing this should be your top priority.

Problem (kind of) solved.

Sometimes a trip to the beach on a holiday weekend can be harrowing, and the relaxing trip you envisioned becomes a big fat ball of stress and road rage as you try to make your way to your tranquil little spot of sand by the water.  There was none of that in Wrightsville.  Things were easy.  The beach was pretty much perfect.  And the people were wonderful.  The Outer Banks may get all the hype in this state, but Wrightsville deserves just as much attention.  But if it doesn't get it, that's ok.  Fewer crowds and cheaper rates for me. I just need to remember to bring a nondescript beverage container.

Labor Day-ing like a boss

Good God, how did it get to be Labor Day weekend and the end of summer already?  Well, you might be preparing to go back to school (or get some little munchkins ready to go back to school).  And for most people in the US, that means taking a trip. What better way to celebrate Labor Day than with jacked up gas prices, road rage from the swelling traffic, and massive crowds at every beach?  There is no better way.  That's why Chris and I are headed a few hours down the road to the Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach area of North Carolina. DC has trained us well on how to grumble about expensive gas, cut people off in traffic and yell at them incessantly from the confines of the car, and bitch about crowds of tourists. We've got this.

But all normal holiday weekend annoyances aside, we're both excited to take a trip where we can completely relax instead of spend hours on the road each day.  Plus, neither of us have been to the Wilmington area.  I forsee days on the beaches and nights in Wilmington checking out breweries and bars.  And for me, lots and lots of sunscreen.  

Also, this will be my first time using Airbnb - a vacation rental website where you can book anything from a futon in someone's living room to palatial mansions.  I've used VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) in the past, so we'll see how they compare.  As far as websites go, Airbnb wins this by a landslide, so I'll report later how the overall experiences compare.  We've booked a 1-bedroom in-law suite adjacent to our hosts' home.  It was a far better deal than any hotel room advertised online, and we'll have access to our own kitchen and backyard creek and walking trails.  Plus, the hostess apparently makes homemade biscotti.  Take that and stuff it, Hilton.

I'm pretty stoked to have 4 days in a home away from home with multiple beaches and a city with a few breweries nearby.  Have you been to the Wilmington area and have any advice?  I'd love to hear it!  I'd also love to know what you're doing for Labor Day.  Whether you're staying home or going away, I hope you do Labor Day weekend like a boss.  

OBX half marathon - beaches, beer, and Backstreet Boys

A conversation from June 2012...

Laura:  “Hey, want to run a marathon in the Outer Banks in November?”

Me: “Hell no.  I just did a half marathon.  There is no way I’m running twice that distance. I don’t even want to run another half.”

Laura:  “They have a half marathon, too.”

Me:  “Ok I'll do it.”

Based on my flip-flopping, I’ve clearly missed my calling in life as a politician. 

Anyway, that’s how a group of us found ourselves in North Carolina’s Outer Banks last weekend.  Laura’s marathon training involved never running more than 15 miles.  My training involved going to Alabama and Chile and some very sporadic running in between.  

But who cares?  We were at the beach!  The weather was absolutely perfect for running, we were one block away from the water, we had a hot tub, and the beach was nearly deserted.  

I ran the race, got a PR (beat my old time by over 2.5 minutes!  Training?  Bah, who needs it?), collected my free BBQ and beer (now THAT’s how to put on a race), and wandered with Chris around the adorableness of the town of Manteo where the race ended.  

But I had plans for the rest of the day.  And they were as follows:

1. Taco Bell (ok, that was Chris’s idea, but a brilliant one)
2. Go back to beach
3. Jump in freezing cold Atlantic Ocean
4. Run back to house
5. Grab a cupcake and beer
6. Jump in hot tub with cupcake and beer
7. NEVER GET OUT OF HOT TUB

Things don’t always go according to plan, though.  Here is what actually happened:

1. Taco Bell
2. Go back to beach
3. Dance wildly to the Backstreet Boys blasting from the house next to the beach access, much to the amusement of the people in said house’s hot tub
4. Jump in freezing cold Atlantic Ocean
5. Dance wildly to more music coming from house next to beach
6. Get invited to join party at house next to beach
7. Crash party in house next to beach
8. Drink our new friends’ beer in their hot tub
9. Feel super slow after realizing our new friends are super freakin’ fast runners
10. Get hungry, go back to house for dinner
11. Grab cupcake and beer
12. Jump in hot tub with cupcake and beer.

Ok, I ate the cupcake before ever making it to the hot tub.  Details.  Whatever.

I didn’t complain at all about the slight change in my plans for the day.  I ran a great race, stayed hydrated enough to have beer afterward, got to go to the beach, dance to terrible  boy band music, meet fun new people, and sit in multiple hot tubs.  Before the race, I swore up and down that this would be my last half marathon.  My knee was protesting, I’m not the most dedicated when it comes to training, and races can get expensive.  But after a race day like this, I might have to rethink all that.  Especially when beaches and hot tubs at the Outer Banks are involved.

Best U.S. airports, also according to me

Now that I've gotten what I have deemed this country's worst airports out of the way, here are the ones that I consider among the best.  Again, I haven't experienced all the airports in the U.S., but then again, this isn't an official list or anything.  So without further ado...

Reagan National Airport (Washington, D.C.):  I want to hug this airport.  I want to love it and squeeze it and call it George.  It is a mere 5 miles from downtown DC.  It has its own metro stop, making it cheap and easy to get to and from.  If I’m feeling lazy, a taxi can have me home in 15 minutes. Except for the very early morning hours, the security lines here are practically non-existent.  The place is half deserted on the afternoon before Thanksgiving.  It’s glorious.

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (Charlotte, NC):  If I have a long layover, CLT is where I want to be.  Large windows, rocking chairs, and trees are located just about everywhere.  Don’t knock the rocking chairs - they are fabulous.  The main food court has a sushi bar and live piano music.  It’s almost a shame that flights here seem to generally take off and land on schedule.  Despite having more layovers here than I can remember in recent memory, I can’t remember a single significant delay.  Score.

Baltimore-Washington International Airport (Baltimore, MD): If you can’t easily make your way to BWI within the DC/Baltimore region, you are a complete travel amateur (sorry).  It is serviced by light rail, Amtrak, a commuter train line called MARC, and multiple bus systems.  And if you’re driving, the BWI parking garages have a sensor system that tell you how many open parking spots are in each level and row.  How brilliant is that? Plus, prices at BWI can often be the best deal in the metro area, and security lines aren’t nearly as long and annoying as they are at Washington Dulles.

Panama City International Airport (Panama City, FL):  It’s brand new, not at all crowded, easy to get in and out of, and Southwest has deemed it worthy of their presence.  Plus, world-class beaches are just a few minutes away.  This place is one big WIN.