Road Trip: North Topsail Beach Getaway

I got back last night from a great 4-day getaway with a group of girlfriends to North Topsail Beach, NC, where we shared a duplex a short walk from the beach. This was our third trip to the beach together, and it was a terrific, relaxing, laugh-filled weekend. It's a quiet beach, not a lot of commercial development, no traffic, no nightlife, no tourist traps–perfect for people who want to spend most of their time on the beach, or relaxing with a cool drink and a good book. Our weekend consisted of lots of beach time, walking, reading, and plenty of good conversation on the deck. Instead of going to restaurants (not a lot at this beach), we opted to buy fresh seafood every day from a couple of waterside seafood vendors, and thanks to the talents of the serious cooks on the trip, we ate crabcakes, steamed mussels, spiced shrimp, sauteed scallops, and pink snapper tacos. Accompanied by appropriately beachy drinks: blueberry-ginger mojitos, melon margaritas, and strawberry-watermelon daiquiris.

Our crabcake and mussels dinner:

We did some serious focusing, and finished this 500-piece puzzle in a few hours:



North Topsail Beach is the northernmost town on Topsail Island, about a 5-1/2 hour drive from Fredericksburg. Well worth the drive, especially with such good friends.