The Unplanned Trip

We did it. We went away without a plan or schedule or reservation. The information we needed, appeared as it was necessary in a very synchronistic manner.  When we got to Virginia Beach we decided it wasn’t the atmosphere we wanted to stay in so we kept on driving until we got to the Outer Banks in NC. If I had preplanned, we would have been stuck staying in Virginia Beach, because that was where I originally thought I would make reservations.  It was how the idea of the trip started…going to Virginia Beach and that was it.  Later the plan was revised to keep driving south to get to where it was a bit warmer and so that I could see the Outer Banks.

When we arrived on the Outer Banks at dinner time, we found the restaurant that had been recommended to us no problem.  The Black Pelican has a long history of serving people who visit the Outer Banks. I have had many people comment to me since hearing we were there, that they always go there when they are in town. The background story about this restaurant and how it was named is quite interesting.

http://blackpelican.com/cms/history

There were no rooms at any of the hotels as we rolled along the Outer Banks. We called a couple places, but it was Easter week so a lot of schools were on Spring break. When Mark went into one of the hotels on the beach to inquire, they had just given out their last room but they handed him a brochure about the Outer Banks. He doesn’t remember opening the brochure but as he handed it to me it was open to a page and the name and pictures just struck me. We pulled out our phones to look up their website and just had that knowing feeling that it was our kind of place. We called, and the manager Randy said he had room for us, he lived on property, and gave us his cell number to call when we got up there. It was a good 30 minute drive from where we had dinner. The Inn at Corolla Light    was everything we could have hoped for. The room was on the 2nd floor, had a fireplace and sliding glass doors to the deck overlooking the water. We have had experiences in the past where hotels near water smell musty and feel damp. The room smelled perfect and was beautifully furnished.  If you look at their website, check out room 48. The decor has been updated as can be seen in some of my pictures.
www.innatcorolla.com/

The only thing that I had been researching a bit and really wanted to do while in NC other than just walk on the beach was to see the wild mustangs. That same serendipitous brochure had a list of about 10 places that ran tours. One happened to be right next door to the Inn, but after looking up a couple from the brochure on the internet, again I was just struck by one of them and decided to call. As luck would have it, they had a tour going out at 10:30 that morning so we had plenty of time to venture out for breakfast at Duck Donuts (when in Rome...)

I was hoping to get to an early tour because the weather was expected to turn early that afternoon. It didn’t and ended up exactly how I had visualized it the week before, a perfect afternoon for walking along the beach, collecting shells and rocks. More on that later.
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We drove about a half mile down the road to Corolla Outback Adventure. http://corollaoutback.com/  Our driver Kurt regaled us with stories of that end of the Outer Banks and the history of the horses. It was early in the season so no horses were out and about. But once again serendipity came into our trip. Kurt’s wife texted him that there was a horse in their back yard. He drove us to his house and let us stand in his pool area to look over the fence to see the horse. If we had been on any other tour that day, it was unlikely that we would have seen any horses. Even though that was the only horse we saw that day, the ride itself along the beach and into this “off the pavement” neighborhood was well worth the trip.

​We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the area around the Corolla Lighthouse and walking along the beach on the ocean side. We walked for about 2 hours on the beach, watching the radar and clouds.  Mark kept reminding me that I had already said and manifested that the day was going to be perfect so I just had to relax and let it go. I had visualized walking on the beach in perfect weather the previous week. The storm stayed to the north of us and we had a beautiful afternoon. We finally ran into the storm as we drove south to search out a place to have dinner. It was a doozy! But when we got back to our room to see the sunset off our deck it was incredible. The dozens of pictures I have can’t even do it justice.

​If we had been traveling with the boys or other people, the opportunity to be so totally carefree and irresponsible about making plans probably wouldn’t have worked. But since we answered to no one but ourselves, we moved on when we didn’t want to stay somewhere, like Virginia Beach, and stopped on a whim when we did want to see something, as we did as we drove through Williamsburg and when we decided to go to Annapolis before we went to Baltimore earlier in the week. The trip was enjoyable and relaxing and unpressured.  My past travel plans have usually been a strict itinerary of all the places we had to go see and which restaurants we should eat at. I never really stopped to enjoy the journey and spent too much time worried about getting all the activities in.  I put stress on not only myself but all the people around me. This serendipitous way of traveling may not work for every destination, like any beach location in the height of summer, but it is a much less stressful way of traveling for me. It goes back to the idea I had expressed in a previous blog about expectations.  Reality never quite lives up to expectations, but reality itself can often be quite awesome!

​Check it out here:when-reality-doesnt-meet-expectations.html

*There are no affiliate links in this article. I have not received anything in exchange for this review. I just truly like to share the good things in life. Namaste!