My first weekend on my own I had two choices. Sit in my tiny little house alone or drive to the beach. Tough choice...I got in the car and headed for the Outer Banks. Three hours one way. I looked for a hotel but they were all outrageous. Who knew it would be so expensive to rent a room at the beach in July! Heck with that! I found a cute little B and B in Edenton, about an hour from the beach. I liked the idea of a bed and breakfast because hey...free breakfast. Who doesn't like free breakfast?
This was my view from their porch. Gorgeous house, fabulous food, comfortable room at a very reasonable price. I asked the proprietor for directions around the town. She directed me about a block away from the Inn where I found a pier I could walk on. Cute little shops, great restaurants. I bought a fun little dress. I'm not normally a dress kind of girl but you never know when a summery dress might come in handy. (It did.) Edenton is a fun town but I wanted to see the ocean. I asked the owner of the Inn for directions to Nag's Head. It was supposed to be an hour and fifteen minutes away but ended up being three. Either she is terrible at giving directions or I'm terrible at listening to them. (I'm going with me being terrible at listening to them, see post entitled Getting Lost). When I finally made it back from the beach I settled into my room for the evening. This was my first experience at a bed and breakfast. Essentially you're in a really big house with strangers sleeping in the next room. There are rules of etiquette. Like if you've gotten back late because you can't follow directions and are too stubborn to buy a GPS you should tiptoe up the stairs and get into your room as silently as you can. If you're in bed reading a book that makes you laugh out loud you should muffle the laughter as much as possible. I thought I was going to burst something trying to hold it in. And you know, the more you try to hold laughter in the harder it is...I mean really what are people going to think? I'm the only single person there and I'm laughing by myself at midnight?
Then, just when I got myself settled down.
A man starts screaming. "Help! Oh Help! Help!!!" I bolt upright and wait to hear sounds of footsteps, of ambulances. Something to indicate whether I need to run and help or run like hell. I hear muffled voices then silence. Neither of these require my attention. After a few minutes I start feeling indignant. I didn't know you could scream...Had I known screaming was acceptable in a B and B, I wouldn't have worked so hard to hold my laughter in.
In the morning, there is coffee right outside my door. I wish the coffee fairy would come every morning. An elderly couple emerges from the room beside mine. "Bad dream last night?" I ask the gentleman as I'm pouring more coffee. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" the wife says. The man looks a bit embarrassed but frowns. "If you heard me yelling for help, why didn't you help me?" We all laughed and headed down to breakfast.
Honestly I'm not much of a breakfast eater. Normally I'm too groggy for anything as complex as chewing and swallowing but this was part of the package. Free breakfast. Omelet with peppers, cheese and mushrooms. I don't even like mushrooms but this was amazing. Fruit, bacon, toast and all the coffee I could drink. Now that's what I'm talking about! After breakfast I took my coffee onto the porch to enjoy the view.
If you're ever in Edenton, check out The Captain's Quarters. If you ask for directions to the beach...it's probably best to write them down.
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