Chris and I have been longing to get to the beach. 2020 has been a difficult year for travel but I was determined to do a few days at the beach. Safely. And so we did.

Enjoy my pictures and my “pro tips”.

Tip 1: Go during the week to avoid possible weekend crowds.

Tip 2: Select a less crowded beach during the off season. We went to Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina and it was very uncrowded in October.

Tip 3: To limit contact with potential crowds and to limit the need to go out take as much food as possible. I had ordered Hello Fresh meals and even had some lunch and breakfast options. Since everything is provided it was super easy to not have to go out shopping or even to a restaurant. Honestly – we loved it because we weren’t always trying to find someplace to eat.

Tip 4: Take cleaning supplies and clean frequent touch surfaces upon arrival. Even though places are cleaned I never quite trust it. I wiped all the handles, light switches, handles, etc. down once we arrived. If you are concerned about linens take your own sheets and towels as well.

Tip 5: Get a stand alone place or a smaller building where there are fewer people. We stayed in a smaller condo complex which was probably about 1/8th filled. We never had to worry about wearing a mask because there was just no one around. It almost felt like “normal”.

Probably my favorite thing about this trip was this group that visited every morning. There are four of them, apparently, but we only saw two at a time. They obviously have someone that feeds them in the condos because they sat outside in the early morning waiting. I did not expect to see fox at the beach but it was an unexpected bonus.

The following pictures aren’t that great but if you look closely you can see the fox sitting on the dune watching the people on the beach who were totally oblivious to his presence. What do you think he was thinking?

Thanks for taking a trip to the beach with me. We had everything we needed in the condo and on the beach and our car stayed parked the entire trip. It was wonderful. Have you been able to take any trips this year? I would love to hear about it in the comments. Comment for a Cause for our recipient this month – In the Pink. Come back on Monday for the reveal of our new recipient as well as to see how much we will be donating to In the Pink.