Oak Island and Southport, NC: June 19-22, 2025 - We Should All Be Doing This

Ohh, a beach trip.  I do love a beach trip.

Mary and I headed out toward Oak Island, which we had chosen simply because of AirBnB availability, late morning on Thursday.  The drive was smooth and easy, and pretty soon we were in town walking the aisles of the Publix to stock up on necessities - mainly bottled water - for the weekend getaway.

We made it to the AirBnB and got in - the setup here was really great for an AirBnB if you think about it.  The door had a deadbolt with a keypad, and at check-in time they simply send you the code to grant you access for the weekend.  Not only is that a clean and simple way to permit entry, and to change access between stays, but also it meant that as long as we could remember the code, we weren't required to take things with us if we went out, which is absolutely perfect for a beach weekend.

See, this is gonna be one of those "pontification" entries in which I philosophize about the world around me, with little to no expertise in the matter might I add!  But listen.  A beach trip is one of those things you've gotta do exactly right.  A year ago, at the annual July 4th trip to the lake, I posed a question to the chat (my family, sitting in the living room) about which water-based activity is best: beach, lake, pool, or creek/river?  And beach was the most divisive.  It was either a top favorite or a bottom-of-the-list, absolutely-never-again option.  But I think that's all down to how you execute.

When you go to the actual beach on your beach vacation, you've gotta be as unencumbered as possible.  No wallet, phone, or keys, for starters.  Swim suit, flip flops or water shoes, maybe a cover-up, sunscreen, and a small bag to put it in.  That's it!  No umbrellas, or tents, or chairs, or even towels.  Half of the negative association people have with the beach is the vivid memory of sandy towels!  So just ditch 'em.

But the trick is, you've gotta be staying somewhere close enough that you can quickly jaunt to the beach on foot, just as Mary and I did that Thursday afternoon after we'd put our stuff down in the AirBnB.  If you are far enough away that you have to get in the car and drive, you're already behind the eight-ball.  Off to a bad start.

But anyway.  The late afternoon dip was wonderful and much-enjoyed.  After that, it was time for a barbecue dinner, which was also in walking distance at BBQ House.  We got a sampler plate full of meats and sides, and it was delicious.

Another beach visit followed, this time just to walk it, and then lastly, a tasty treat at the scoop shop:

A successful first day.  We set no alarms for Friday morning, heading out to Fixins for breakfast at a mid-morning hour.

Mary said it was the best gluten-free cinnamon roll she'd ever had.

Nearby there was the remains of an old ship, so we went and saw that:

...and neither of us could figure out how they knew this pile of lumber was the remains of any ship, much less which specific one.

We popped into the library while we were on that side of town too, then got in the car again to drive to the pier and coffee shop:

That was all for the morning frivolities.  From that point, we didn't use the car again the rest of the day.  Another sign of a beach trip done well - you're able to just wander.

Now late morning, it was time for another dip in the ocean, probably our longest one of the trip.  Relaxing at the AirBnB followed that, and then a lunch at Kai Joe Taco, which was also in walking distance, but had no indoor seating...so a take out order it was!

More relaxing after lunch, then back to the beach again.  Being on the water or in walking distance introduces another important component to the Beach Trip: duration and frequency.  If you're a far drive from the water, you have to do one or maybe two excursions to the beach itself, and stay for a long time.  If you're close, you can go repeatedly for short durations, limiting fatigue and sun exposure.

For dinner, we decided to wait until the cooler part of the day (so, you know, maybe sub-90) and walk a bit farther than normal to go to a seafood restaurant.  Sadly, they were booked up with a very long wait, and we had actually wanted to go to a concert that was happening in the park near our AirBnB - the one and only truly scheduled thing in our weekend - so that was not going to work.  Instead, we took a detour by some stick statues in the dunes, then made our way to Paul's sports bar:

weird little gremlins.

We made it to the concert successfully to see just the last few songs before they wrapped up:

...before enjoying the sunset on the beach:

We stopped into the same scoop shop as the previous night for more ice cream, then hit the hay.  Mary and I had agreed to awaken very early the next morning to watch the sunrise, in honor of the Summer Solstice.  A twinge of regret accompanied that decision the next morning at 5:30 when the alarms went off, but we were quite happy in the end to witness the first light of the morning:

Several hours later, after a brief snooze, we headed out to the donut shop: 

it was a very "Duck Donuts" kind of place.

Our final full day included another late morning session in the water, then a journey into town to get a coffee and do the only bit of shopping we did the whole trip.  We strolled through Seaside Mermaid, By the Beach, and the Hope Chest thrift store, with some limited success.  Then, when it got closer to dinner time, we ventured further out to Doodle's (which apparently has the lock on the best Oak Island Loggerheads baseball merch), and Crossroads, which had a lovely by-the-swamp view:

Finally, the journey into Southport, where we had our seafood dinner at last at Fishy Fishy Cafe:

After dinner, we idled by the seaside, taking in one last evening in this hallowed place.

See, my evangelism about a beach trip stems from the fact that when done right, it is incredibly revitalizing.  The sun and sand and saltwater can refresh, but not if your experience is driving 20 minutes, fighting for a parking spot, burning to a crisp from hours in the sun, then tracking sand back into your vehicle and house right before collapsing from exhaustion.  If you're close to the water, take short but frequent dips, and spend the rest of the time relaxed indoors, you come away better for it.  It's what we should all be doing!  It's the purest concentration of summer fun there is.

Back in town, Mary and I stopped for a sweet treat at Sweetreat, once again ending our day with ice cream.  Then, just because we hadn't done this yet, we took an evening trip into the water, as sunset shone all around.

The next morning had just one last item on the itinerary, after cleaning up the AirBnB and loading up the car.  We stopped in at the Oak Island lighthouse:

Though with the heat as brutal as it was, we declined to go all the way to the top.