a weekend without a camera

so i was a doof and left my camera(s) at home this weekend. i think that after squeezing out four boys and girls club shoots for reflector and still editing the 700+ photos from the wedding on the previous weekend, my subconscious was telling me that i needed a break. so we left for the beach on saturday morning with alan and rachel and no camera in tow.

we headed down to atlantic beach for the rest of the morning and the first part of the afternoon. this was my first trip to the beach since the beginning of the summer, and i had missed it so much. after having summers off for the past three years and at least one (sometimes two) beach vacations for a week with family, it was somewhat sad that we hadn't been to the beach yet this year. we blame it on the weddings. the fact that we had a weekend free where i didn't have to be in, attend or photograph a wedding was such a positive thing! at any rate, after i was lathered up with sunscreen and had my little two-person tent set up for shade, i was in the water and loving every minute of it. alan brought his boogie board, so justin and i took turns catching waves and diving through the breakers. we had a cooler full of turkey wraps and drinks, so we had a picnic lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon reading or listening to music on the beach and then getting in the water to cool off.

after several hours in the sun, it was time to head down east and get cleaned up before meeting my grandparents for dinner. we hadn't seen them since our last trip down in january, and we came with wedding videos and photos in tow. we checked into our rooms at the driftwood, a little motel right by the ferry terminal to ocracoke. we've been here plenty of times for dinner, but never actually stayed there. it was a basic motel--nothing fancy, a few crickets who tried to make themselves at home in our room, but certainly closer to my grandparents and cheaper than anything in town. we had a great dinner with some of the freshest seafood you can find, and then went back to my grandparents' house for dessert and wedding videos/photos.

the next morning, we stopped in for one more visit and made it down to snug harbor to visit aunt esther, who will be celebrating her 100th birthday this coming january. it was then time for lunch in beaufort at one of the waterfront restaurants and a little browsing before heading back home. as we prepared for the week, we wondered where the weekend had gone and how quickly the week would go, too, as we got ready for our trip to kentucky. i'm so thrilled to be making this trip and really looking forward to each stop along the way. i will definitely have my camera on this one and plan to take tons of pictures as we drive along some very scenic roads.

one fun thing that we learned friday night--i never really met our backyard neighbors, but we were putting away some groceries and i spied the wife out in the backyard, setting up a tripod with a speedlight on it and then attaching a large reflective umbrella. we headed outside in a couple of minutes to visit with diane and john next door, and the neighbors came over. we introduced ourselves, and as it turns out, she teaches photography classes at one of the local community colleges and has a fantastic website and blog, as well as an offer to ask her any questions as they come up with my photography.

alright, that's it for now. i promise some great photos next time!