25 Things That Haven't Changed in 25 Years

Last week, I was able to get a few days off of work to the go the beach with my family. When I tell people about this vacation and our long running history with this particular island, they don't quite seem to "get" the impact this has had on our lives. This is the only family vacation I have ever known. My family has been going to this beach for roughly 28 years. Even the year we went to Disney World, we stopped at the beach for a week on the way back. This year was my 25th time visiting Sunset Beach, North Carolina and whilst my life and many other aspects have taken some dramatic changes, I take comfort in the fact that this little part hasn't changed much at all.

Here are 25 things that haven't changed much at all.

1. The trip down. It always rains and takes well over two-hours the time we could make it in. This year was a tad bit different since I left from Charlotte but it still rained and was yucky most of the day.
2. Unpacking the car/rearranging the whole house. We rent a house, always oceanfront, and when we get there, nothing is ever the way we want it. We move furniture, rearrange the kitchen cabinets and clean out the cars while my dad promptly plops his ass on the couch once everything is safely inside.
3. The grocery run. This may not seem like a big deal but all of the rental properties down there rent on a weekly basis from Saturday-Saturday so the initial grocery run when we get there is usually organized by what we can find to make for dinner and breakfast until we can come back the next day. And, since planning ahead is frowned upon on vacation, we strive (and I mean literally put effort) into going to the grocery store or the corner market every day.
4. First step in the ocean. It's a pretty monumental thing. When we were little, it used to be the first thing we would do: run to the beach, step in the ocean, run back home. We can usually hold out until the first day now, but it's still a pretty heart warming moment to be in the middle of something so huge and the feeling is the same every year I do it.
5. Sunscreen. The daily sunscreen application. This happens twice a day and is always a big event. The best part is you can blame the person who did your back if you get sunburned.
6. Outdoor showers. All of the beach houses have outdoor showers. I personally think all house everywhere should have them. It is socially acceptable at the beach to walk outside, up the stairs and sit on the deck post shower in the sun and not have to worry about being judged by your neighbors.
7. Bocce and paddle ball. Sadly, I didn't get to play this year before I left but these are two beach games that we have been playing since we were old enough to pick up the balls.
8. Drip castles. I'm sure everyone has done this at some point, but it's when you pick up a handful of wet sand and let it drip out and make cool "cave-esque" towers. The secret is to build a really sturdy foundation so when the tide starts coming it, it doesn't wipe out all of your work.
9. Calabash. Calabash is a little area right before you get to South Carolina. It's a giant gift shop with a bunch of crap that nobody needs but we make at least one stop there every year. We usually go once early in the week to scope out the merchandise then return later to actually buy things. I, personally, enjoy their selection as most of their nick-knacks match the color scheme in my apartment, but I would be happy with just buying the pound and a half of fudge we get every year.
10. Putt Putt. AKA the ultimate beach tourist attraction. We love putt putt and tend to venture to the same place every year as it's pretty close and fairly easy for all involved. This year was my nephew's first attempt at mini-golf. My sister and dad both play golf so their technique is impeccable but this year we were literally in awe when my grandma knocked in FOUR hole-in-ones. Despite her amazing performance on those four holes, she still managed to lose.
11. Calabash Creamery. This is a little home-grown ice cream store that was featured in Southern Living a few years back. The best part (other than the ice cream of course) is the GIANT rocking chairs outside. You know you're in "The South" when you eat homemade ice cream while rocking on the front porch.
12. Shrimp night. We manage to make shrimp and crab cakes at least one a trip and my dad takes tremendous pride in being the shrimp man. His job: boil some water, throw the shrimp in, season to liking. Usually his liking, not any of ours, which is why they're usually too spicy for the rest of us.
13. Coozies. A long LONG time ago, we used to have a solo cup stuck inside a coozie that was labeled with our name. Then we would rinse out and reuse the cups in a effort to save money. We don't do the cup thing any more but the coozies still manage to make it back to the beach every year and, now that we're old enough, keep the beers cold on the beach.
14. Some big television event. Whether it's one of the big golf tournaments, the Olympics, or the Republican National Convention, some huge televised event happens every year. It usually comes down to who has the most power as to what we're stuck watching, and up until this point, that person has never been me.
15. Yahtzee, Phase 10 and Poker.Nothing says "Family Vacation" like a bunch of board games. And, to make sure we don't forget anything, my grandma is in charge of maintaining the "Game Box" year round. It has all of our score cards, chips, pens, dice, whatever you may need for a rousing night of family fun. We play Yahtzee every day a lunch and I'm pretty sure that game alone is the sole reason me, my sisters and my cousins can do math.
16. Lunch time. Our daily routine includes a morning on the beach, lunch, an afternoon on the beach, and then some kind of nighttime activity. My lunch fluctuates between two meals: ham and swiss or peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes there's bananas involved and I might switch from strawberry to grape but it's one of those two. Then there is also always cheetos and crystal light. I don't eat cheetos year round and therefore usually go through about 3 bags at the beach. I also usually get yelled at because the Yahtzee dice are covered in cheeto dust, but that is the small price I'm willing to pay.
17. Weather Man in Residence. My dad missed his calling in life. If I had to pick his favorite channel, it would most certainly, without a doubt, be the weather channel. I know what you're thinking: "It doesn't do anything except show the weather." And you're absolutely right. But he loves it. And by loves it I mean he can leave it on for hours and spit back facts about the cold front coming in or the Hurricane going up the coast. We got him a weather machine a few years ago that sounds the alarm when bad weather is in the area and he usually runs to a door or window to get a glimpse of the first lightning.
18. Family tension. I don't say this as a bad thing. When you put 10 people in a house that have different schedules, needs and wants, its hard to find something to please everyone. My sisters and me, who generally get along really well, can always find something to fight about before the trip is over. It's just nature and I would call BS to any family that claims they don't get a little testy being that close to one another for an extended period of time.
19. At least one rainy day. Plain and simple. We loose at least one day, usually more, to bad weather. Fortunately there is shopping and board games to keep us busy. My favorite part is sitting on the deck and watching the storm roll out to sea and I usually want at least one storm so I can sit outside and watch.
20. Holden’s market. Two beaches up from us is Holden Beach and there is a little farmer's market there that has THE BEST cantaloupe, peaches, corn and Peach Salsa. It's worth the 15 minutes trip to go out there and get fruit for the week.
21. Ghost crabs. No beach vacation is complete without a late night walk on the beach looking for ghost crabs. These white little guys generally only come out and night and are used to people chasing after them with flashlights. They eventually run into their holes but their sideways crawl is quite comical.
22. Pelicators. Most definitely my favorite beach life. Pelicators, also known as pelicans, are by far the coolest birds. They walk, swim and fly, and are constantly nose diving into the water for fish. Even coolor is that they fly along the stops of the houses so that they can ride the drafts coming off of the peaks and don't have to do any work. Genius. Why do we call them that? Well, I'd have to double check, but I'm pretty sure it's what my older sister used to call them when she was little. For a very long time, I thought it was their real name.
23. Ode to Mom. I don't talk about my mom much, and while I miss her every day, both of these double at the beach. It was her favorite place and for two weeks a year, I got to see my mom relax, not be a nurse, not working nights and enjoying every minute of having other people watch her kids. We find a reason to bring her up whenever something reminds us of her. It's a sad thought but a good one because we know she's glad we still make it there every year.
24. Last day on the beach. This day usually consists of complaining about having to leave, discussion travel plans and eating everything possible from the fridge. We all say we don't want to leave but secretly, it's comforting to know we can settle back into a routine when we get home.
25. Planning for next year. Since this vacation is somewhat of a constant in our life, we spend a great deal of time at the beach planning for the next year at the beach. We start the trip by picking up reality books and driving down the street to look at potential houses for the next year. We're picky, mainly because the houses have to fit certain requirements that we have become accustomed to over the years. 

 The next house is booked, we're all home safely and so begins another 365-day countdown to the next chapter of The Chilton Family Adventures at Sunset Beach. I don't hesitate to call the little island my second home because nothing else (other than Fredericksburg) has been so constant in my life. Thankfully, as long as we continue to commit to this trip every year, the next generation of Chilton's will know the wonders of spending every summer there, too.

I'm (not) Lovin' It

My little sister decided to grace me with her presence a few days before we headed to the beach. It's her first time in Charlotte since my older sister went to school here, but I had to leave both days and we were getting up early to go to the beach. The game plan was to get there early so we could enjoy most of Saturday afternoon on the beach. While we succeeded in that mission, breakfast proved to be a little more difficult.

 All ready to roll at 6am

There's a McDonald's right outside of my apartment complex but we decided against it. 5:30am is way to early to consider eating deep fried potatoes and chugging sweet tea. We decided to drive a little and stop when we got hungry and/or needed gas.

The trip from Charlotte to Sunset Beach is two roads: A tiny, windy, country back road and interstate 74 which goes directly into the beach. We gave up hope finding a McDonald's on the first road and the closest thing to food was a farmer's market that didn't open until 10. So we kept driving. We came to the intersection of the first and second roads and our hope lifted when we started noticing signs of a little city. So we bypassed the Bojangles and the Arby's then the Hardees because SOMEONE wanted a McGriddle. We came upon a McDonald's towards the edge of town and celebrated this tiny victory.

Wrong.

There was some form of construction going on in the parking lot and the McDonald's was closed. At this point it's about 9:00 in the morning, we've been up for three hours and still have had nothing to eat. 74 is like any other highway with exits and those convenient blue signs that tell you the gas, food and lodging at the upcoming exit. We looked at sign after sign and still saw no sign (pardon the pun) of a McDonald's. After much convincing, we settled on a Hardee's and I made moves to take the next exit.

Nope.

The Hardee's was 5 miles off of the exit. Being that it was in the morning and cell phone service was already a little rough, we got back on the highway and decided we would just wait for the McDonald's at the beach. We made a turn to follow 74 business towards the beach and were blessed with the Golden Arches up ahead. And then another one...and another one a few miles after that. After we stopped at the first McDonald's, there were at least 5 more in a 10 mile stretch.

There are McDonald's in Paris, London and China and it took us 4 hours to find one along the southern border of North Carolina.

Road trips with Molly are nothing short of eventful. Whether it's rogue spiders in the car or our ridiculous N*Sync sing-a-longs, it's definitely better than having to make even the shortest trip alone.

Organic Taste Experience

Situated about half a mile from my house is a well-known organic grocery store called Earth Fare. I've never had an interest in stopping there...most of the food I currently eat is overly processed and farther from "natural" than most of today's entertainment industry. In fact, most of what I eat could probably last days, maybe weeks without being refrigerated or sealed thanks to preservatives and unnatural yummies.

So when Mike and Whitney suggested we go there for dinner, they didn't see me, but I turned up my nose in the back of the car. Nothing about organic food interests me...not the smell, taste or look of it. I was craving something deep fried and processed and was starving from skipping lunch today, but in the nature of not being a Negative Nancy, I agreed that we could check it out. When Whitney gave me an out, saying "if you don't see anything you like, we can leave," I walked in with the intention of not finding anything appetizing and getting my deep fried happiness afterall.

Whelp...if I could afford it, I'd eat at Earth Fare everyday and make it my regular grocery store. The "Healthy Supermarket" (their words, not mine) had a more-than-appetizing salad bar, a handful of MTO sandwhiches and salads, and every type of cheese I could ever imagine. And it was all organic. The store doesn't sell anything that has artificial preservatives or artificial flavoring and most products don't even have artificial coloring. We walked around for a bit before deciding that we were in fact eating here and made our way to the salad bar.

I settled on the "Say Cheese" which is a grilled cheese with organic American and Cheddar cheeses. I got a side of fruit, made a little side salad and grabbed a bottle of Earth Fare brand raspberry lemonade. Mike and Whitney each had a salad and Mike had sushi while Whit chose a cup of Italian wedding soup. Everything, of course, was organic and crazy delicious.

After dinner, we decided to take a walk around to see what other goodies we could stumble upon. I ended up getting two bottles of wine made with organic fruits and ingredients and a six pack of Carolina Blonde, a light-colored beer from Winston Salem, NC. They grabbed some chocolate milk, a bottle of what I think was a malt liquor beverage and a bottle of wine. Expensive, but worth it, because I just fell in love with the Sangria I picked out.

Not only does the store provide organic foods but they support an organic lifestyle as well. There were a variety of cosmetics and cooking accessories that were made out of recycled or natural materials. The wine bottles all have twist off corks instead of the real corks, because cork trees are endangered and the containers we used for dinner were all biodegradable and recyclable. They don't even offer plastic as an option for your grocery bags. Mike informed me later that they don't like giving you bags at all. They'd much rather you bring your own every time.

It's a little pricey, as eating healthy can often be, but if nothing else, I will be going back for more wine and maybe another grilled cheese. I'm almost mad at myself for being so against it at the start. Here I am preaching about trying new things and expanding my horizons and I was upset about having to eat at an organic grocery store. Lesson learned, and next time I won't be so annoyed by something outside of my comfy little box.

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Time for another shout-ou:

Here is their website if you're interested in checking it out: http://www.earthfare.com/

Their home office is located in the southwest corner of NC near Asheville. Yay for supporting the local market!

It's Official!

Last Friday morning, I went in late to work so that I could get NC plates on my car. I was trying to delay it as much as possible but since my VA inspection was dead, I could either get NC plates or not go back to VA until I did. For a week, it felt like I was literally banned from the state of Virginia.

So as of around 9:30 last Friday morning, I made it official. I checked off everything on the "moving" list that my dad wrote out for me when I moved in. More specifically, I have an NC driver's license, registered to vote and registered my car complete with "First in Flight" North Carolina plates. I officially (legally) belong to the state of North Carolina. (I could return my VA plates to the lovely state of Virginia but I think I'm going to keep them and hang them up in my apartment somewhere. If I move again, I can just keep track of all the states I've lived in!)

To make it even more official, I had my first ever Bojangles experience today.

Bojangles was born and raised in Charlotte, NC and though I've been to North Carolina at least once a year every year of my life, I've never eaten at a Bojangles. When I told my coworkers this, they insisted we go there for lunch today; that and they have an all-you-can-eat lunch special on Wednesdays. I must admit, I was not disappointed. I had chicken, fries, mac and cheese (of course) and a biscuit and it was quite tasty. Very "KFC-like" but just a tad bit better.

So...NC license? Check. NC plates? Check. Bojangles Taste Experience? Check. Home Sweet Home! Not much left to do except figured out where everything else is and try all these hole-in-the-wall restaurants that keep showing up on food network.

Taste of Home

I can't cook. And, honestly, never had a true desire to learn. The closest I ever really get to cooking is boiling water to make my tortellini. I get a little fancy when I add the Parmesan cheese and Mrs. Fields Italian Seasoning, but for the most part, it's kid's stuff.

Being as picky as I am, I never appreciated the art and hard work that went behind the elaborate Thanksgiving meals my grandmother would "throw" together. She has this uncanny ability to make everything finish at exactly the same time and it's timed so precisely that all the food is ready the moment the last person shows up to eat. Her mad skills got passed down to my mother and my aunts but sadly, I think it skipped a generation after that. With the exception of a few dishes, my sisters and me couldn't even pretend to pull that kind of meal together.

Like Origami, "Learn to Cook" is one of the ongoing points on my Bucket List. (FYI - I plan to post the Bucket List here when I feel like it's "ready.") My other grandmother has told me numerous times that "if you can read a recipe, than you can cook." Sadly, the family dishes are more or less in the heads of the people that have been making them forever and are only written down when asked. I'm also in no place to commit the finances or the time into mastering these recipes when I don't even eat most of the food anyways.

Fortunately, baking is something that I'm good at and I enjoy the end product. Over the past year, I've attempted and succeeded in making my mom's pound cake (which starts with three sticks of butter and three WHOLE cups of sugar), homemade pumpkin and pecan pies, and cookies from scratch instead of the ones you buy in the box. My favorite thing to make, however, is the chocolate chip cookies from the Mennonite Farmers Market in Harrisonburg.

 Luckily, I still have connections in Harrisonburg and my BFF Jess was gracious enough to swing by the market and bring me a couple of bags of cookie mix when she visited this past weekend. Since it's not healthy to eat two dozen cookies on your own, I was itching for an occasion to make them. Yay for working in such a huge office with so many people because it literally took one day at work to find a cookie-worthy event.

Thank God I still have friends back in Harrisonburg and have a reason to visit because my life would be incomplete without these cookies. They always turn out great, taste great and look awesome. I've been telling the peeps at work that I was going to make cookies soon and since one of our co-workers starts the first day of his new promotion tomorrow, the timing could not have been better.

I'm not gonna lie when I say that I mostly make cookies to eat the dough. Screw the dangers of eating raw eggs and everything else they say will come out of eating raw baked goods. Our parents did it forever and they turned out fine. I tried one of each and literally congratulated myself...out loud...in my empty apartment. I'm oober excited to take them to work tomorrow.

It's technically baking, not cooking, and the only improvising I did was add extra chocolate chips and sprinkles to their respective cookie flavors. I'm satisfied with the end product and even more satisfied with how awesome they taste despite the fact that they were mostly the work of the awesome women at Grandma's Pantry (that's the name of the food shop in the farmer's market). Baking is one place to start on the road to "Learning to Cook", but I'm not quite ready to tackle some of the family favorites: specifically corn pudding and purple punch. Until then, I have my little Taste of Harrisonburg to get me through until Homecoming weekend.

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And here's my little shout-out: If you're ever in the Harrisonburg area, or are there and have never been, I highly recommend this Farmer's Market. You can get all kinds of mixes, cheeses, jams, syrups and it all tastes exactly how "grandma's cookin'" is supposed to taste.

Here's the website for it if you're interested: http://shenandoahmarket.net/

6 Months Ago

I've made a bunch of life-changing decisions recently that anyone would consider "big," and I've also adapted to a new lifestyle which includes 40-hour work weeks, happy hours and no school work. As I was ironing my clothes this morning for work, I got to thinking about all the things that have changed that aren't so life-changing but are more or less a change in how I do everyday activities. Whether these are necessary side-effects of growing-up or conscious changes towards adjusting to my new life, they were noticeable enough to keep track of.

These are the most notable ones in comparison to where I was in regards to these topics 6 months ago...

1. Ironing my Clothes

I don't find it ironic at all that the idea for this post came during ironing. Because six months ago...I didn't iron anything...ever. I didn't own an iron and can't remember the last time anything I owned was perfectly pressed. I didn't even iron my shirt for my Lowe's interview because, well, I didn't feel like it. (I don't even really buy clothes that you can't "machine wash with like colors" because hand washing and dry cleaning are way too much work.) I'm positive that my grandmother is literally gasping out loud at this revelation and my mother would have my head if she were around to see this happen. 

Regardless, I bought a bottom-shelf iron at Target and a tiny little ironing board a couple of weeks ago and have been ironing my work clothes. Because of logical reasoning I didn't have 6 months ago, I realized it's not professional to walk into a corporate office with wrinkles in your pants.

2. Work Clothes

This seemed like the next logical progression. And one I'm not too happy about. I hate that on my shopping trips, I have to constantly ask myself if what I'm looking at is work appropriate. And for the same reason, I can't bring myself to buy anything that can't be translated into a work outfit. This may be just a sign of growing up or that my wardrobe is taking a turn for the worst, but I can't seem to justify "play clothes" when my "work clothes" need some spicing up.

3. Paint My Nails

I've always gotten pedicures in the summer but now I feel under dressed if my finger nails aren't painted too. I attribute this to two things. First and most important, it's fun! Color is fun and no one can see my toes at work anyways. And second, the JMU concessions Nazi's don't let us have anything on our nails. For the past 6 years, I would paint my nails only to remove it a few days later so my polish didn't end up in someone's food. Probably a good rule and all, but now that I'm not constantly handling people's food, I've brought out the polish collection.

4. Try New Foods

In the past 6 or so months, I have tried Sushi, blue cheese dressing, specialty pizzas and for the first time ever, ate a chicken wing that actually had BBQ sauce on it. My diet has been anything but complete, and anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I still eat like a 5-year-old. So, I've adopted the "try it once" method and am trying everything, well, once. The aforementioned foods have worked their way into my regular diet but there are some that still didn't make it: hummus, eggplants, and spaghetti with meat sauce. I thought maybe with this new mentality they might taste better, but they're still as awful as they were when I was 12. 

5.  Make Lists

Myers-Briggs told me I was a "P" person. I don't make lists as a way to stay organized. Never have. I usually just do things as they come up. But I have invested money in more sticky notes and note pads over the past month than I care to remember. I make lists for EVERYTHING. Grocery store? Yuhp. Things to do at work? You bet. Things I want to buy when I have money? Oh, yes! I even went so far as to put sticky note paper up around my apartment so I can keep track of everything I want to buy for each individual room. I think I've gone crazy a little on that one.

6. Think about the Future

The future stresses me out. I'm an "in the moment" kind of person and past or future thought of any kind makes me queasy. The fact that I even have a five year plan is quite a miracle, but only time will tell if I'll even be able to follow it. My immediate future consists of furniture, maybe a vacuum, a car and a trip to Disney. I still have no desire to own a house or be permanently attached to anything or any location. However, I still find myself thinking about the future a lot and I've realized I need to start planning a little farther ahead than what time I get to sleep until on Saturday.

This isn't a complete list. Just the things I've noticed more recently and keep trying to stop - or not stop. Depending on the day. These little miniscule habits were major enough for me to notice but small enough that they're not affecting the important stuff - like my addiction to Lunchables and Saturday morning cartoons. I guess it's okay to not grow-up completely :)

Origami Update

Great news, Guys. If you flip the fortune tellers upside down, they double as ping pong ball holders. Fun and functional!!