Outer Banks NC - Dec 2025 and Jan 2026

We rented a house on the beach in Nags Head with the Raleigh crew for the New Years Week. We stayed the full week along with John/JoAnna, Phil/Joyce and Kim/Jonathan. Will/Cindy and Johnny Mac joined us one day later and the Artins joined us for two nights with the girls at the end of the week.

Accommodation:

John rented a seven bedroom house right on the beach in Nags Head.  We had nice views from the top floor with a large kitchen/dining/living room area.  The middle floor had a game room with pool table, shuffle board and poker table.  The bottom floor had a movie room but not enough chairs for us to use. 

House we rented

View from our house

Activities:

Our days consisted of morning walks, playing games, watching movies and relaxing. Shawna had recommended that each person put in a hat two movies that they want everyone else to watch and each day we picked one or two to watch.  We ended up watching the following movies: Love Actually, Princess Bride, Hoosiers, Green Mile, Grease, Barnyard, American President, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Bridgette Jones, Sixteen Candles, Jungle Cruise and Harold and Maude.

Watching movies

We ended up staying in for New Year's Eve and had fun playing games, making it to midnight.  Johnny Mac and Will decided to also do the polar plunge in the ocean after midnight. They had no other takers to join them but we did all watch as did the people in the house next to us!

New Year's Eve

One day, the group participated in a game called Task Master where teams were given tasks to perform and were scored by the Task Master which was Jonathan. Keith/Kate and the girls had arrived already at this point so they also participated.  Unfortunately, JoAnna and Shawna were both sick that day so they opted to sleep. Phoebe's team won.

Example of a task where you had to recreate a famous photo

Upon returning to Raleigh, we spent one more night at John and JoAnna's before flying out.  That evening, we went to see Anaconda, a reboot film with Jack Black and Paul Rudd - pretty funny!

Restaurants / Food:

Cooking:

We took turns cooking each day which for the most part created leftovers for lunch the following day.  We had the following yummy food:

Joyce/Phil - They made Mediterranean - we started with a Mezzo platter of hummus, baba ganoush, pita and veggies. They then served roasted lamb and chicken and rice for dinner with honey cake for dessert.

Dinner

Shawna/Keith - We went the cajun route - starting with cheese and crackers and then served jambalaya for dinner with bread pudding for dessert.

Kim/Jonathan - They went the Swiss route, making cheese fondue with bread, veggies and apples for dinner and chocolate fondue with strawberries, marshmallows, pound cake and rice crispy treats for dessert.  This was our New Year's Eve dinner. 

John/JoAnna - They went the Mexican route, making tortilla soup for lunch on New Year's Day.

Will/Cindy - They went the Italian route where we each made individual homemade pizzas. They got a variety of toppings so we could customize.

Keith/Kate - They also went Mexican and made shrimp tacos. 

John/Jonny Mac - On our last night, they chose Asian and made egg roll in a bowl (which is essentially the stuffing of an egg roll without the roll itself) and dumplings. 

Restaurants:

Mulligan's - On our drive in, we (Phil/Joyce, John/JoAnna) stopped here for a late lunch as we could not yet check-in to our house.  We sat upstairs and shared a salad and chowder. 

Slice - Our first night there, we ordered pizza to be delivered sharing four large pizzas.  They were pretty good but crust was a bit too doughy. 

Tortuga's Lie - We had lunch here on our second day, sitting outside since it was to be the warmest day. We shared a salad and fish tacos.

Bad Daddy's Burger Bar - Our last day in Raleigh, we had lunch here with John and JoAnna. We each got our own burger with fries and had a few starters.  We were so full that we did not eat dinner that evening. 

North Carolina - April 2024

After we returned from our two week trip to Mexico, we spent another week in NC at John and JoAnna's so that we could attend our 25th Fuqua reunion which was held at the end of the week as well as Ruby's bat mitzvah.  Leading up to the weekend festivities, we worked out a lot (both in John's gym as well as doing walks at Umstead and Wa Duke) and did some admin stuff but then also caught up with the following people:

• Keith met up with Anastasia (former colleague at LivCor) for breakfast at Hotel Casio Raleigh.

Breakfast with Anastasia

• We joined Kim, Jonathan, John, JoAnna, Will, Keith, Kate, Ruby and Johnny Mac at Namu Korean for trivia.  We played two rounds, winning first place in the first round and second place in the second round.  The food was pretty good as well.  

• Had lunch with Debbie Chang at Fosters.

Lunch with Debbie

We also drove by our old house and saw that they had painted it all white and fenced in the yard. It appears that it's the same owners that bought the house from us.  We thought they did a nice job!

Our old house

For reunion, we attended the following events:

For those who were in town early, we met up Thursday evening first at Julie's wine bar - Uncorked RTP and then second at Beer Study Durham. There was quite a showing so was good to get an early start and catch up with folks.  We stayed up late and got to bed past midnight!

Gang at Beer Study 

On Friday, we picked up Kim and Tom at the airport and drove to Durham.  They saw Andy at the curb so we gave him a ride as well.  We then picked up Rak at WaDuke and all went to lunch at Foster's - meeting up with Danelle, Emily, and Kara.  After lunch, we did a walk around WaDuke and then we got ready in Rak's room at WaDuke.  Everyone met up at the bar at JB Duke hotel for cocktails and then we all went over to Fuqua Friday for beer and heavy appetizers.  Still wanting more social time, we then all went back to the hotel bar for more drinks and chatting.  JoAnna and Shawna stayed a bit longer than Keith and John and ended up getting home past midnight!

Reunion photos

For Ruby's bat mitzvah, we attended the service on Saturday which lasted three hours.  While we didn't understand most of what was going on, it was so cool to watch the traditions of the service and of course to see Ruby and the rest of the Artin family participate in the ceremony.  Ruby did an amazing job!  After the service, we stayed for lunch (which was bagels and cream cheese and all the fixings) and then went back to John's for a nap.  

That evening, we attended her party which was held in Chapel Hill at an event space (used to be the wine bar when we were in school).  The party was a lot of fun - we danced and had a nice dinner of Mediterranean food!  We ended up staying until the party was over - 10pm.  We had originally intended on going back to Fuqua to join in on the after party but we were too tired so went back to John's and crashed.

Ruby's Bat Mitzvah

These events were a great way to end our East Coast roadtrip as we got to spend time with many of the people we love! Our next stop was to drive to Louisiana (over two days) to spend time with Shawna's mom.

North Carolina - Feb 2024

For our next leg of the East Coast road trip, we spent about three weeks in North Carolina.

Charlotte

Our first stop was one night at Lee and Judy's apartment in downtown Charlotte.  Keith worked with Lee at Aimco many years ago.  Before we met them, we visited the Nascar Hall of Fame in Charlotte where we quickly realized we know nothing about this sport!  After we arrived at Lee's place, we chatted for a bit and then went to dinner at 300 East where we shared a couple of apps for the table and then we split a fish dish for our entree - all very tasty.  After dinner, we watched the Super Bowl with them at their apartment and Judy made us some yummy chocolate chip cookies with ice cream.

Dinner with Lee and Judy at 300 East

The next morning, we worked out in their gym and then made the drive down to Wilmington.

Wilmington

We stayed at Stephanie and Todd's house in Hampstead which is about 20 minutes north of Wilmington.  We arrived late afternoon and caught up for a bit before heading out to dinner at Sweet n Savory where we shared the tuna poke and roasted Brussel sprouts apps for the table, the salmon for our entree and the cobbler and cheese cake desserts for the table.  The place was cute and the food was very good.

At Stephanie and Todd's house

The next day, we toured the Battleship NC in Wilmington which took us two hours.  It was really cool as we got to explore multiple levels of the ship including seeing the sleeping quarters, mess hall, kitchen, operating room, dentist office, etc - they had everything you could possibly need on this boat!  We had a bit of time to kill before dinner so we walked along the waterfront and had one beer at the Front Street Brewery.  For dinner, we met up with Juli (former colleague of Keith's) and Tom at Kipos which was a cute place with delicious Greek food.  We shared the spicy feta and grilled octopus for the table and lamb chops with a few of the sides for our entree.  After dinner, we had a glass of wine with Stephanie and Todd at their house before going to bed.

Dinner with Julie and Tom at Kipos

The following morning, we chatted over coffee and yogurt and then packed up the car to head to Raleigh.

Raleigh/Durham

We stayed for 12 nights at John and JoAnna's place in Raleigh - it was so nice to stay put for a while.  While here we did the following:

• Cooked dinner a few nights - one night making pasta and another making gumbo.

Cooked gumbo at John and JoAnna's house

• Played trivia at House of Hops - fun place near John and JoAnna's with good beer.

• Attended the Mardi Gras Supper Club at Phil and Joyce's house - had a great time seeing everyone.  Joyce made a jambalaya and a cajun pasta dish while others brought a few other sides and desserts.  Shawna brought a bread pudding for dessert.

Mardi Gras Party at Phil and Joyce's House

• Had dinner at Ken's house.  Ken was Shawna's boss when she worked at BCBSNC. Ken made some chicken with veggies.  It was nice to have a home cooked meal and catch up after all these years.

Dinner with Ken

• Went out with John and JoAnna to Drive Shack where we met up with Annie and Adam and the two boys to hit a few rounds of golf. We then all went back to John's place and ordered pizza and played a few games.

JoAnna, Annie and Eli at Drive Shack

• John cooked us dinner one night - a yummy salad and pasta.

And ate at the following places:

• Waraji - Met up with Keith for lunch and shared several rolls. We also ordered in from here one night. It is our favorite sushi spot in the area. 

• The Pit - Met up with Krissy (Keith worked with her at Steak and Ale many years ago) for dinner.  We shared a meat sampler platter - food was OK. 

Dinner at The Pit with Krissy

• Seraphine - Met up with Julie for dinner. This place is located near the ball park in downtown Durham.  It's a Louisiana themed place - really nice inside and food was yummy.  We shared a salad, a shrimp appetizer and blackened scallops for our entree.

Dinner with Julie at Seraphine

• Angus Barn - Had dinner with Ryan (Kim and Tom's son), John and JoAnna. We were shocked at how many people were there on a Tuesday night.  We all had steak with salad and potatoes.  Quite good given it's been around for such a long time.

Dinner with Ryan, John and JoAnna at Angus Barn

• Undercurrent Restaurant - Keith drove to Greensboro to meet up with a former colleague, Cindy, for lunch.  

• Buffalo Wild Wings - We all met up here for dinner to watch a Duke game, eating lots of fried food!  JoAnna, Keith, Kate and the Artin girls, Phil, Joyce and Jonathan met up.  The game was a blow out (meaning Duke won) so we didn't watch as much and chatted instead.

• Glenwood Grill - Had dinner with Beth and Lisa (former colleagues of Shawna's from BCBSNC) and Lisa's husband.  The restaurant was great with really good food. We shared a salad and fish dish.  It was so great to see them both.

Dinner with Beth and Lisa at Glenwood Grill

Memorial Day in NC - May 2023

We had planned on a weekend on Ocracoke with the NC gang.  Unfortunately the weather halted the ferry, so we redirected back to RDU but had a blast all the same! 

The gang bowling

We booked the 5pm Southwest flight on the Thursday before Memorial Day.  In the spirit of retirement frugality, we took the train to the airport which was only an hour.  We even got there in time for a beer and tacos before the flight took off.  John picked us up in JoAnna's car as his was in the shop.  After a couple of beers we went to bed, knowing we were up at 4am to drive to Ocracoke.

Phil and Joyce met us at the house at 5:30am on Friday so we could ride with them.  About 90 minutes on the road to Swan Quarter Ferry,  John got a text saying that the ferry was canceled because of high winds.  We pulled off the highway to have a brainstorm session at Bojangles.  After considering a variety of options around the Outer Banks, we opted to head back to RDU and just take advantage of the local area.  Kim and Jonathan were already out that way from the night before, so they redirected back to the city.  After unloading at John's house, we went to 10th and Terrace on the rooftop of Residence Inn in Raleigh for drinks and a few appetizers.  Keith, Kate, and the girls met us there, before we all walked to Morgan Street Food Hall for dinner via the Raleigh train station.  A stop at Videri Chocolate Factory also might have happened...  Post dinner we went to The Box Car for video games, which was shockingly busy!

Out and about in Downtown Raleigh

Saturday we all met at the Drive Shack, a Top Golf-like facility.  The place was already booked, so we put our names down for a couple of bays.  It took at least an hour for a waiter to show up to get us drinks and appetizers.  Once the two bays opened, we did have a great time.  After cleaning up at the house, we made our way to Phil and Joyce's house for some incredible Cuban food - a really fun night.

Golfing

Yummy dinner at Joyce and Phil's

Sunday morning, a few of us met at Fosters for brunch.  It was a drizzly morning but we were able to get a couple of tables outside.  We then went to Bowlmor Lanes for 2.5 hours of bowling which was a blast - and fun to go back to the place we had bowling league while at Duke.  We Ubered back to John's, had a nap, and then went to Keith and Kate's for dinner - Italian, hosted by them, with Phoebe providing her amazing bread.  Julie was able to join us for dinner, as was Johnny Mac.  

Final bowling score

Yummy dinner at Keith and Kate's

Monday we decided to get the earlier flight home, arriving at 12:30.  Just in time to prep for the big move!

Outer Banks NC - Sept 2021

NC Crew + Snarrs

For Shawna's final (although Keith doesn't believe it) 50th birthday celebration, we rented a house in the Outer Banks over Labor Day weekend with our NC friends.  We had 7 couples and 4 kids in the house and had a great time enjoying the surprisingly great weather, playing games, laughing our hearts out and eating way more than we should have!  Included in the house were: Keith/Kate (with the two girls), John/JoAnna, Phil/Joyce, Kim/Jonathan, Steve/Amy and Kim/Tom (who drove down from NJ with Riley and her friend).

Our rental house

We flew into NC a few days prior and stayed at John's house - Keith visited properties while Shawna worked from the house.  On Thursday, we all drove out (we rode with Phil and Joyce as John didn't have enough room in his car) to the beach with most of us arriving around 4pm (the Snarrs came on Saturday).  We checked into the AirBnB rental which was a great house - three stories with plenty of bedrooms, a very large kitchen and dining/living room on the top floor with views of the ocean, several decks out back, some games and a movie theater on the ground floor, and a pool and hot tub in the backyard.  Our only complaint is that the landscaping in the back could have used some work.  After we landed on our bedrooms and got settled in, we had some beers and enjoyed some of the amenities of the house.  John and JoAnna ordered pizza for dinner from Nags Head Pizza Company and then we had some ice cream for dessert from Booty Treats that was right across the street from the house.  

Hanging out on the deck

Pizzzaaaa

On Friday morning, most of us (except John and JoAnna) went on a two hour boat tour to see dolphins in the sound - there were plenty to see!  It was also nice to see some of the islands and lighthouses out on the water as well.

Dolphin Tour

For lunch, Jonathan and Kim made their yummy veggie wraps and then that afternoon, we hung out at the pool/hot tub.  For dinner, Joyce made an amazing meal of Caribbean lamb stew with beans and rice and of course a lemon cake (Shawna's favorite) for dessert.  

Yummy Caribbean Lamb Stew

On Saturday, we went out to the beach in the morning and then had lunch hosted again by Kim and Jonathan who this time made a great salad and sausage rolls.  Kim and Tom arrived right after lunch, bringing cookies with them from Crumbl which we of course all tried.  In the afternoon, we hung out again at the pool/hot tub, drinking and chatting.  

Beach time

That evening, Shawna and Keith hosted dinner - we had arranged for Outer Banks Boil Company to do a seafood boil at the house including shrimp, corn, potatoes, lobster and crab along with key lime pie for dessert.  We all had dinner out on the deck and while we all ate a ton, we still had some leftovers that we used the next day to make chowder.  

Yummy seafood boil

On Sunday, everyone did their own thing in the morning - there was a group of us peeling all the leftover seafood to make the chowder.  After lunch, we kicked off the 'Beach Olympics' which sounds way more active than it really was.  We divided the teams into girls and boys and each person wrote down their proposed competition on a piece of paper.  Joyce was our judge who then drew each competition from the bowl and then we had to decide who from our respective teams would compete, knowing that everyone eventually had to play one of the games and you could not have someone compete in two games in a row.  The games included: standing up from a lying down position while holding a cup of water, describe in a sentence the plot of Forest Gump (which was quite funny), Catch Phrase, shuffle board, holding breath under water, hair flip in the pool, pool relay on floats, shot put, and the ultimate competition - relay running into the ocean and tagging John's hand while we stood out there battling the waves!  The girls won 6-4!  Needless to say there were a lot of laughs.  That night for dinner, the Artins made a tasty Italian meal of pesto pasta, sausage, and eggplant parm!

Beach Olympics!

On Monday, everyone (except Kim and the girls and Steve/Amy) did a 1.5 hour kayaking tour along one of the rivers.  We saw snakes and a spider and lots of pretty plants and trees.  

Kayaking Tour

On our way home, we stopped for an ice cream treat and then had lunch which was leftovers from prior meals plus some freshly boiled shrimp.  That afternoon, we spent more time on the beach.  For our last dinner, Steve and Amy made over two hundred dumplings along with some beans and steamed fish - so yummy!  Since we did not have enough of games from the day prior, we decided to do the cereal box game which brought a lot of laughs - JoAnna won again!

Yummy dumplings!

After a quick breakfast on Tuesday morning, we packed up and left the house around 9:30 to head back to Raleigh.  We rode back again with Phil and Joyce who then dropped us off at John's house.  Once we got there, we went out for a burger and fries (as if we needed anymore food at this point) at Red Robin in Brier Creek and then took a nap back at the house before heading to the airport to fly back to Chicago.  

"Fashion" shoot!

What a great way to wrap up the summer and to celebrate with great friends!