Coming Home to the Crystal Coast
I’ve loved the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina since I was a little girl. Back in the early to mid-1970s, my family spent quite a few vacations at Emerald Isle. Dad and Momma’s best friends, Don and Vicky Speckhard, had a quaint little cottage a block from the ocean, and both our families stayed there together. Don was my Dad’s best friend, and Vicky and Momma were thick as thieves.
The Sandpiper – at least that’s what I remember it being called – was a dark brown cottage settled snugly in a nest of sand dunes and seagrass. I remember trying my best not to step on those horrible little sand spurs while climbing the dunes that led from the porch to the beach access road. Some days, I was successful.
Back then, I remember the beach being so quiet –there were some days where I felt as if my friend, Carin, and I had it all to ourselves. And at night, I would sleep on the bed in the living room, right underneath the giant swordfish on the wall. There were a few times I could swear his eyes moved. To this day, I still get nervous when I see one in a seafood restaurant.
Me (on right) and Carin, Emerald Isle, 1974.
Momma, Me, and Carin, Emerald Isle, 1975.
On days when the wind was a bit rough, Dad would hook my kite to his fishing rod, and we’d fly it from the porch – it was one of those black bat kites with the huge google eyes. He’d also take that fishing rod down to the Bogue Pier, where he taught me how to cast and catch flounder. I loved that place… and I loved my Zebco 202 fishing rod. While I tried my best not to get my tackle hooked to the pier, Momma would often sit on a bench and think. She was a worrier – now, I know from whence I inherited that trait.
Momma Sitting on the Bogue Inlet Pier, Fall 1976
Actually, we started visiting the area a few years before our family trips with the Speckhards. Momma’s sister - my Aunt Bobbi - and Uncle Mel managed a campground near Ft. Macon State Park shortly after they married in 1970. It was located on the sound side of the island, and I seem to recall that the A-frame house they lived in also served as the campground office. I was around four years old when we visited them, and that first visit proved to be a memorable one.
Dad and Uncle Mel took a little sailboat out into the sound and had to swim with it to shore when it capsized. I recall it took them quite a while to make it to shore, and Momma and Aunt Bobbi weren’t too pleased with their little adventure. I also recall a night where, after getting overly excited playing board games and drinking too much orange Hi-C, I barfed all over Aunt Bobbi’s sofa. The thought of Hi-C still makes my stomach churn to this day.
Atlantic Beach was where I discovered just how much fun (and competitive) miniature golf could be. Our matches at Jungleland could take several hours, as everyone in our family and in Don and Vicky’s family had to play… and pose for photographs. It was expected that, before the evening was through, someone’s ball would disappear into a Ty-D-Bol blue water trap.
Jungleland, 1975 (with my favorite Vinny Barbarino t-shirt)
Dad lines up his putt while Carin, Vicky, and Don wait... and wait...
There was no doubt that my Dad adored the NC coast, especially the lower Outer Banks. Most of his paintings were inspired by memories of his visits over the years, and several of them are available in my online shop. Although he dreamed of living at the coast, life just had a funny way of doing things a little differently and in its own time.
When he was in hospice in the fall of 2023 (metastatic lung cancer), we had several good recollections and chuckles over the moments I just shared here. He also told me that he wished for some of his ashes to be left at the coast, so he could finally “live” there. I arranged for that to happen, shortly after he passed away in January 2024.
It started as a somber trip – I hadn’t been to the area in quite a few years, but as we crossed the causeway at Swansboro, and the first sign that said “Emerald Isle” appeared, it all started flooding back to me. We visited the Bogue Inlet Pier, and a huge smile covered my face as the sign for Jungleland appeared in the distance.
We stayed at the Atlantis Lodge – a place I had heard about from my time working a seasonal position with Our State magazine’s online store. When we pulled up to the front entrance, it felt as if we’d gone back in time to the early 1960s. Despite the cold temperatures of a March weekend, the bright and cheery colors and mid-century vibe throughout the room made me feel right at home. Don and Vicky’s cottage was long gone, but I had found my new “happy place”.
From the many photos taken over the weekend, it was easy to see just how captivating Atlantis Lodge was, even at the end of winter. It had also become a special place of "coming full-circle" with my Dad.
So, I took a few of my favorites and created prints, greeting cards, and some retro postcards to share with the owner, Tod.
He loved them!
Now they’re available exclusively in the gift shop at Atlantis Lodge. I hope if you visit, you’ll have a look and find one that helps you remember your special time there.
Flying a Kite for Dad
What's YOUR favorite Crystal Coast memory? Feel free to share in the comments.