Now that the northern hemisphere started its journey into winter I dread the onset of the infamous winter blues. Fall is nice - winter is not. I could have late spring to early fall year-round.
When I grew up in the northern half of Germany we still had snow in winter, these days my fam tells me - not so much. This would be o.k. for me because I have never been much of a winter person. I now live in New Jersey and unfortunately for me, we do get winter, with storms and snow and ice and all that fun stuff. It may not be as cold and as much snow as further up north, but it is plenty and definitely way too much for me.
Usually, we are trying to extend the warmer season by escaping NJ. Ideally, unlike the past year, we will go to the Caribbean for a week or two before spring starts in NJ, and then in fall, we drive about 10 hours south to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
Due to the travel restrictions in place, we haven't been to the Caribbean in two years but instead opted to go to the Outer Banks earlier this year in April. All photos you see in this post were taken on beaches either in Avon, NC or on Lighthouse Beach.
Seems a bit out of place, too far off the coast, right? That is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. First built in the late 18th century it actually got relocated 1500 ft further inland in the late 90s because of the ongoing coastal erosion.
This erosion here on the southern Outer Banks is no joke. When we came here the first time in 2011 I still remember that the oceanfront houses were protected from the ocean by high dunes. Only 10 years later and most of these dunes are gone.
I would not want to stay in one of the oceanfront houses when a hurricane hits. Which is quite likely to happen as the Outer Banks are right in the path of most hurricanes moving up north from the Caribbean.
We usually love to stay here oceanfront which wouldn't be affordable for us unless a) you share one of the houses with another family to split the cost or b) you came here outside the main season, which is what we do.
Being able to fall out of bed onto the beach or into the ocean and at night to fall asleep to the sound of the surf - it is totally worth it.
Obviously one of the best things to do is simply take a walk on the beach. It is a photographer's dream, well, at least mine. Although I have to admit that after 10 years I am no longer taking my DSLR with me. All of these photos were shot with my iPhone 12 Pro.
I love the fact that I can get close and personal to the surf with my phone camera. Hubby used to freak out that I might drop the phone into the water but has relaxed somewhat over the years.
Just look at the different patterns you can find on the beach... so much to see. And I haven't even shown you any photos of shells, sunrises or dramatic clouds yet.
And after a long or short day on the beach or in the water when you are back at your house, you can enjoy the beautiful view and quiet of sundown or moonrise or both at the same time.
I happened to have these two photos on my phone, but they are by no means a good example of the sunsets/sunrises you see around here. I may have to whip up another post just with those. And clouds - love the cloud formations.
Anyways, that's it from me today.
I hope you enjoyed this little excursion to the beach for #beachwednesday by #uwelang and #fridayfreewrite by 
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