Time for another road trip... I know it seems like I live on the road. My cousin, Phil, invited me to his destination wedding on Bald Head Island, also known as Cape Fear, this past weekend. My caravan of guests included Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rick, MomMom, the two sisters, and the parental units. I had an absolutely fabulous time and I believe that a yearly extended-weekend excursion might be called for.

We left Lancaster at 5:10am on Friday morning and arrived at the ferry dock at 4:30pm. We boarded the 5pm ferry for Bald Head Island. Once on the island our luggage was loaded onto a tram, where we were shuttled to our house. There are no cars on the island, except for police vehicles and the occasional repair truck.

The only way to get around is by golf cart. Each house comes equipped with a golf cart or two for use while on the island. It just so happened that it was raining when we arrived and continued to rain off and on throughout the weekend, making it less than ideal for golf carting.

Laura, Crista, and I jumped into our 4-person golf cart on Friday night at 6:39pm to make it to the market before 7pm for groceries. Armed with a map of the island, our gps, and limited knowledge of our location we attempted to find our way to the grocery store. We ran out of the house so quickly that we forgot our cell phones. The only address we knew for sure was that of my aunt and uncle, where we were eventually going for dinner.

The rain was coming down quite steadily, greatly impairing my driving vision through the plexiglas. We only found three plastic sides to the cart, so water and wind came into the cart from all sides. The lights on our cart weren't very bright and the road signs were set back off the road where the lights couldn't reach them without driving off the road. After circling around we ran out of time for the store, so we followed the gps to my aunt and uncles for dinner.

Little did we know that while we were lost in the night rain, our parents and company were stranded along the road with a broken golf cart. They pulled away from the house and stalled 100 yds from the front door in the pouring rain, and had to push it to the side of the road (where it still sat the next day). Luckily a tram car came barreling along seconds after their current ride left them sit. This incident only added to the list of issues we had with the house we were staying in.

The house was beautiful and was packed full of extras, but our list of issues started in the first few minutes of our stay. Someone left trash in the kitchen, laundry in the washer and dryer, burnt out lights inside and outside the house, and roaches were found in the dishwasher drawers.

The house boasted the service of a professional decorator and it showed in all of the little details of the decor. While dad was leaving messages about all of the house issues, we discovered another big problem... no propane for cooking. The burners, oven and even the gas grill outside were out of gas. I managed to find an electric skillet and tried to cook our breakfast eggs on it without them pouring over the edge.

The managing company made a visit and decided to try to find us another house. Meanwhile we were off to a luncheon with the wedding party and relatives.

Each morning we took a walk around the island, either on the beach or through the nature preserve. The shell collecting was fun and the morning walks were entertaining.

We had to keep mom on track!

On a walk through a park we happened upon this little tower. It was open for a climb to the top and provided good views of our first house.

On Monday morning we took a walk through the nature preserve. While dad was talking I heard a deer rustling through the trees, so we quieted and kept our eyes peeled. I moved on ahead with my camera perched for a shot. I heard dad and Laura making noises behind me, but figured they were just being crazy. Turns out I'm the crazy one, they were trying to get my attention because they saw the deer. So no picture of deer.

Dad did almost hit deer with the golf cart the one night as he rounded the corner. His cart was first to stop and then Laura driving right behind him, good thing we avoided hitting them (we didn't need any more stories!).

On Saturday the managing company came by the first house to take us to see another house (pictured above). We thought the first house was amazing, but this house was right on the beach and possessed spectacular views of the ocean and stunning design inside.

The beach view side of the house. Each room had it's own unique view... glorious! Laura, Crista, and I had the room on the second floor with the balcony (because there was a king and queen bed in that room).

Our bedroom

The balcony view

Our bathroom

Living room which was open to the dinning room and kitchen

Kitchen... complete with no propane appliances!

The view from the living room.

This is the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina that is still standing. We took a tour to the top to catch the views.

The view to the top... the stairs kept winding up and up. Making my knees grow weaker and weaker, but I made it to the top.

A view of the wedding chapel from the lighthouse.

It was a beautiful spot for a wedding.

It was a very nice ceremony. The Rev. Dr. Robert Thompson, or sometimes referred to as the groom's father, performed an excellent ceremony (I enjoyed the homily).

The Thompson cousins... welcome to the family MC.

The sisters sporting black and gray and we didn't even try it.

Everything at the reception was themed very tastefully around the beach. I loved the design of the entire event.

My travel companion.

The cousins, Cara and Jeni, along with MomMom. I enjoyed the little we did get to hang out during the weekend. You're welcome north anytime!

Phil and MC's first dance.

My relatives that were able to make the wedding. We had a terrific time, I'm glad that we can enjoy each other. May there be many more reasons that bring us together for fun and laughter in beautiful surroundings.