NAGS HEAD - The Saga of Ernesto, a broken foot & a runaway UPS truck

Akjn arrived in Kill Devil Hills, NC on Thursday afternoon. The drive was easy - Route 13 the whole way, and we encountered just a slight drizzle as we left VA and entered NC.
This is our college buddy Dre's (Andreas) house that we stayed in. It is awesome-cathedral ceilings, multiple decks off the back of the house, a huge screened in back porch, and central A/C that was buried at 65 all weekend.




Ernesto hit us early Friday morning around 2am, and thrashed until 6am. There was lots of lightning, thunder and high winds. We watched as much as we could from Dre's crow's nest, before having to get inside from the stinging rain. Very cool.
This is Nags Head beach on Friday at about 2pm. The sea was angry, my friends! All of the red 'No Swimming' flags were out, and the beaches were deserted.
The weather wasn't that bad - great breeze. Perfect for some shopping activity-akjn love the surf stuff, and the stores did not disappoint.



Saturday at the beach - glorious!!! That's Kevin, just in from surfing some 6 ft waves right in front of us. His mom is Susan, the blond bending over, and his wife, Kim, is in the lower right.
Susan and her husband Reeves live in Nags Head in the summer, then head to Isla Mirada in the FL Keys for the winter... not too bad at all.

They were amazing hosts who we pretty much hung out with every night. She had one fridge just for champagne, so you know JGlow had found her heaven.



JGlow and Kim, taking in the sunset while sipping the bubbly at Susan & Reeve's. Just fabulous! Kim could totally hang with the pollyanna girls - she is hilarious! Most of the college buddies wives are lame ... I think it is because those girls didn't go to Old Dominion ... we've got something they don't.

Later this evening, Kim and I teamed up as the only girls playing blackjack with the boys and won the whole pot ... $4.00!
I totally drunk-text messaged CNN, too!



JGlow and Brandon, Jeffe's boy. He is totally animated...running right into the ocean with no fear, talking all kinds of nonsense, walking up to strangers on the beach and talking nonsense to them, etc. He's a happy little guy, and very friendly.








Sunday was another beauty! We headed to the beach again (a record for akjn), and enjoyed watching Dre and Kevin surfing 8 footers. Then Kim noticed that Kevin was kind of floundering and drifting in the water...all of a sudden Dre was swimming after him along with 2 old ass lifeguards, a guard on a jet ski, and a guard on an ATV on the beach. Once he was on the beach, it was obvious that he had done something to his right foot. We headed to the hospital, conveniently located across the street, where it was determined that he had broken the top of his foot and all of the bones leading to his toes, would need surgery, pins, blah blah.

Note to readers: this is the start of surf season, and Kevin & Kim live 2 blocks off VA Beach-this was not good news.
We got Kevin back home and pumped that boy full of percs and pale ale, and we all hung out and watched the pictured sunset together. We were all glad that Keving was going to be okay. Drinks went down very easy and very fast that night for all of us.

Monday-Ak picks up Kevin so he can lounge in the back of the Lex, Kim drove her car, and I drove Kevin's totally rad black truck back to VA Beach. It was a funny convoy. Ak and Kevin looked like 'Driving Miss Daisy' from the back. We hung out with them for a bit at their casa, then got on the road and headed home. Another easy trip, knock on wood. For as much as I complain about living here, it was so good to be home, and throw open all of the windows. You can't say enough about sleeping in your own bed.

Tuesday-back to the grind: an appointment with mama, laundry, unpacking, grocery shopping to restock our fridge ... seemingly normal. Oh no, of course not! At around 3pm, we get a call from Dre in NC, saying that while Kim was driving Keving to see the orthopedic surgeon, a UPS truck with bad brakes hit a car, which hit them, and their Jeep rolled 3 times. Thank goodness, they are okay ... very bruised & so sore, but okay. Poor Kevin was laid out in the back of the Jeep with no seatbelt, so he just hurts everywhere. The guy in the first car may not make it.

Summary: An unforgettable weekend, with a storm, old friends, new friends, and good times. Then something happened that made akjn step back and take stock in the importance of our friends. Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life.

Peace, peeps.