Oak Island, NC - Shells, Bikes, and Relaxation

We hit the road on December 15th.

After two full months of prepping our house to sell, selling furniture on FB Marketplace, moving things into storage, and finally closing on the sale — we were done. The house was sold. We were officially homeless. And it felt amazing.

The Road to Oak Island

We didn’t head straight to the beach. First, we made our way to Indiana to visit family — two nights split between Fort Wayne and Avon. Then we swung through Raleigh, NC to visit a cousin.

And then… Oak Island.

Three nights. Just the two of us.

The AirBnB

Our AirBnB was wonderful. Cozy, comfortable, and it came with bikes.

Bikes!

That turned out to be one of the best parts of the whole stay.

Biking Around Oak Island

We took full advantage of those bikes. We rode around the island, explored the area, and made our way to the beach — more than once.

There’s something about cruising along on a bike with the salt air and no particular agenda that just melts the stress right off you.

And after the couple of months we’d had? We needed that.

The Beach

December on a North Carolina beach is not the same as July. We loved it.

The beach was quiet. Peaceful. Ours.

We walked the shoreline, picked up shells, and just… breathed.

Ben found a starfish. Actually, we found several — scattered along the wet sand. There were shells, too, in all shapes and sizes.

A flock of seagulls had claimed a stretch of the beach as their own. They weren’t bothered by us one bit.

The ocean sparkled in the winter sun. The waves were steady and calming. It was exactly what we needed.

A Note from My Journal

I wrote about it at the time — and I’ll let that say it best.

“A relaxing day. Highlights were biking around the island, walking the beach, looking at shells…”

That pretty much sums it up.

Oak Island in December

If you’ve never considered a beach trip in December, we’d say — consider it.

No crowds. Cooler temps (bring a layer). And a kind of quiet beauty that the summer version just doesn’t have.

We weren’t there to swim or soak up the sun. We were there to decompress. To mark the beginning of something new. And Oak Island delivered.

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This was stop #4 on our US adventure — after Fort Wayne, Avon, and Raleigh. More stops to come!