Holden Beach Day One

Swimming in the ocean feels like being an ice cube in carbonated water.  The water fizzes and bubbles, rushing to the surface and calming down to a semi-stagnant level.  I love diving in and getting caught in the sideways undertow, surrendering my body to the wildness of nature.  The ebb and flow matches the beat of my heart, and I feel as though I was born to belong to the water.  The hours leading up to our time here at house 827, Sugar and Spice, was a blur and strictly a prerequisite to spending the week on the ocean.  We’ve never been to Holden Beach in the summer, and while the island was much busier than it is in the spring, our house is so far down the boardwalk that traffic was thin and beachgoers were sparse.  I dropped my bag, threw on my swimsuit and ran into the water.  Instantly, my brain reached for recognition of familiarity, and I felt at home.  Brendan and I wave jumped and sea shell searched with Nicole, Eric, my parents and Liam until the water and sun had us too exhausted to continue on without food.  The water temperature felt close to 80 degrees, and the outside temperature was around 100, which was not as hot as it sounds because the breeze coming off of the ocean cooled the air instantly.  For dinner we ordered Domino’s pizza, and as we were waiting for it to be delivered, Eric, my dad, Brendan and Nicole played Hillbilly Golf while I continued to play in the ocean – I just can’t get enough.  We ate our food on rocking chairs overlooking the water, watching as the pelicans nose dived for their meals.  While half of the group went to the grocery store after dinner for more food than 50 people can eat in a week, the other half of us played oh hell and took a walk along the waves.  Although Po hasn’t taken his boots off yet, he did stroll with us.  Once the groceries were put away, we took another walk to watch the sun set, and Eric and Brendan decided to take one last dip before the day was over.  We ended our first night in Holden Beach, North Carolina, with a game of oh hell and watching Miss Congeniality on TV.  So far, there haven’t been any arguments or misunderstandings, which is quite a feat when 12 people are living in one house together.  We’ll see how long that continues, but for now, we’re all content knowing we’ll wake up to the sound of the waves pounding on the surf, reminding us that nature never wavers.