This trip started a little differently for me. I was already missing Kim before Mom and I ever got on the plane. Adventures are usually something Kim and I do together, so heading off without my best friend beside me felt a little strange.
But I was also really grateful. Kim stayed home to take care of Lita, and because she did, Mom was able to make this trip with me. That meant a lot. I missed Kim from the start, but I also knew she was the reason Mom and I could have this adventure together.
Chapter 1 — Day 1: Getting to Hyco Lake
Getting Mom and me from Des Moines to North Carolina was an adventure before we ever got to the family reunion.
Two flights, wheelchair assistance, delays and all the normal airport fun eventually got us to Raleigh-Durham and headed toward Hyco Lake.
By the time we reached the house, the place was already starting to feel like a reunion. Family was arriving, bags were getting dropped, food and drinks were appearing, and Mom’s new walker got put together and ready to go.
It was a long travel day, but finally being at the lake with everyone made it worth it.
Chapter 2 — Day 2: Settling Into Lake Life
Day 2 slowed things down considerably.
Coffee. Breakfast sandwiches. Eventually a few noon beers. 😆
And then Hyco Lake started doing what lakes do best — convincing everybody that whatever else might have been planned really wasn’t all that important.
We floated, talked, laughed and generally accomplished very little.
Perfect.
Dinner became camp potatoes, burgers and drinks, followed by one of those wonderfully pointless family debates about whether North Carolina mosquitoes were somehow different from Colorado mosquitoes.
Later there were more family arrivals, more talking, and eventually s’mores.
Nothing particularly spectacular happened.
Which is kind of what made it spectacular.
Chapter 3 — Day 3: Family, Floating & Hyco Lake
Day 3 may have been my favorite kind of vacation day.
Breakfast in the morning, racing pulling part of the crew away for a while, and eventually a couple of quiet hours floating around Hyco Lake.
Ashley and I stayed back and talked about family, parents getting older, life changing whether anybody asks permission or not, and all the stuff that seems to sneak into conversations when you’re floating around a quiet lake with nowhere else you need to be.
Along the way we watched a massive turbine being moved toward the power plant and spotted an osprey.
Not exactly something I expected to put on the North Carolina vacation bingo card.
The evening was pizza and everybody gathering around the table. No agenda. No hurry. Just family.
Pretty hard to complain about a day like that.
Chapter 4 — Day 4: Hyco Lake to Carolina Beach
Hyco Lake — One Last Morning
After a slow wakeup, the whole house came alive.
With some pretty awesome teamwork, bags got packed, food got rounded up, cars got loaded and somehow we got everybody moving.
Before we scattered, we managed to get the family group picture.
And apparently none of us realized until later that we looked like a band of pirates. 🤣🏴☠️
Honestly, that may be the perfect ending to the Hyco Lake part of the trip.
Carolina Beach — The Great Migration
Then it was on the road to Carolina Beach, with a stop at Erik and Ashley’s house along the way. Ashley had work, and we left Rory there with her, so the traveling crew got a little smaller before we headed for the coast.
We spent about four hours in the cars and somehow arrived at the VRBO about half an hour early. That led to a completely unproductive stretch of trying to decide what to do next until we finally settled on lunch.
At about 4 PM. 😂
We went down the road to The Spot Bar & Kitchen for some decent fish sandwiches and cold beers.
Afterward I walked back and got my first feel of the waves crashing onto the shore and some sand between my toes.
The evening was wonderfully low-key. Everybody sat around, talked and relaxed. I made my way back to the beach for another stroll, then back to the house for drinks and more conversation.
Erik and Ashley’s daughter Jaime showed up later, so we joked that we’d traded Rory for Jaime. 😂
Hyco Lake was behind us.
And the ocean was officially part of the adventure.
Chapter 5 — Day 5: Beach Time, Family & Fajitas
Day 5 started slow, but at this point we were officially on beach time.
After a cup of coffee, Chery, Kyle and I made a Publix run for supplies for the house. I picked up everything for chicken fajitas, fresh pico de gallo and guacamole, plus black beans and rice for dinner.
Shopping mission complete, I carved out a little time for myself and headed down to the beach with a chair and absolutely no plans.
A little swimming. A little sun. A whole lot of nothing.
Eventually Chery, Cameron and Quinn joined me, and the beach really came alive. The waves were just right for some minor attempts at body surfing and working the boogie boards. The water temperature was perfect, the weather could not have been better, and there was just enough ocean breeze to make the whole afternoon ridiculously easy to enjoy.
And the best part? The beach is about a three-minute walk from the house if you are really taking your time. 😎
Pretty much everybody spent a lot of time in the water. Mom stayed planted in her front-row beach seat watching all of us act like kids, but eventually even she got in on it when the high tide reached far enough up the sand to tickle her toes.
That made me smile.
Later, it was back to the house and time to cook. Chicken fajitas, fresh pico, guacamole, black beans and rice hit the table, and apparently everybody approved because there was absolutely nothing left.
And that was not because I made too little.
There were seconds. There were thirds. There were no survivors. 😂
Beach, family, good food and nowhere we needed to be.
That is a pretty damn good vacation day.
Chapters 6–8 — The Part We Didn’t Plan
Tuesday morning, beach time came to a pretty abrupt stop when Mom had a health issue that meant a trip to the hospital in Wilmington.
From there, the trip changed. Plans shifted, people adjusted, and the next couple of days became a mix of waiting, checking in, changing travel arrangements and doing what families do when life throws a curveball.
Even in the middle of all that, there were still meals, conversations and time together. Nothing about the ending went exactly the way we expected, but everybody kept showing up for each other.
Eventually, most of us started making our way home. Some trips were smoother than others, with delays and changed plans along the way. I had to head back to Iowa while Mom stayed in North Carolina a little longer, with Erik keeping a close eye on things and helping with whatever she needs until she can make it home.
Epilogue — Keep the Little Things Little
Now that I’m home, what sticks with me most isn’t the way the trip changed at the end.
It’s the lake.
The beach.
The meals around the table.
The ridiculous conversations.
The laughs.
The pirate picture.
The sound of the ocean.
And Mom sitting close enough to the water for the high tide to finally reach her toes.
This trip ended up being a pretty good reminder that the little things really should stay little.
Schedules change. Plans fall apart. People disagree. Life gets messy.
But the important stuff is pretty simple.
Spend time with the people you love. Take the picture. Stay at the table a little longer. Laugh at the dumb stuff. And don’t let the small things steal time from the big things.
Because none of us really knows how many of these moments we get.
We went to North Carolina for a family reunion.
And in the end, that’s exactly what mattered most.
Being together.
My heart is still split knowing I had to leave Mom in North Carolina. But coming home to Iowa — and especially coming home to Kim — eases that ache. Being wrapped back up in the love, comfort and joy of home is exactly what my heart needed after a week like this.
And the arrival of uncle Carl was a nice addition to the family reunion. Too bad that he missed the fun part, but Mom really appreciated his visit.
Oh, and Americans being introduced to chili on rice – we can all use more carbs, right? 😘