Sunrise at OBX with Ben and Eleanor

Last Thursday Ben came home from work and suggested we go to the beach for the weekend.  He has heard a lot about the Outer Banks, I grew up going there, and we have been meaning to go since we moved to N.C.  I told him we should wait until the fall to beat the tourists, and, after all that has happened, we found ourselves too busy to go.  Going last weekend seemed impulsive, but perfect.

We got into the OBX on Friday night.  We checked into our hotel on the beach, then strolled the shoreline for a night of stargazing.  We decided to come back the next morning for the sunrise.

These pictures tell our story.

It was wonderful to be back in a childhood memory with the man I love, but I constantly thought about our little girl.  It meant a lot to me to write her name in the sand at sunrise-- I never told Ben that that had been a goal of mine since we lost her.  Seeing the tide roll over the letters I wrote so lovingly was dangerously therapeutic.  I love her so much, and I know that, though water may destroy something we love, it also washes the sand clean.  

I think Eleanor would have liked the beach.