it feels funny typing this: i live close to the beach.

it's a strange thing for me to say because i grew up in the sunshine-y state of Florida, where a 20-minute car ride had us tumbling out of the car and straight onto a creamy expanse of sand that faced the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. i didn't like the beach very much then--there was just too much sand and it got e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. weirdo, right?

now i live in Durham, North Carolina, and it's a 2-hr. drive to the beach. so no, i'm not that close. but after 10 years spent in the mountains, 2 hours seems like nothing; child's play. but for all that, hubby and i rarely find ourselves making that drive down I-40. it's hard to find a weekend that there isn't something planned. even if that "something" is only 1-2 hours long, it's still enough to nix a drive to the beach.

so at the very beginning of June, i pulled up my calendar app and found a weekend (practically the only full weekend) that we had free in the next two months. unfortunately, i didn't bother to check the weather for my chosen beach weekend. the day before we left, my friend sent me a panicked text, "Did you see the weather? It's supposed to rain ALL WEEKEND."

so yes...there was a bit of rain last weekend in Wilmington. and by "bit of rain," i mean it rained almost all of Saturday. not exactly the forecast anyone hopes for when driving to the beach.

sitting at a coffee shop, watching the rain pound the pavement, we stared at each other. now what, my eyebrows were saying. Drew suggested a movie. I commented that we wouldn't actually see one at home (usually we just talked about it), so why not? our rainy day ended up being lazy and relaxing: after the movie, we explored the outdoor mall (weird fact: whenever i walk into a Gap in another city, there's usually a giant sale); watched soccer over drinks + pizza; got a couple's massage (ummm YES!); and felt like complete wine snobs (we're not), sampling various reds at a local small plates restaurant in downtown Wilmington. it was a rainy day at a beach town and it was perfect.

the next day defied all the weather predictions: sunny, mid 80's, and a balmy breeze that made laying in the sun blissful. so we totally got both sides of the coin--the sunny gorgeous day and the gray rainy--and i gotta say, i almost loved the rainy day MORE.

weirdo, aren't i?