With the house in Avon (on Ocean View Drive) booked, next on the agenda was wine – each Bapu was asked to bring three or four bottles of their premier cru.

Next came food, food, food!!, and the group had plenty of menu suggestions for lunch and dinner – a growing list in a what’s up group.

When we got together to review and finalize the menu and assignments, a few disregarded what had been initially compiled and had no qualms about assigning themselves to specific menu items.

With our primary choice taken, we opted for my favorite, Mexican enchiladas.

Each couple had at least either a dinner or lunch assignment for a given day, in one or two instances a couple had more than one dinner and/or lunch assignment, by their choosing.

In one instance, there was buyer’s remorse for taking on one meal too many, and days later tried to sweet talk another couple to take one of their dinner assignments, without much luck.

Process for room assignments ended up being kept simple – picking a folded piece of paper from a bowl full of folder papers, which had a room number. Thankfully! And there was a similar draw that presaged this, to determine who goes first, second, third, etc.

Next, planning was afoot on the supplies to buy, and sharing of spreadsheets on who is buying what.

For the drive to the Outer Banks, the group chose to use their own vehicles (and in my case, we shared a ride) as there was a lot of stuff to bring. We do not travel light – this concept is foreign to us!

It was a long drive from Central NJ to Virginia Beach, close to a 7 hour drive, including lunch and bathroom breaks. The plan was to spend a night there and head to the Outer Banks next morning after breakfast. Our beach rental was going to be available to us mid to late afternoon.

People checked in to the hotel, and then took a short ride to a fabulous Italian restaurant, Il Giardino, a block away from the beach. Their 4-cheese eggplant parm is the best(!), in my humble opinion.

We had a whale of a time at dinner.

Next morning after breakfast some went to pick up last minute supplies at a local Costco, whilst I waited for Linda, who lives in the area, for delivery of her home cooked desserts. She is a Data Engineer by trade, and an amazing pastry chef away from work. I had previously worked with her in Newport News.

Around noon time we embarked on our approx 2hr drive to the Outer Banks.

The house seemed new, very well maintained, clean, spacious, with great views of the beach. It took us a few hours to unload and unpack, and then gathered in the huge open kitchen / living / dining room to unwind and relax. The bar was stocked, and flowing. We ordered pizza for the first night.

Our routine each day …

• Some of us got up early each morning to go for an hour long walk on the beach, came back, emptied out the dishwasher, got the tea ready in time for the late risers ambling in;
• Mid-morning was the hubhub of activity around the kitchen. Breakfast was a free-for-all;
• Spent some time on the beach when there were no planned outings;
• We had planned outings on few of the days to nearby places of interest – Wright Brothers / Kitty Hawk museum, Cape Hatteras, Ocracoke, to name a few;
• Early in the evening, the couple with the cooking assignment would start their prep, and everyone else joined in as sous chefs;
• At dinner time the room crackled with the sounds of conversations and laughter soaring and filling the room, enticing aromas and flavors dancing in the air as folks sat down to enjoy their meal, with wine flowing, and than desserts beckoned one and all. It was a wonderful sight to see the group in such spirits!
• After dinner, diversity rules were pushed aside and union rules applied – the Bapu’s came together to load the dishwasher, wash the pots and pans, clean up in the kitchen and the dining room, and vacuum the floor;
• The conversations and laughter continued after-dinner in small and large pockets; it was raucous and loud by the bar or wherever the wine was flowing, and this continued late into the night.

We had a great, great time! Hopefully, one of these days we will do it again!

Local sightseeing …