When my parents sold our beach house in Bethany Beach, DE in 2005 my sister and I were more than a little disappointed. That beach is where we had grown into ocean-fearless kiddos, where my dad invented the Wave Chicken game, where we learned to boogie board and which arcade games produced the most tickets for the fewest tokens, and, eventually, where we learned to flirt, create humidity-resistant hairstyles, and the finer points of "borrowing" parental alcohol. Whooolllle lotta memories from that house on 4th street and the rentals that preceded it, and and when it was replaced with a house in Holden Beach, NC, we were WAY more than a little bratty about it. See, to us, "Beach" meant this...
(please note crowds, boardwalk, seaside eating/shopping establishments, etc.)
...but our maiden voyage to Holden Beach (which, to be fair, occurred in the wintertime, which wouldn't be a very exciting time to show Bethany to a newcomer either) taught us that "beach," in the south, meant something like this:
Beautiful? Yes. Peaceful? Yes. Extended beach season? Yes. Boardwalk-equipped and boasting a plethora of cute/tan laxers-turned-wannabe-surfers, Dickey's Frozen Custard franchises, lifeguards and Phillies fans? Not so much. In fact, Holden Beach doesn't really boast a plethora of anything (besides baby endangered sea turtles), much less the kinds of amenities that attract 17-to-19-year-old girls.
Fast forward a few years, and I believe to this day that the turning point in our relationship with Holden Beach was a little restaurant/bar on stilts bordering the Intracoastal Waterway called Provision Company.
This place is just...fun. Cold beer, live music, ocean air, dock access, no pretense, pay-at-the-counter, and one of the finest delicacies of Brunswick County, if not all of North Carolina, the shrimp burger:
just trust me, it's amazing.
Having gone to college in North Carolina only 3.5 hours from Holden and having parents who can tolerate hosting a house full of sorority girls and some straggling man-friends, my sister and I have been lucky enough to introduce many friends to Provision Company, and it never disappoints:
my dad's such a ladies man
i just noticed that the above two images were taken one year apart and I am wearing the same top in both. neat.
I think we commandeered 90% of the inside tables to make this happen.
My apologies for the phone pic, but in case you were wondering, Provision Company does indeed carry Smirnoff Ice.
SO, if you're ever anywhere near the Brunswick County beaches in North Carolina, I INSIST that you stop for a shrimp burger and a beer at proco.
#sighhhh
ReplyDeleteP.S. I spy one additional outfit-repeat, and 2 recurring outfit themes.
P.P.S. Hi!