We have had an unusally mild winter thus far in eastern, NC so my girlfriend and I decided to grab an ocean front room at the Clamdigger in Atlantic Beach, NC. They have weekend off season specials that include breakfast, dinner, and a very late 6pm checkout on sunday. The thought of snoozing to the sounds of the ocean while watching playoff football was too much to resist.
Temps were in the mid 60's and sunny so we spent hours on the beach and outside. We took a couple drives and I snapped a few shots to share.
Some of you may recognize this spot as the dead end and beach wall boardwalk at Atlantic Station. Growing up, Atlantic station was the equivilant of Navy Pier, Coney Island, or the Jersey Shore if you lived in eastern, NC. There were carnival rides, places to eat, and a huge beach loaded with pretty girls. Bikinis, Jams, and Birdwells were the required dress code in the 80's and Burts surf shop was coolest store I had ever been to.
I grew up about 90 minutes from the beach so this spot was the end of many spontaneous beach trips. We would ditch school after 4th period after recruiting cute girls to go to the beach. I have vivid memories of trying to sneak a peak of them in the rear view mirror of them changing into beach wear. It was a coy game where the guys weren't supposed to look but the girls would make sure we got a lil show.
Sometimes the trip would be late at night with someone special. We would just sit on that wall and talk about life and love. Telling stories and making plans when the future seemed so far away. The smell of the ocean and the sound of the waves take me back every time. Ahh stories of a mispent youth.
It's all gone now except the wall and the boardwalk. Developers tore it down before the housing bubble popped so now it's a giant empty field. I sincerely hope they all went bankrupt.
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