If I died today, I'd be happy as a clam. "Logan, that's ridiculous!" Guys, the Outer Banks will change your life. If I died today, I wouldn't mind, because I just got to spend a week in one of the dreamiest parts of the United States.

I want you guys to experience the bliss like I did, so here's How to Spend a Week on the Outer Banks of North Carolina... My family and I have found our way out there five times, so I have a good idea of what's cool and what's not!

Normally, we fly out of Omaha, NE to Norfolk, VA. However, it was much cheaper to fly out of Des Moines, IA this time around. We flew with Delta. From Norfolk, the Outer Banks are about an 1 hour and 30-45 minute drive. People also refer to the banks as OBX!
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We usually rent a car at the airport using Enterprise. I love Enterprise because they are super transparent with their fees online and they're affordable! I've used them since 2017.

I am a big fan of the Sea Ranch Resort in Kill Devil Hills. I've stayed at this resort three times and have yet to be disappointed. The location is near plenty of restaurants, attractions, and grocery stores. PLUS, hella close to the water (like my goodness kinda close) I wrote up a full post here about the Sea Ranch if you want to know more.

On our most recent trip, we decided to try a rental property in Nags Head. It has been a straight up BLAST. We rented it through Stan White Realty. I plan on writing a post soon about what it's like compared to a resort. We have honestly loved it though. It definitely helps to have a full kitchen and space to breathe. (Especially when you are traveling with your fammm am I right??)
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• Grocery shop at Food Lion to avoid overspending at restaurants (items for a beach lunch + quick breakfast)
• Buying alcohol: Beer and wine can be found at any Food Lion. However, the only place you can buy liquor on the banks is at an ABC store. (Alcoholic Beverage Control) Also, these state-regulated stores are closed on Sundays, so keep that in mind! 
• Quick stop at Wings or Sunsations for anything you forgot or didn't wanna pack in your luggage. We often buy a few cheap beach towels! These stores are PERFECT too for souvenirs. They are HUGE and have a bomb selection of t-shirts, swimsuits, mugs, and anything else beach related. Plus, it is CHEAP guys. 
• Rent beach chairs, an umbrella, and cooler from Ocean Atlantic Rentals. They have an umbrella service as well, that includes free delivery + setup if you wanna to go that route! :)

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• It's your first day! Drink a margarita and beach it. The beach behind our rental was pretty quiet compared to the one behind the Sea Ranch. Both were never crazy busy because we choose to visit before the summer season starts (mid May) or at the tail end of it (early October). 
• Walk down the beach to Fish Heads Bar and Grill in Nags Head. (eight minute walk from our rental & a 15-20 minute drive from the Sea Ranch during off season) I think my boyfriend and I honestly ate here every night of the trip except once. They have a killer happy hour! 15 cent shrimp from 4 p.m. to 6 daily and let me tell ya, those babies are fiiire. This bar sits on a fishing pier and is the best way to have a true OBX (Outer Banks) dining experience. 

*Note: Order their margarita made with rice wine, they are my absolute FAV. Click here to view their live music schedule!

• Drive to the Currituck  Beach Lighthouse. (50 min. drive from Nags Head) This is my favorite lighthouse in North Carolina. They chose to keep the brick exposed in order to differentiate from the other lighthouses. I love that decision because it feels much more historic than others! It's $10 to climb, but man it is worth it. Look at this view. 

​*Tip: If you're looking to visit in the winter, December 1st is its 143rd birthday and you can climb for FREE from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. :)

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• ​Walk the grounds along the Currituck Sound. The Lighthouse Keepers' House is one of my favorite buildings here. For a while, this home had sat rotted and vandalized. Then in 1980, a local non-profit took action for it to be restored. 

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• Stop in Corolla's shopping outlet, TimBuck II, for a quick snack, lunch, or souvenir! Order the bomb mac n cheese bites at Bubbies or sit down for some killer burgers at First Light. I had the BBQ chicken sandwhich and my dad ordered the sliders, which were DOPE. They play some vibey acoustic remixes in here too, which just made the place 10x cooler. 

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• Another option for lunch, would be stopping in Duck on the way home. Coastal Cravings is the perfect spot to grab a flight of beer and gourmet sandwich. Their hushpuppies are super good too. 
• After Cravings, park your car near Duck's famous boardwalk. Here you can find some of my favorite clothing shops and ice cream! This boardwalk is also a dope spot to watch the sunset over the Currituck Sound.

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• Start the morning off slow with beach time, breakfast, and mimosas.

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• Make your way to Nags Head Woods if you like swamps, snakes, and wooded trails. If you aren't a big snake fan, head straight to Jockey's Ridge to explore the sand dunes.

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• If you're hungry, head to the east edge of the park, cross the street, and two blocks to the right, you'll find Mulligans. My gosh their wings are freakin fire. I had the hot kind or buffalo, whatever. I wish I could eat those right now, wow. Sent straight from God lemme tell ya. The coconut shrimp were pretty dang good too.

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• Head back for a nap and recharge. Then, hit Mutiny Bay Adventure Golf for an evening hangout. Putt putt courses on the bank are OUTRAGEOUS. You can't, "find these in Nebraska" folks.  

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• Feed your sweet tooth after with Fat Boyz ice cream. Their cones are reasonably priced, but I opted for the $6 Butterfinger Delight. Sometimes you're just craving LIKE MORE ya know? Plus uh hello, look at their exterior. 

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• Make a quick dinner at home and drive to the Sugar Creek Seafood restaurant for sunset. (We ate here, but it wasn't anything special guys. Save yo money.) However, the dock behind the restaurant is a phenomenal spot to watch the sunset and snap photos. 

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• Start route to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. (Which is on the cover of his book True Believer!!!) 2/3 of the way to the lighthouse, you'll find yourself in Rodanthe. (If you a Sparks lovvva you should already know) 
• Take a quick pitstop at the house featured on the movie Nights in Rodanthe. 63 heart eyes guysss. Please dudes comment below if you've read every book and are impatiently waiting for Every Breath to come out???

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• Drive 35 more minutes and you'll find the lighthouse. Tickets to climb are $8 and climbing sessions run every ten minutes. THERE ARE MORE STAIRS HERE THAN CURRITUCK, be prepared homies. They also do full moon tours at this lighthouse. 

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• For lunch, we usually stop in Avon. (10 minute drive from Hatteras) Oceana's is a cool place to grab a drink and a yummy flatbread. I ordered a fresh Minto mojito and it was crazy refreshing. Their grilled chicken flatbread was great and the open face quesadillas were like different, but in the bessst way. 

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• ALRIGHT GUYS, it's your last day and I have saved the most charming little town for your enjoyment! It's called Manteo.  
• So we mainly planned our tiny stop here around our sunset sailing trip. If you're interested in sailing, and it's off season, I would call to reserve a spot the day before! If it's in season, I would definitely try to book a trip upon arrival in the banks or even before you fly out! We sailed with Downeast Rover and our cruise was about two hours long. (You can bring along your own drinks too! Something we forgot to do lol.) 

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• Before sailing, walk around the harbor and visit the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. The original lighthouse was lost in the Sound, when they had tried to move it onto private property. However, they built one in close resemblance and it's one of the quaintest lighthouses I've seen. EEEEP I wish I took a Polaroid photo of this cutie.

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• Ready to eat? I totally know you are. Alright, let's take a step back in time and head into Lost Colony Brewery. I had the cheeseburger with Swiss and I was dead on the ground because it was sooo good. Finish your plate kids. It's good for ya. My sis had the steak quesadilla and it was off the chain too. She also mentioned, "The portion sizes were perfect, I didn't feel like I ate too much after I finished my plate." SOOO ...DOPE PLACE YA GOTTA TRY.

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• If you don't want to sail, there are maaany cute shops in this tiny town to step into. You could also hang at the Lost Colony for awhile and order a flight of beer! 

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Set your alarm early and make your way to Duck Donuts! If you can be there right before they open - even better. The lines get long fast! I'm not a huge donut person, but these won me over. They have got such crazy options for flavors and toppings, it's so fun to pick them out! My favorite was the Maple Bacon!
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• With a belly full of donuts and a hot coffee, hop in the car. Set your maps to the 'Wright Brothers Memorial.' To avoid the crowds and hot sticky weather, visit their memorial in the morning. They open up at 9:00 AM seven days a week. The drive from Duck is about 20 minutes!

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• After exploring the grounds and museum, get some fresh air and sun at Jennette's Pier. It cost a few dollars, but this is one of the nicest piers you'll ever see. Sit in the sand. Walk to the tip of the pier. Say hi to the fishies in their 3,000 gallon aquarium. My photos from this pier always grab my heart - love em' all.  

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Spend your last morning at Duck's Cottage Coffee for your coffee fix. The shop doubles as a bookstore and the books have handwritten reviews next to them. What a warm Southern touch!
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• Spend your last evening at Cravings at their outdoor patio. Check their live music schedule for a night of music and great food. I am a big fan of their appetizers!

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OKAY GUYS, THAT'S IT! I'm not sure I've ever written a post this long, but I know this guide will help you create a killer vacation. If you want to know more about North Carolina...

• Five Good Eats on the Outer Banks of North Carolina
• Ten Reasons Why I Adore OBX, North Carolina
• My Favorite North Carolina Paradise: The Sea Ranch Resort​

*What is your favorite state and why?

*Have you been to North Carolina? If so, what is the coolest thing you've done there?
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E meaning my sweet sweet best friend, Elizabeth Bauman. Today, she's here to shed a little light on how we see God. 

Over time, we learn things about ourselves. I know I know, I’ll pause for a moment so you can grab a pen to jot that down. Clearly, this post is going to be mind blowing. But really, as the days go by, we learn things about ourselves, our relationships, our tendencies in times of conflict or fear, the list goes on and on. However, I think one thing that is hard for us to peg is our view of God, and that’s because it’s always changing.

Now, our view of God is different than our relationship with God. This is because how we view God shapes the way we relate to him. It affects the relationship. On paper, this is a relatively simple concept, but in real life we often don’t see this correlation. Think of it in terms of your regular relationships. If you mostly view your mom as an overbearing control freak, you will relate to her in a way that causes you to either be perfect in order to avoid conflict, or you will fight back to the degree in which you feel attacked. Not healthy, right?
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The same goes with God. This is important to note because it’s not even specific to believers. For example, if a woman views God as a distant, cold father, she will try her hardest to “do good” to earn his love. If a college kid views God as outdated and ridiculous, their relationship may simply consist of church on Christmas and Easter to appease their family. If someone views God as hateful, they will want no relationship at all with Him.

Therefore, our view of God is directly correlated to the ways in which we choose to be in relationship with Him.

The reason I’m saying this is because no matter how our view of God is tainted, he relates to us the same, even though we don’t deserve it.

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15

Let’s take the “us” out of it completely. It doesn’t matter what life events, bad theological teaching, horrible churches or negative encounters you’ve had, God can redeem it all. No, God has redeemed it all. By saying “Hey, you think you feel misunderstood? I created everything on this earth with the intention of beauty, goodness and ultimately love to be at the center, and people hate me. Some view me as harsh and cruel when all I want is for them to just know me. BUT, even though you have never been deserving of the victim role that you play, I love you the same now as I did then, and as much as I will forever.”

Guys, relationships take work. They’re difficult and sometimes they just suck. However, with God, half of that drama is removed because His love for us is perfect. So, it’s up to us (the other half) to put in some work and begin by asking ourselves, how is the way in which I view God keeping me from loving Him, accepting His grace and fully giving myself to Him? I think with a little self-reflection and prayer, God will reveal those things to you. He longs to show himself to you… so let Him. Let go of all the messy things the world has told you God is, because once you do that, you will be completely in awe of the One True God and his endless love for you.
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He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
Psalm 18:16

I've always wanted to showcase E's writing + photography on here. She has been such a wonderful role model to me and to share her work with you makes me insanely happy! I hope she has inspired you to ask yourself some hard questions and most importantly, pursue an honest relationship with Jesus. 

Thanks for writing this E. Absolutely refreshing.

You can find more of her perspective + killer photography at Candidly E. 

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*What are you struggling most with in your faith right now?
*How would you describe your relationship with Jesus?
*Do you desire to know more, but are hesitant to bring your past to the table? Email me!