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| Sandbridge Beach - View from Sandwolf's Den |
That’s
right, the Outer Banks are not the exclusive province of North Carolina. Rather,
this storied chain of barrier islands extends into the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The northern extent of the Outer Banks is a strip of land between the Atlantic
Ocean and Back Bay (and its subdivisions, Sand Bay, Shipps Bay, and North Bay).
The better-known name for Virginia’s Outer Banks is Sandbridge Beach.
Sandbridge
Beach has no hotels. The community consists of single-family residences, vacation
rental homes, and three large beachfront condominium complexes (both personal
residences and rentals). There are some small stores, food facilities, a couple
of churches, and a fire station. Compared to the resort strip several miles
north in Virginia Beach, Sandbridge offers a relatively isolated, laid-back
vacation experience.
As
our family has grown, so has the size of our weekly rental house. This year, we
rented Sandwolf’s Den, a three-story beachfront home with an outdoor swimming
pool. Yes, that’s right, we took a beach vacation and stayed at a place with a
swimming pool. Over the years, we’ve learned that a swimming pool is a
necessity, despite being adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. If you can locate a
house with a poolside cabana (with refrigerator, microwave, etc.), that’s even better.
Some
of the other things we’ve learned that our family enjoys:
--A
pool table. This is a great source of entertainment, especially on rainy days
and at night. One of the family members often organizes a pool tournament—a great
source of fun and entertainment. Other amenities to look for include a foosball
table, ping pong, air hockey, and shuffleboard. One house had an electronic
game console table (think Pac Man and Space Invaders). Another had a pinball
machine (very noisy). Not every house has every amenity, but we’ve learned that
a pool table is essential.
--An
elevator, if the house has three floors. The elevator is a great help on
move-in and again at check-out. Carrying items (or dragging them in the case of
luggage) up the stairs isn’t much fun.
--Two
of “everything,” especially in the main kitchen. Two stoves/ovens, microwaves,
dishwashers, refrigerators/freezers, sinks, washers/dryers, etc. are very
important, at least for the number of people in our group. It’s very convenient
to have one dishwasher working while the other is being filled. Just multiply a
dozen people by three meals a day (plus snacks) and you’ll see why. Most houses
have mini-kitchens on other floors, e.g., a microwave, refrigerator,
dishwasher, etc., which is very convenient.
--A
”media room,” to allow groups to watch movies, videos, television at the same
time. This is especially nice if there are small kids. Usually the houses we’ve
stayed in, lately at least, have televisions in each bedroom as well as large
televisions in common areas of each floor, e.g., the kitchen, living room/media
room, recreation room, etc.
--Gas
grills for outdoor cooking/grilling. This year, though, we didn’t do any
outdoor cooking.
--At
least one covered, screened-in porch or deck area. Mosquitoes. Enough said.
--Bathrooms.
Plenty of bathrooms, especially one easily accessible from outside (beach,
pool, etc.) Related to this is plenty of trash receptacles, especially in the
kitchen. This year’s house had six in the main kitchen—three we used for trash and three we used
for recyclable items. And trust me, we had to bag up the trash/recycling
several times and take it to the outside bins. I can’t imagine having only one
or two trash receptacles in the kitchen.
There
are probably features I’ve forgotten, but those are the major ones.
One
of our favorite activities each year is making tie-dye tee-shirts (or other clothing
items). After so many years of doing this, I have enough tie-dye tees to wear a
new one each day we’re at the beach house.
Of
course, renting a house in Sandbridge can be pricey. But we don’t engage in a
lot of activities through the year (golf, travel, etc.), so all-in-all it’s not
that bad. And getting the family together and creating memories? Priceless.
