Our first family guided vacation program was so successful that we were gamed for another one the following week. Not exactly. We had already planned the second vacation a month ahead, coinciding with 4th of July so that it required two instead of three vacation days from work. Since 2021, we had been using Airbnb to find vacation stays at the beaches of Tar Heel. The choice of stay determined which beach we would go to. This time around, we broke the Airbnb tradition by making a reservation at a place called Saltwater Resort & Suites. It was a commercial property located within walking distance of the Surf City beach in Topsail Island.
Saltwater Resorts & Suites consisted of two buildings. One was named Saltwater Resorts and the other named Saltwater Suites. Our suite – located in the latter – was on the third floor. It had two queen-sized beds and a sofa bed. The price turned out to be not much different from Airbnb rentals. Both types have registration/cleaning fees that were 3-figure outrageous. Our reservation was confirmed by an (impersonal) email from Saltwater's manager BlueStar Real Estate that read in part:
No on-site staff, communication only by email or phone during business hours, and possibly SOL if any issues – such flooding because of a pipe leak – should occur after hours (or before the 4pm check-in time). I wanted to visit the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, said to be the largest aquarium in the Tar Heel State. The plan was to go to the aquarium first and then check-in at Saltwater afterwards – a 90-minute drive between the two.
Day 1: The Storm
"It was a dark and stormy night." Stormy? Yes. Dark? Somewhat. Definitely cloudy with limited visibility but a heavy downpour during the second half of the drive to Surf City. On a good weather, it takes 3 hours to get there. The rain added an additional hour. We slowed down to 40mph and turned on the hazard lights. Visiting the Aquarium was put off to Day 3.
The rain reduced to a drizzle when we arrived at a fast-food location for lunch. Our destination was about 10 minutes drive away. We took our time at lunch since the check-in time was at 4pm. When we got into the car, the rain became heavier. While crossing the Surf City Bridge, I did not take any panoramic photos but RK&K has two wonderful aerial views. We arrived at Saltwater with 10 minutes to spare. When it was time, I got out of the car and looked for the stairs. To my relief, next to the stairs was an elevator. We didn’t have to haul our luggage up three flights of stairs. Using the stairs, I found the suite and entered the passcode.
Wow! The suite was impressive. Immaculate décor, vinyl wood flooring, a washer & dryer set that looked brand new, a pristine bathroom and an equally pristine kitchenette. The queen-sized beds – a welcome comfort after putting up with double beds the previous week –were more spacious and therefore no need to pull out the sofa bed. The pillows had different levels of fluffiness – my preference was thick. Sleep was not difficult at all on both nights. There was an armchair by the corner next to a queen bed became my favorite spot in the suite. Next to it was my side of the bed.
The kitchenette had a microwave, an oven, a refrigerator, a toaster, crockery, cutlery, utensils, K-cup machines and pods, condiment packets, a leaf-drop dining table and chairs. BlueStar delivered on the parking pass. It was hanging by the upper cabinet door to the left of the sink.
Incidentally, covered parking spots for electric vehicles were located under the building. Each had a charging station that required a premium pass to park there. The elevator was a slow, near 30-second ride to the fourth floor. Unless we had a lot of things to carry, we took the stairs to go down and the elevator to go up. Wife was supremely impressed when she entered the suite. Looks like this was going to be our stay the next time we come back.
The vinyl flooring extended to the bathroom. Yes, that was an actual seal on the toilet seat cover. The seal had to be broken to lift the cover. The shelves next to the bathtub were stocked with a generous supply of towels (face & body), soaps, shampoo, toilet paper and a basket. (As Saltwater's website puts it, "the perfect combination of luxury and relaxation".) The shower curtains had two layers, one for inside the tub and the other outside. The bathroom sink could be wider – there wasn’t enough room for our toiletries so we put them on the shelves. Nonetheless, I was the first one to use the bathtub.
When I got out, it was approaching dinner time. Instead of the guide book provided in the suite, we used the one thing we have always relied on to look up eateries: Google. We picked Margherita Pizza for its New York styled plain cheese for Son. Wife picked a san gennaro (pizza), and I had "Lorenzo's famous" garlic bread. The restaurant did not have online ordering so I called them. Twice. No answer. It was still raining when Son and I got in the car. We got there, placed our order and waited at the bar.
Margherita was busy. The atmosphere was loud and raucous. "Maybe it was a good thing I didn't order by phone," I thought. The staff would have a hard time hearing me. That happened twice three years ago when we were at Topsail Beach – further south in Topsail Island. I called two restaurants to place an order. Both places claimed they couldn't hear me over the phone despite me almost yelling at them. So I showed up at the eatery in person and placed the order.
We picked up the order and got back in relatively short time. (Tomorrow would be a different story.) When we sat at the dining table, I noticed that one of its leaf was slanting. Quite concerning. So I moved my dinner plate towards the center of the table. The garlic bread was good. While the pizzas were good, they were overpriced. The menu claimed that the san gennaro had onions and red pepper. Our order didn't have any. Nor did I see any sausages even though I tasted some. Fortunately, there were enough leftovers for dinner tomorrow.
A few more things about the suite. The air-conditioning unit came with a remote and instructions on how to use the remote. Despite increasing the temperature of the thermostat, the air remained strong and too cold. When I set the unit to Eco mode, the A/C got quieter and the room eventually got warmer. There was an issue with the Saltwater's wifi. In spite of the instructions provided, I couldn’t get it to work on my phone. But I found another free wifi spot that did.
The storm passed by the following morning. After my 12-Step morning Zoom meeting, I took a panorama of the view outside the suite. The sole elevator was to my far left. That wasn't convenient for guests whose suites were located on the opposite end. It reminded me of the Hampton Inn I stayed at while I was in Peachtree City, GA during a business trip earlier this year. Like Saltwater Suites, this Hampton Inn had a single elevator located on the far end of the building while my room was located on the opposite end. I enjoyed staying at all the Hampton Inns I had been to, but not the Peachtree City one. It was the single least pleasant experience and most deserving of my supervisor's derision calling it a "shithole". Complimentary breakfast was passable, but the fruits served at the breakfast area were days old – the bananas were almost black.
Day 2: The Sea
We set out for the beach after 10am, toting our beach gear, a foldable cabana, and a foldable chair for each of us. The walk took about 5 minutes. When we pitched the cabana and unfolded the chairs, we were more than 100 feet from the nearest tide. There was a respectable distance of dry sand in-between.
The sea felt colder than what I was comfortable with. I went far enough to feel the water up to my waist but no further. For the next 5 hours, my (shirtless) upper body was exposed to the sun. That would later come to bite me for the next three nights.
I don't recall ever experiencing a tide rising so quickly in a matter of hours. When I went to take a break by the cabana two hours later, Wife mentioned she had moved everything back some distance. There I was sitting down chilling with my phone when the water rushed into the cabana, under my chair, and sweeping away our slippers as it receded. Thankfully, we were able to retrieve them and then moved everything further back. We repeated this 10 minutes later till we were less than 10 feet from the plateau where the beach houses stood.
After 3pm, we packed up and head back to Saltwater Suites. We washed the sand away at the shower stands located in front of the parking lot. After some rest, we left before 6pm to Publix Super Market at Arboretum to pick up dinner Wife ordered.
While waiting in the car, I noticed that traffic was backing up on southbound US-50. It was backed up far northward when we tried to get onto the road. There were at least three traffic lights before Surf City Bridge, none of them synchronized to facilitate traffic congestions. By the time we got back to Saltwater Suite, it was 7pm. It turned out that visitors were showing up in droves for Surf City's July 3 Celebration held at Soundside Park from 6pm to 9:30pm. In addition to the traffic congestion, we noticed police details on both sides of Surf City Bridge. Later that night, we heard sounds of fireworks. It was non-stop for 2 hours. I liked to think they were sounds of fireworks and not gunshots. We did not join in the Celebration, opting to stay in.
My chest was "beet red" - as Wife put in - from sunburn as I headed to bed. It wasn't as painful (yet) so I slept well. Sleep on the next two nights proved to be difficult as the pain got worse.
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