How far from the beach and the shops are you?
Well, it depends on whether you’re walking a scent hound. (I recorded the below time-lapse while walking Bluebell back from the beach, but with all the stop-and-sniffs, it feels like we’re on the Lewis & Clark expedition.)
Assuming you’re looking for a more objective answer: we’re 3/10 of a mile, or about a five-minute walk, from our street’s private beach access. There are no intersections to cross and no parking lots to navigate.
So then wait, how far are we from the shops on the sound side? Are you ready for this? Also 3/10 of a mile. (What are the odds? I Google-mapped to confirm!) So yes, we are right smack dab in the middle of the island, equidistant from the ocean and the sound. So whatever you feel like doing for the day — beach, shop, yoga — you’re only five minutes away!
Between the sound and the ocean!
She’s done!
Y’all, I’m not sure words can add much to the before and after photos, so that’s what I leave you with. Cheers and Happy Beach Season!
May 2023.
Listing photo, February 2022.
Hey, how’s the deck coming?
If you give a mouse a cookie... he's going to find water damage and totally upend your plans for a four-week deck project. Wait, that's not how it goes! Except that sometimes it is.
We set out this spring to replace our wraparound deck. But when the old deck came down, our contractor found a significant amount of water damage from where it had been incorrectly secured to the house. So one thing leads to another, and pretty soon we've got new walls, windows, and doors, and everything that goes along with it.
Final product expected soon!
Why allow dogs?
Meet the Ladies of the House, Sass and Bluebell. While Sass is no longer with us, she's the reason we started coming to the Outer Banks, and why we kept coming back: we wanted to bring her with us on vacation. She was a hugely important part of the family!
And boy did she love the beach. She was always a little wary of the ocean, but she loved playing in the sand -- whether it was following a scent or digging a hole in the shade between our chairs to keep cool. She was just so darn happy here.
And now Bluebell loves it, too. She loves to make friends on the beach, chase sanderlings, and even get her paws wet in the ocean. But she's just as happy to visit Duck Village, make a run to Kellogg Supply, and even try to order a margarita at Cactus Cantina.
Bluebell at Cactus Cantina.
So that's why we're dog-friendly. Duck loves dogs, and dogs love Duck. We love our dogs like family and want to enjoy our vacation with them -- and want to offer you the same opportunity.
Why break away from big property managers?
Be better.
When we bought the house last year, we took over the sellers' agreement with one of the big rental companies -- partially because we had to recognize the existing reservations, and partially because we weren't in a position to make any big changes quite yet. And at first it seemed like a good match: the company came with a built-in book of business, and would manage the property while we weren't there. But as the summer progressed, we realized it wasn't an ideal situation.
The cleaning crew just wasn't doing a great job. When we visited one turnover day — after it had passed inspection — we found dirt in the tub and stickiness on the table. Another day, our contractor FaceTimed us to show us the trash that the previous renters, and then the cleaners, had left in the yard for the next renters. And this wasn’t just a one-off year for them. We later found this image on Google Street View showing that the yard was totally overgrown in the middle of the 2019 rental season.
Google Street View, July 2019.
When we brought up out concerns, the company actually told us that they don't have the staff and the bandwidth to fully care for each house in their portfolio. The big companies have hundreds of houses to manage and, simply out of necessity, they're in the business of "good enough to get by."
But that's not what we want when we vacation, and that's not what we want for you, either.
So we spent the off-season cleaning and fixing every nook and cranny. And then we hired a new property manager who cares about our house -- and your vacation experience -- as much as we do. (We knew he was the right one when he called out the dust on our fan blades at our first meeting!)
We hope you give us a chance as we strike out on our own. We can't wait for you to experience the difference.