In-between my job switching, I convinced Cindy to come with me and some of my family to hang out in Nags Head, NC. It had been over five years since I had been to the Outer Banks and I was long overdue to try and relive my wonderful childhood memories from there.

When I was younger, my family was down in Nags Head several times a year. We’d always be there for a few weeks in the summer, many of the holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, and maybe Easter), and a stray weekend here and there.

There were plenty of fun things to do down there, but OBX’s biggest asset wasn’t the tourist attractions — it was the atmosphere. Some beaches lure you with glitzy hotels, fancy restaurants, and miles of boardwalk, but Nags Head lures you with cocktails at sunset, walks along wind-swept dunes, and genuine relaxation.

But how would a kid ever adore these things? The truth is that they didn’t. When I was a kid, vacations to Nags Head were fun since the whole family was there. Sure all of the standard things — playing at the beach, movies, mini-golf, etc — were fun, but they were all 10 times better with five other cousins around.

So when I visited a few weeks ago, I got the chance to see why my parents loved going to Nags Head. Maybe I’m being overly dramatic, but it was an awing experience to relive those great childhood memories through new eyes, as an adult.