Saturday was such a gorgeous spring day that Steve, Sarah and I decided to hop in the car and go riding. We ended up at Pea Island Wildlife Refuge, which is about 20 minutes from our house.
When we were done enjoying the lovely scenery, we walked . . . er . . . skipped back to the car.
Because after all–why would one walk when one can skip?
We turned the car back toward Oregon Inlet Bridge, which is one of the coolest bridges I’ve ever traveled over. Every time I cross it, I’m in awe of the engineering that went into building such a huge span over so much water.
Here’s a birds-eye view.
Photo by David Harvey
A couples miles after the bridge, we pulled over at an ocean access parking lot and took off across the dunes for an always exhilarating view of the sand, water and sky. It’s a combination that never gets old.
Sarah snapped a few shots of Steve and me.
And then Steve got a few pictures of Sarah and me.
I’m so thankful for the gift of this lovely young lady in my life.
But you know what?
Even with all the splendor of the view, even with all the grand vistas of bridges and marshland and ocean, do you know what my favorite picture of the day was?
This one.
Yep. A little, lowly dandelion. A weed.
As I looked at the photo after we got home, I thought about how plucky and strong and exquisite that weed really is. And I thought about how often it is overlooked and stepped on and categorized as less than appealing.
But it’s beautiful. It’s a beautiful weed. And it’s a reminder that we can find beauty everywhere– in unexpected places, in unexpected events, sometimes even in unexpected people.
And so while I truly enjoyed the magnificent beauty of everything I saw that sunny, Saturday afternoon, I’m especially grateful for the surprising beauty I saw in the lovely, lonely, intricacy of one single dandelion.
Wendy,
I’m so glad you happened upon my post and came by to visit Smithellaneous. Welcome!
And what a cool idea to get married near the Oregon Inlet Bridge; it’s such a breathtaking spot and it’s not an “overdone” location that a lot of people choose for OBX weddings.
I can’t think of any advice or ideas right now concerning getting married there but I know that whatever you choose to do will be amazing. Enjoy!
And thanks again for dropping by the blog; it’s great to meet you.
Hi becky….i found your post while searchin for weddings near the oregon inlet bridge…i found nothing on google but your beautiful post. but what a find!! i so enjoyed it and read it to my fiance. he grew up surfing there and thought it would be a great spot to steal away and get hitched! if u have any ideas please let me know!!! thank u…wendy c
What a beautiful Spring day! And I must admit – I love dandelion pictures, nothing quite like them, weeds or not 🙂
CJ,
I know, dandelions are definitely under appreciated weeds–they’re so whimsical and lovely!
Love, love, love that bridge, How awesome, I would love to travel over it. What a fun day it looks that you all had. I LONG for the days of no snow again. We just recieved another oh, probably 5-6 inches of snow last night and this morning in good ole Minnesnowta. Ha ha!
Wendy,
Ug. 5-6 inches of snow? Oh my. I’ll try not to mention that it’s 62 and sunny here! Hold on–spring is coming!
Beautiful post!! I never ever get tired of looking at your wonderful photos of this gorgeous corner of the world you live in Becky. It always makes my day to begin by looking at such beauty. It looks like spring has arrived for you?!
We had lots of snow fall throughout the weekend and the snow is still piled said few Ft high in my yard. I cannot wait for it to melt and dandelions and flowers to appear! However.. My daughter spotted the first red robin of spring on Saturday and yesterday I discovered the creek in the ravine by my house has finally burst through its icy entrapment that has held it all winter and is flowing again : spring is on its way!!
Jenna,
So glad you’re beginning to see the smallest signs of spring. I know my mom (in Wisconsin) always get so happy when she sees her first robin. Enjoy–I know you all way up north appreciate spring way more than we in the south ever could.
that’s a dandy dandelion photo!
I see that Steve must have liked the James-look… quite dashing and dandy, too!
Mrs. Pam,
Dandelions are dandy, indeed!