Why the best beach days might happen when summer’s already packed up and gone. Empty Beaches and Full Hearts If you think beach season ends after Labor Day, you’ve been missing out on the coast’s best-kept secret. When the sunburns…
A local’s guide to finding the right stretch of sand on the North Carolina coast. Trust Your Gut (and Your Flip-Flops) Not every beach is the right beach — and if you’ve ever pulled up to one and instantly felt…
It started like every perfect beach day does — clear skies, warm water, and an overinflated sense of confidence. I wasn’t looking for trouble. I was looking for a tan and maybe a few shell fragments. What I found was a sandbar with a vendetta and a rip current that nearly sent me to Poseidon’s living room.
Scratching at Ghosts
You’re lounging on a Carolina beach, cold drink in hand, sun kissing your face, and then it starts — the ankle itch. The kind that makes you slap your own leg like you owe it money. Someone nearby mutters, “Ugh, sand fleas.”
But here’s the thing — what the hell is a sand flea?
Are they bugs? Crabs? Invisible demons? We’re putting this mystery to rest, once and for all.
You’re new here. That’s cool. We were all new once. But there’s a fine line between being a respectful visitor and becoming that guy — the one locals side-eye from behind their sunglasses while silently judging your every move. Welcome to your crash course in not being a kook on the Carolina coast.