Quack Quack

Dear Addie,

With our first official Thanksgiving at the beach (or turkey at the beach as I called it) in the books, I can’t help but think back to the time you were in a stage 10 meltdown, I was bawling and begging dad to take us home on what was to be a fun family vacation. Oye. Never, I mean like never ever, would I have imagined in that moment that we’d be anxiously awaiting times to come back and celebrate holidays here. But here we are with turkey on the beach.

So you may have noticed we didn’t see many (or any) pods of turkeys swimming at the beach - disappointing right?! But we did however see ducks in a donut shop though! I know what you’re thinking, mom - turkeys at the beach, ducks at a donut shop, what’s next? Snakes on a plane? Well according to Samuel L. Jackson that last one is legit.

Anyway, back to the ducks which requires me to back track just a wee bit.

Do you remember a few weeks ago, when we visited a local restaurant in our little beach paradise - Stack Em High Pancake’s & more? This was the place where I almost burst into tears because our experience went so well, and we managed to stay long enough for a refill of my coffee? (Emotional hotmess right here - I’ll own that)...

Well, that day they not only refilled my coffee, but somehow a bit of my confidence on this journey. Seriously! The kindness, and sense of belonging they showed us made me feel like we were in fact part of this great big world rather than feeling like we are just floating around looking at it from outer space only to be seen as green martian aliens when we go out and about here on earth. That feeling, being martians, it seems to be melting away for me since that day.

Who knew confidence could come in a cup of coffee?

Kindness is a powerful thing Ad, it doesn’t cost a darn penny and can truly change someone’s day or dare I be so bold as to say - someone’s life for the better.

You see Addie on a journey where our greatest advice is “exposure is key” it’s easy for those on the outside to say forget everyone around you, forget the glares, the head shakes, the feeling of being on display. While I know all the advice is meant with love, this is easier said than done. There simply is an emotional and mental toll (& exhaustion) that comes with this “just go out and do it approach” that is indescribable.

For example when we leave the house we have already gone over about a 1,000 different scenarios of how whatever we are doing is going to go. They go from good to bad, to oh we may never do that one again! And that’s all before we leave the house! In all serious though, not being prepared can actually lead to potentially dangerous fight or flight situations and nobody wants that. Preparing for unpredictability...I should add that to my resume ;)

With our cup of confidence filled and quietness of our new favorite beach town in full effect, we thought we’d visit yet another popular place here in the OBX - Duck Donuts. Yum!

You might be thinking, what do Ducks and donuts have to do with one another and perhaps you’re questioning their sanitation score given those two things together, but I’m happy to report it’s actually named after the island “Duck” in the Outer Banks and there are no real ducks present in the shop - just rubber ones.

Now being raised in the North, there was nothing better than heading to the apple orchards for cider and warm cinnamon donuts on fall weekends. Kind of a staple growing up in Michigan.

In the south however, the apple orchards are replaced with cotton and apparently cotton doesn’t pair well with cinnamon donuts, because they are hard to find.

Whenever daddy or I would talk about the donuts from our younger years, our southern friends would always say the same thing, “sounds like you need to visit to Duck Donuts!”

Well here we are in one of the original locations at that!

Now why is this place so special around here you might be asking?

Well...

Duck Donuts was founded in 2006 by a guy named Russell DiGilio, and Robin Griffith. Both natives of Pennsylvania. They saw a need for "warm, fresh, made-to-order doughnuts" in the Outer Banks to which at the time had no donut shops at all! Can you even imagine the horror of NO DONUTS?!

Now I’m not sure how they do donuts in PA, but if they taste like these I’m sold!

They eventually went on to open their first donut shops in Duck (hence the name), Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills & Corolla. For half a decade their delicious donuts were limited to only these four locations within the Outer Banks. Fast forward to today and numerous request later, they created a franchise and it is booming to say the least! According to a July 2018 Franchising.com article, there are "69 open franchise locations 140 additional contracts in 23 states and two countries". Must be good donuts eh?

Well it would seem we picked the perfect time to test out this new place being a very cold, rainy Sunday morning - we had the place all to ourselves for at least a bit. Score!

From the moment we walked in the door you could tell these women loved their job. I mean LOVED their job! Smiles beaming, eager to answer any questions (even the multiple repeat questions that my uncaffeinated self had - bless that sweet young lady) and let’s not forget the smell of awesomeness as soon as you open the door! Oh mama! Yum!

While Gabe and I made important decisions on flavors, daddy and you watched as they made the donuts right before your eyes. They even gave y’all a sample of their “bare” donut (freshly made) to try and it was hot & delicious! Check & check! Michigander approved ;).

We engaged in some small talk about the shop and they watched without ever flinching or thinking twice as you jumped, stimmed and hummed with excitement around the store. They were all smiles when they looked at you. No worrisome glares that you might knock something over or disapproving head shakes - they were simply beaming with joy at the sight of your happiness. I will say when you’re happy, it’s wickedly contagious!

Once our donuts were done the young lady at the register called you over so you could choose a souvenir duck to take home. Once again Addie, they spoke to you, not through mommy and daddy, but to YOU. You rustled through the big basket of rubber ducks and finally landed on a Frankenstein Duck - I would love to one day know your thoughts behind that pick Addie.