We just took an overnight trip to the beach. In February.

This is something that I could not have imagined doing while growing up in southwestern Pennsylvania - for both travel time and temperature reasons.

But living in North Carolina's northeast Piedmont region, you can do this. In fact, our entire southeastern coast is under three hours away, and more often than not, you can find at least a decent beach weekend any month of the year.

We went to Ocean Isle Beach, which is where we frequently took the kids in the summer when they were very young. And once you pick a beach, you will find yourself going back to that beach, if not every year then at least often enough to relieve those memories, and to make new ones.

North Carolina's coast is unique in that different parts face the Atlantic at different angles, so you actually get to pick how comparatively strong the surf is based on which beach you choose. Ocean Isle is a southern facing beach, adjacent to the Long Bay section of our Atlantic coast, which means the water is shallow and the waves are gentle. Perfect for families.

We drove down to the coast on a Saturday afternoon, spent time on the beach, and then had a nice dinner. Sunday was swimming in the morning - indoor pool, it was still February - and then spent three hours on the beach after lunch, with temperatures in the low 70s. Soccer, shelling, and just sitting around. And then we headed home to visit various friends.

Lesson:  take the time to rekindle memories, and to make new ones. And, if possible, live reasonably near a beach.