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Little did we know that when my family planned our summer vacation in January that we would find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic. Looking back, our only worry was not finding a beachfront property. You see, this year is different for us. My dad broke his neck in a terrible fall in November. We didn’t know if he would be able to recover enough to even go. In addition, my amazingly brave sister-in-law has suffered with ALS for six years now. We were determined to find a vacation rental on the ocean for her since the beach brings her so much joy and happiness. We found our perfect vacation rental with the help of VRBO and everything seemed to be going as planned. And then March happened. With the uncertainty of the virus and the weeks turning into months, we were willing to accept that our trip wasn’t going to happen. To our surprise though, it did.

Not My Normal Travel Post

Typically my travel posts include photos and reviews of restaurants, places to go and things to do. On this vacation, we really did very little except enjoy our private pool and go to the beach. I thought it would be beneficial to share what it was about this vacation though that made it one of my favorites.

Finding Oak Island

As I have mentioned in my travel posts, we use VRBO (formally HomeAway) to find our vacation rental every year. This year, since we didn’t look until January, we ended up searching for anything that was oceanfront. We didn’t have any particular destination in mind. We did a search for an oceanfront property that was pet-friendly, has an elevator, sleeps at least 18, has at least 6 bathrooms and a private pool. Once you start your basic search (as you can below), VRBO will give you the option to check-off more filters in order to find exactly what you’re looking for.