February is the month of LOVE and here on the island we see more and more couples planning to tie the knot here on the beach. Having discovered the difficulty involved in finding an officiant to perform the ceremony when my husband and I got married, I thought, "WOW, how hard must it be for people who don't live here and aren't affiliated with a church on the Outer Banks?" I made a few calls and found an officiant here on the island and another up the beach as well as county magistrates. Most of the local ministers didn't want to get involved unless the parties were members of their church. SO, I took the steps and became officially ordained January 19, 2010.

I'm very excited about my ordination and look forward to being a part of the process that joins two lives. I have numerous options and am open to suggestions to customize the experience to make dreams come true. If you're planning a wedding, please keep me in mind.

Serendipity is on the move. Expert House Movers has it jacked up and in the process of loading her up for the ride south to her new resting place. You can watch the progress at http://www.darenc.com/webcam/mirlo.php or visit http://www.obxhomes4u.com and scroll down to the webcam link. This is a historical move and one you won't want to miss!

The home featured as the Inn at Rodanthe in Nicholas Sparks' film "Nights in Rodanthe" was recently sold by Marsha M Brown & Company and is being relocated to a safer lot and restored to it's appearance in the movie. The home will be managed by our sister company Vacation Traditions owned by Bonnie Rowe. Vacation Traditions is entering it's third rental season. Bonnie had a vision that vacationers missed the personal attention and friendliness of years gone by where guests and owners of the rental properties were greeted by name instead of numbers. Although, perhaps the smallest of the rental agencies here on Hatteras Island, Bonnie has extensive property management experience having worked with some of the bigger firms. She has a good sense of what people want and has her finger on the pulse of vacationers. She sensed a need for the more basic homes many companies had kicked to the curb as not being plush enough. With the shift in the economy, many families are turning to Vacation Traditions for affordable, clean and well maintained homes so they can still have that beach vacation they might otherwise have had to forego. Vacation Traditions is aptly named as it recalls some of the best features of yesteryear when courtesy went a long way. For availability on "Serendipity", visit http://www.vacationtraditions.com.