(pic from Yesterday)
Good Morning and Welcome to Friday from my Atlantic Life in Hatteras 😊
70 degrees Fahrenheit, gale warnings and driving rain greeted me at 5am this morning....
Life on a sandbar, 30 miles out in the Atlantic 💗
(Today)
So yesterday was the calm before a storm - today's early morning story was a tad different, with high winds and rain, so I opted for my "me time" in my new fave spot in the inn to write - on the 3rd floor attic room.
A space that at one point was used for guests, it's a large, long room, with sloping ceilings and its own bathroom. On buying the inn, we loved the space, but with the only way to reach the room being some steep stairs....and the fact that it was directly above our living space, we opted not to incorporate it into the suites and rooms we were offering guests.
This was in 2006 when the room had last been updated....it looked way worse than this when we bought the inn!!!!
The room has a large set of windows set into the end wall of the century-old building, facing south-westerly, it looks out over the maritime woodland behind the inn that provides a wonderful, large, natural buffer, from the large rental homes built on the ocean front. Structures that now block the view from these windows to the ocean (unless I squint between a couple of houses, when I think I can see the ocean 😁).
When the inn was built in 1928, the maritime woods and marshlands were lower in height and there were absolutely no structures between the inn and the ocean - hence the original name of "The Atlantic View Hotel".... because you could clearly see the Atlantic Ocean.
In 2006, when the inn was raised to prevent flooding, the hotel was renamed "The Seaside Inn". After buying the run-down old hotel in 2020, we spent a year renovating the inn and decided to change the name to reflect its history and origin, but since the "view" was now blocked by trees, vegetation and ocean front houses, we dropped the "view" and renamed it "The Atlantic Inn".
So, what to do with this awesome space???
For now, we use the space for storage - but the part of the room that contains the windows.... I have claimed as my own 🥰
I moved a bed next to the windows, covered it in one of my fave blankets, added a few cushions, a fluffy throw and "Voila" my new "my space"!
(For anyone who hasn't read my earlier blog on "Finding Your Space", just click here: https://www.myatlanticlife.com/post/finding-your-space
Bailey and Bodie join me.....
Now I have an awesome space where I can clear my head, reflect, ponder, muse and meander - a place that even on our most busy days, I can always find peace. With the windows open I can lay/sit on the bed and feel the winds on my face and hear the ocean surf....I can watch pelicans soar and deer that visit the grounds of the inn.....If it's raining, I can experience the beauty of the natural elements, without getting soaked.
Views from my "Atlantic Sanctuary"
Although on buying the inn, I named the room the "Crow's Nest" as it was at the very top of the building......I'm calling my space "My Atlantic Sanctuary".
Hence forward, it will be known as "My Atlantic Sanctuary in the Crow's Nest"
(As an aside, my Grandma's maiden name was "Crow" 😊).
At some point, when we have the time and the money.... we have plans to renovate the room and incorporate it into our living space, but it will remain "my sanctuary". A space we can use as extra accommodation for our family and close friends when they come to visit - More importantly though, it will provide a calm space to escape the world....to daydream, to forget any worries for a while, a place of creativity.
My dream (yes, one of my "me time" daydreams 😉) for this room is to have a large window built into the sloping ceiling/wall which would face south-east, and have a squishy, comfy sofa across from it, where you would be able to see the sunrise in the morning, and the incredible sky at night with the milky way and twinkling stars (being out in the ocean 30 miles from the mainland, means we have little to no light pollution).
This space will be ideal when it's super nasty weather or I'm too busy to escape to my beloved beach, I can take a mini "time out" in my "Atlantic Sanctuary".
For now though, it's just a space in our attic storage room that I've claimed as my own..."my space"........"My Atlantic Sanctuary" 🥰
Have you a space you can claim as your own? A corner somewhere in your home? Your yard? even your car (Jake my jeep is most definitely one of "my spaces"!)?
"My Space" in Jake the Jeep!
Finding somewhere I can find peace and calmness has become key in my life.... if you don't already have this/these places.... try it out - it may be just what you need 💗
Until Next Time...
Take care, Stay Safe and....why not find your "space"
Love and Hugs,
Pam
PS For those that like a beautiful sunrise, here's a couple from drier days 😊
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