A day spent at Tucker Lake.

Tucker Beach in Benson NC

 Growing up our summers consisted of SAC programs, the occasional field trip my mom was assigned to drive and long lazy days spent fighting amongst each other.

And every so often my parents were able to rent a house for a week long stay at the beach. More specifically, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Which my parents preferred over the loud crowded beaches closer to home where the boardwalks and games lined the outskirts of the beach.

Wait a minute you mean there was a time when I did do something other than head down to Disney every year?

Yes.

Yours truly soaking in the rays.

In fact it wasn't until my honeymoon that I would be spending every summer at the happiest place on Earth. And while I love it, there are times when I look back at those summers spent at the beach and miss them. You see my husband isn't much of a beach fan, which means we don't go. This also means that I relish in every opportunity I can to get anywhere near a place that looks remotely close to a beach. 

Enter Tucker Lake. While visiting that home in NC, my parents, older sis, nephew and my own decided it was time to hit up this quietly talked about spot.

 Nestled in Benson NC, it offers the perfect mix of beach, lake and entertainment.  And on a perfect summer day, it is exactly the cure that I was looking for.

When we first heard of the $15 per person fee, we were a little hesitant to say the least. After all, it is a lake, and why should we have to pay to sit around it. But the fee seemed well worth it when we found out it included the water slides, the zip line, the bouncing rafts and the use of devices.

Little man and his frog.

I will say I enjoyed the fact that the lake was only knee to waist deep. Meaning it was the perfect height for Logan without having to worry about it going over either one of our heads and he could learn to get used to the waters without mommy having to worry about riptides and sharks. Because as a mommy, yes that is something I would worry about.

I would say he loved every minute of it. Spending most of the time up and down the slide and attempting to build a sand castle. There wasn't enough sand for it, but we will pretend it was the best sand castle one has ever seen.

And while Logan enjoyed the water and the sand, my nephew spent the better part of the day enjoying the larger slides meant for the older kids.

There is a concession stand, which actually offers a decent selection of food for a fair price, we however decided to pack a picnic and enjoyed sandwiches under the umbrellas and tables. We did splurge on a couple of snow cones, which were not only quite delicious but for $2, the serving was very plentiful.

At the end of the day I must admit I wonder how we went for years having not one clue that this treasure was just down the road from my parents. Had I known about this sooner, well I may just be spending most of my weekend summers down here at the lake.

It just needs to be about five hours a little closer.