OBX 2014

Another year, another summer vacation in the Outer Banks!  We ended up back in Nags Head again this year after the traffic getting north of the bridge (and into the Duck/Corella area) was such a nightmare!
Glad we did - it's so  much less crowded and easier to get to the store, etc.

The OHYoungers split up our drive this year by leaving on Friday afternoon and staying the night with Don and Maria in Greensboro, NC.  It is always fabulous to spent some time with them and catch up (and drink some wine) with them!

We were able to make the less than 5 hour drive on Saturday and got to enjoy some great beach time that afternoon!  We had some fantastic skies while there.  A few storms, beautiful blue skies, some overcast days - the variety was nice and made for some great picture taking.

Ella and Silas are both at the age now that they can get out and around in the waves very well on their own.  They spent a tremendous amount of time in the water!

Tyler, Mason, Ella, Silas and Justin wave jumping. 

We managed to make it over the our favorite ice cream shop (Scrammels) most days.  Better Batter Brownie was amazing!!

No pool at the house this year :(  but we were right on the beach, which was quite wonderful.
My view was this most days...

And this...

And with Mom working out at the Y all the time now, she is feeling like a champ and could get up and down the steps and out walking on the beach!

One of of the days after too much sun, we ended up at the aquarium - an annual visit.

 Ella even learned how to give a turtle enema - what a fun vacation!

 

I managed to catch a sunset over the sound.

And a couple sunrises when it wasn't too overcast.

(PS...I LOVE the iPhone panoramic setting!)

And with much of the usual grousing, I was able to get a very nice family photo (and it only took TWO takes!).

Sad that I most likely won't see a beach for another year... :(

The OBX Beach Vacation 2013

We made it back to the OBX this summer (in July) and we were so happy to be back!  Missing last year made for a LONG wait but it was worth it. 
It got off to a slightly rocky start because a) the traffic was terrible getting into Corolla...and b) I had to get into it with the cleaners about an overflowing toilet and the general state of "cleanliness" of the house.  But after that, we moved along and had a great trip.

The weather was very nice all days except one.  We got our ocean time, our beach time...ice cream, shopping, crabbing, and some great dinners as always.

Ella and Silas both are now fearless in the water.  They go out and ride the waves, dive in, flail and swim.  I love that all 3 kids are strong swimmers and enjoy it.

We were super close to the grocery stores and shopping as well as the multiple ice cream stores and wine shop with a wine tasting :)

 

 We got a lot of use out of the pool, as usual.  The kids loved it as did most of the adults too!

 

 

This year we added Sarah, Brian, Barrett and Tara and Steve to the trip - so we bumped it up to a 6 bedroom house.  Plenty of room for everyone though. 

I miss the days when I had the energy to stay up blogging the trips in more detail...guess I'm old and tired now.  It's still wonderful to get to spend a week with the family and relax and just hang out.  

Maybe I'll catch a 2nd wind in my 50's...

 

That Went WAY Too Fast!

Our last full day at the beach (Friday) was our attempt at an "everything" day. This included the beach, the pool, hot tub, shopping, seafood, ice cream, some kite flying, slushy drinks and family pictures.

Silas got really good in the pool - he was swimming across the length of the pool with the snorkel and then without.  He swam for hours on end!

I loved being back in a place where I could just walk out to the beach and catch the sunrise over the ocean. I didn't make it over to the sound side for any sunsets though this year. 

Mom and Dad, walking down to the beach to watch the kids play.

Friday was pretty windy and Silas wanted a kite. We went to Kitty Hawk kites and picked up a little kite for him.  They ran up and down the beach with it and had no problems keeping it in the air.

Family pictures are always a cranky time.  I'll have to Photoshop some happy faces on I guess :)

(Notice that Margie, Justin and I are all wearing out Life is Good t-shirts.  There was a LIG store in Nags Head and I stocked up on my favorites - that made me very happy!)

 

Sad that another trip has come and gone - and now it's time to get back into school mode.  I could have used another week at the beach and another couple weeks of summer.  The bright side is that Fall is my favorite and there is still September and October to look forward to!

Almost Relaxed...

We're 4 days into the trip and I have just finally started to relax and feel like it's vacation. Today was a great day - the temperature and humidity dropped some, there was a great breeze, the ocean felt warmer, the sun less scorching. My tolerance for heat this vacation has been slim. I hope our last 2 full days here are just as nice!

Tonight was seafood night - we got scallops and shrimp, grilled them and made pasta, Beth's dad's corn recipe, salad, wine...yum!

As I've mentioned, the pool has been a great thing...when the adults are tired and wanting to come back from the beach, we can all jump into the pool for a few more hours. There are several decks that overlook the pool, so an adult can always be watching them without being out in the sun with them.

Ella and Silas cracked me up today. Within 2 minutes of being at the beach, they both (separately) came up and told me how much they hate the sand! Honestly, I'm not a fan either but I'm learning to live with it :)

The crabbing this year is so much better than last year, but not as good as the years before. The crabs are smaller than they have been in the past. It's hard to catch the baby crabs - but still fun!

I think I need to make this picture into a postcard. That's Ella, Silas and Justin to the left of the beach chair. I love the nostalgic photo options.

Uncle Tim bought Silas (and Margie :) some snorkel gear today. Si LOVED it and spent hours in the pool playing with it. He sounds like Darth Vader when he swims with it but had a blast.

  

Now to bed...in the hopes to make it up for another sunrise!!

Beach, Pool, Ice Cream...Repeat!

We've been perfectly content so far this trip to play at the beach, swim in the pool and we've found our favorite ice cream shop for this trip.

This year our house isn't right on the beach, but it's about 200 feet from the house - the trade off we made to have a pool at the house.

Having the pool has been great - mom and Tim especially enjoy it since they aren't ocean swimmers (well, neither am I...I don't really go in above my ankles). 

My kids are fish - they will swim and swim and swim all day.  And then turn into cranky little heathens because they are so exhausted!  They fall asleep before their heads hit the pillow at night though.

There are lots of big sand dredgers out in the water. This whole beach renovation is very fascinating to me.  What a project!

Last year in Emerald Isle, we discovered Hershey's Ice cream. My first task once we got here was to find a shop that served it here in Nags Head. Less than 2 miles from the house, making it possibly TOO convenient!

We took a walk on Jennette's Pier, which is also newly renovated after hurricanes wiped out the old one.  It's really nice.  We saw fishermen catch a hammerhead shark and a huge stingray. 

The weather has been SOOO hot - mid to upper 90s.  We stopped to get ice for the cooler and Ella and Silas were fighting over who got to hold it on the way home!