OBX Vacation - Days 6 & 7

Day 6: Cape Hatteras National Seashore & Currituck Beach Lighthouse
- 10am - 2pm: Beach day at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
- 2 - 4pm: Naps
- 5pm: Swim in the pool
- 6:30pm: Visit Currituck Beach Lighthouse
- 7pm: Dinner in Corolla

Day 7: Currituck Beach Lighthouse and Pack up to go home
- 10am: Climb Currituck Beach Lighthouse
- 11am: Head home - We'll miss you, Outer Banks!

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

For our last full day in OBX, we drove down to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. This was the most amazing beach ever. There was just us and the beach for as far as you could see. We walked all along the beach looking for "sheshells", played in the waves, built sandcastles and skim boarded. Unfortunately, it started to rain pretty hard, so we had to leave a little earlier than we wanted to, but it was a fantastic day.
I love some of these photos of the boys because you can tell that we were totally by ourselves on this gorgeous seashore. In this first picture of Jordan, he's standing at the water's edge just contemplating the wonders of the universe. :-)

Swimming in the Pool
I'm pretty sure Matthew's favorite part of the whole vacation was diving to the bottom of the pool. Seriously, he can't even swim, but he'll dive to the bottom of the pool and push off the ground with his little feet to rocket himself back to the surface. It was so hilarious. I've included a video this time too. I'm recording him under the water, and as he's diving, he looks at the camera as if to say, "You're getting this, right? How awesome am I?!" No joke - this kid is going to be the next Michael Phelps.
Jordan also loved the pool, but he preferred to stay in the kiddie pool. :-)





Currituck Beach Lighthouse
What is it about lighthouses that are so romantic? I adore them. The Outer Banks is home to 4 or 5 lighthouses, but we were only able to make it to one. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse (just about 1 mile from our house) was built in 1875. All of the lighthouses were painted with different designs (some stripes, checkers, etc.) so sailors could tell where they were along the coast. The Currituck Lighthouse was kept the original red brick, though. Anyway, there's your history lesson for today, and here are some pictures. :)

The lighthouse was closed when we went on Friday, so we just got some pictures with everyone at the bottom that day. Jeremy and I returned with the boys on Saturday so we could climb the 214-step spiral staircase to the top.


(this picture taken earlier in the week when my dad and Max climbed to the top)

OBX Vacation - Days 4 & 5

Day 4: Another Beach Day :) & Search for Corolla Wild Horses
- 10am: Head to the beach
- 2pm: Quick swim in the pool
- 2:30 - 4:30pm: Naps
- 5pm: Pick up some fresh seafood at the market
- 6pm: Enjoy a yummy seafood dinner at our beach house (cooked by amazing chef, Jeremy Crouch)
- 7pm: Drive to the top of the island to look for Corolla Wild Horses

More of the Beach


Corolla Wild Horses

Because the top of the island is a reserve for the Corolla Wild Horses, the road ends and the only way to go further by car is with 4-wheel drive. On Wednesday evening, we saddled up in our Trailblazer and took on the beach in search of the wild mustangs. It was a crazy ride (I was terrified, actually), but SO worth it. We didn't see a dozen wild horses frolicking in the ocean like I expected, but we did get to see this beautiful guy. He was so serene and amazing. This was Jordan's favorite part of the whole vacation.

Day 5: Wright Bros. Memorial and Hang Gliding @ Jockey's Ridge
- 11am: Wright Bros. National Memorial
- 12:30pm: Lunch at Kill Devil's - such YUMMY burgers & frozen custard
- 2pm: Hang Gliding lesson @ Jockey's Ridge State Park
- 9pm: Crab chasing on the beach

Wright Bros. National Memorial

Since the boys are obsessed with two things - sharks and airplanes - they had a good time at Wright Bros. National Memorial, which is the location of the first flight. We browsed through the museum, saw a replica of the Wright Brothers' workshop and walked the path of the first four flights. It was cool to stand in the very places where the Wright Brothers took off and landed.

The Memorial (on top of the hill)

The Wright Brother's airplane hangar

The Wright Brothers' workshop

The take-off spot and the first 3 landing spots

A replica of the Wright Flyer

Hang Gliding @ Jockey's Ridge State Park

Jockey's Ridge State Park is home to the tallest sand dunes of the Eastern United States. It is from the top of those sand dunes that Jeremy, Daniel and I took a hang gliding lesson! It was super hot and windy up there, but we had a blast. By the end of the lesson, all three of us were landing on our feet like pros (well, kind of). ;-)




Crab chasing on the beach
Once the sun goes down, all of the crabs come out of their little holes in the sand. You'll see them if you're out walking the beach at night, and if you shine a flashlight on the ground then you'll see crabs scatter everywhere. It's no exaggeration when I say that there are 100's of them! Aren't they cute?

OBX Vacation - Day 3

Day 3: Explore Roanoke Island
- 8am: Head out early so we can hit Roanoke Island Festival Park before it gets too hot. :)
- 9am - 12pm: Roanoke Island Festival Park
- 12pm: Picnic lunch at Roanoke Island Festival Park
- 1pm - 4pm: Roanoke NC Aquarium
- 4:30: Swing by Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (the actual site of the lost colony)
- 7pm: Dinner in Duck (in my opinion, the cutest little town in OBX)

Roanoke Island Festival Park
For anyone who is not exactly brushed up on their American history, Roanoke Island is the site of the Lost Colony - Fort Raleigh, the first English settlement in the United States. Roanoke Island Festival Park is a tribute to the Lost Colony, and takes you back to the 16th century with their American Indian Town, English Settlement Site and a replica of the Elizabeth II which brought English settlers to Roanoke Island. The boys had fun pretending to be Indians, and Jeremy & Daniel had a good time hoisting the sails on the ship. There was also a children's museum which walked through the history of Roanoke Island from the 16th century to present day. Matt and Jordi loved the pirate costumes! :-)








Roanoke NC Aquarium
The aquarium is just a couple miles from the Island Festival Park. There were all kinds of animals and fish to see, but of course the boys' favorite were the sharks (they're obsessed with sharks!). We also loved the sting ray tank where you could pet the sting rays.





Ft. Raleigh National Historic Site
Crazy to think that 75 men lived in this little fort.

OBX Vacation - Day 2

Day 2: Another Beach Day :)
- 10am: Crabbing at the pier
- 11am: Head to the Beach (with a packed lunch)
- 2:30pm: Quick swim in the pool
- 3 - 5pm: Naps
- 5pm: Pick up some fresh seafood at the market
- 6pm until Lights out: Enjoy a yummy seafood dinner at our beach house (cooked by amazing chef, Jeremy Crouch), relax and watch a movie

Crabbing at the pier
It was so cool to go crabbing at our neighborhood pier! We learned how to hunt for blue softshell crabs. You hang some raw chicken on the end of a line, drop it down to the bottom and wait for a little pincher to start tugging. :-) We caught quite a few little guys, although none of them were quite big enough for eating. The boys were totally enamored by this activity.



The Beach
We spent the majority of the rest of the day playing at the beach. :)

OBX Vacation - Day 1

Day 1: Beach day
- 10am: Head to the beach
- 1pm: Quick swim in the pool
- 1:30pm: a late lunch and then clean up for naps
- 2pm - 4pm: Naps
- 7pm: Ride bikes to Corolla Heritage Park for the Corolla 4th of July festival and fireworks

The Beach

Jordan LOVED playing in the sand and spent most of the day out of the water. Although he did enjoy playing in the "baby" waves, he wouldn't set foot in ocean water deeper than his ankles. Guess he's seen too many shark documentaries on Discovery Channel. ;-)

Matthew, on the other hand, is my water baby. He was completely fearless in those waves. The surf was quite strong, yet every time he would get trashed by a wave, he'd just come back up screaming for more. His exact words: "That was totally cool! Let's do it again!!" He'd go out with someone and, as soon as that person decided it was time to go back to shore, Matthew would grab someone else by the hand and drag them back to the surf.

4th of July Festival
What a gorgeous place to sit and watch fireworks. We rode our bikes over to the Corolla Heritage Park for the 4th of July festival and fireworks show. The park is set against the sound and it is absolutely beautiful at sunset! After the sun went down, the fireworks were set off over the sound. I felt so blessed to be in such a beautiful place with my family, celebrating the birth of our country. I thank God for the sound principles that this country was built upon and for the freedoms that we all share. Happy Birthday, America!