Well we did it. It was many years in the making but we finally had our family vacation. Courtney did all the work. She rented this fantastic house in Nags Head, North Carolina for a week. All we had to do was pay our share and show up. So we did. All of us. There was John and I, Courtney and Dave, Aunt Maryann, Mom and Dad, David and Tanya and the kiddos, Emily and James.
The house was awesome. It was three stories. On the bottom floor there were two rooms. James had one and Emily had the other. They shared a bathroom. On the second floor, there was a bedroom for John & I with our own bathroom; a bedroom for Aunt Maryann and one for Courtney & Dave - they shared a bathroom; the other two bedrooms were for David and Tanya and Dylan and Mia. They, too, had their own bathroom. Then on the third floor, Mom & Dad had a bedroom with their own bathroom. The third floor also had the kitchen (which made lugging groceries up my exercise for the day!), the dining room and the living room.
Prior
to getting there, Courtney assigned everyone a room. Then she labeled
them all so we'd know where to go when we got there.
A view from the third floor. We had our own pool, a deck out by the beach and then our own little private entrance to the beach. Nice.
The deck of the third floor. It looks like a Corona commercial.
We flew into Norfolk, Virginia and drove to the Outer Banks. The drive was pretty nice and only about an hour an a half. Here's the state line going into North Carolina from Virginia.
The first day we spent at the house. John and I took a walk on the beach. We're not really beach people but when in Rome (or North Carolina, as the case may be...). Here's a view of the house from the beach.
John checking out the Atlantic Ocean.
Back at the house, we all decided to hang out at the pool. Here's Tanya and Dylan.
Uncle John and James playing catch.
This was just way cute. Dylan found these noodles and proceeded to beat everyone over the head with them. Then he saw me sitting by myself and decided to include me so I got knocked on the head with the noodles as well. It was so sweet!
Ahh!! Now this is what beach vacations are made of...relaxing and reading a book. All I needed was a fruity frozen drink but it was only noon.
Tuesday, all the adults (except the grandparents) headed over to Roanoke: The Lost Colony. This is where the original settlers came from England. Then they just disappeared and nobody knows what happened to them. Spooky! John, Courtney, David, Tanya and Emily heading to the theater. I have to say, it was a little disappointing. I thought there would be a lot more info about the settlers.
After we went back to the house, I convinced John to take a ride around and look at lighthouses. I know, I know...I make him do a lot of goofy things. I dragged him all over Belgium looking for windmills and now I drag him all over North Carolina looking at lighthouses.
This one is the Bodie Island light station. It was built in 1872. You could go up but there were around 292 stairs. John gave me a look that said, "Remember the belfry in Brugges!" We elected not to climb to the top.
We decided to drive on. The next stop was Cape Hatteras where there was another lighthouse. We had to drive across this monster bridge to get there.
Cape Hatteras Light station was lit in 1870. This was the second lighthouse in this spot. There are five lighthouses in the Outer Banks. This particular lighthouse protects one of the most hazardous spots on the Atlantic coast.
There were deer having a bit of a snack right outside the lighthouse parking lot. Very cute.
The house that we all stayed in was great for having so many people. There was a fully stocked kitchen so we all took turns cooking. David took the first day and make chicken fried chicken and veggies. Mom took Tuesday and made spaghetti. I took Wednesday and made Shrimp Etouffe and then Dave took Thursday and grilled burgers, dogs and chicken.
Aunt Maryann made some delicious appetizers almost everyday. It was great! Friday was leftover night. We had so much food it was ridiculous but I think by Saturday morning, we had pretty much taken care of all the leftovers.
When we went to Roanoke, Emily and John decided to get a National Park passport. It's a book that allows you to get a stamp every time you visit a National Park. They got one at Roanoke, of course.
Wednesday, Emily and John were on a quest for stamps. Me? I was along for the ride.
First stop was Kitty Hawk. This is where the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane. It was very cool.
John and Emily getting their stamps for their passports at Kitty Hawk. We went back to the two lighthouses so they could get stamps there as well. We wanted to go to Okracoke as well but we ran out of time. We had to head back because it was our turn to cook.
Here we all are! David, Tanya, Dylan, Mia, Emily, Courtney, Dave, me, James, Dad, Mom, Aunt Maryann and John.
Mom got an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen (who doesn't sell Hungerbusters, by the way!) to celebrate all the August birthdays. I believe it's Mom, Emily and Tanya. The cake was fantastic.
Two of the birthday girls: Mom and Emily.
Thursday, we all piled into the car and headed out to Norfolk. First we took a tour of the Naval Base. It made me think of my dad. Then after lunch, we went to tour the USS Wisconsin.
Dylan's not quite sure what to make of Uncle John's beard. It's fuzzy.
Mia checking out the periscope.
Dylan and Mia on the USS Wisconsin.
James on the USS Wisconsin. He was so thirsty! My kingdom for a bottle of water!
Grandpa and James.
John.
Tanya and Dylan.
Back at the ranch....It wouldn't be a vacation if we didn't do a selfie.
The whole crew out on the deck enjoying the good life.
Mom and Dad relaxing on the deck.
Friday was the day we elected not to leave the house unless it was on fire. Luckily, we didn't have to leave the house. Instead, we went down to the beach for a bit. I got in the water with James. Thank God there is no photographic evidence. The ocean pushed me around like tree in the wind. Also, just for the record, the water was FREEZING! James had a boogie board and he was catching the waves and riding them in. Me? I was just trying to stand on my own two feet. I was minimally successful.
Saturday it was time to go. But, we couldn't leave North Carolina without trying some Carolina BBQ. We chose Pigman's BBQ. With a name like that we couldn't go wrong.
Oh my God! It was so good. The meat just fell off the bone!
After than we headed back to Norfolk to catch our flight. Bye Outer Banks! We had a great time. We thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with everyone.
Here it is, the birthday song.
