This was supposed to have been for our Christmas card, but, oh well...DRAT! I think I've waited too long to chronicle our days in the Outer Banks! I've forgotten so much! Here's what I started writing on Day 4 of our stay:
Here we are in LOVELY Corolla (Cor-rah-la), on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. O
h, how I look forward to this vacation every year. The Outer Banks are the perfect place for a truly relaxing, mellow vacation. The beaches in Corolla are quiet and not commercialized. There remains a lot of open space, lighthouses and wildlife preserves. I think it's a rare place, indeed. And we are lucky enough to spend a week here to finish off our summer with my sister and her family.
We left Sunday morning. It's a 6 hour drive from the DC area and it was easy. The boys really do travel well. They hung out, snacked, napped. It was only the last hour that they got cagey and we resorted to Dora on the DVD player.
We moved into our beach house, which is about 100 yards from the beach access. Nice and close. We all have our own bedrooms, which is dreamy. And the place has a pool, so
when we get sick of sand stuck in our nether-regions, we can opt for time at the pool instead!
We spent a lot of time on the beach. Bode loved it the first couple of days and then wasn't all that thrilled by it. He enjoyed it in snippets and was ready to go home much sooner than I'd expected. It took me awhile to realize I should have brought some trucks to the beach, so on the last day he had a digger and a dumper and a bulldozer and all was well. What he did consistently love was the pool. He ventured out more than ever before and really had fun. He enjo
yed hanging out on a blow-up crab thingy and kicking his feet. And he held onto the side of the pool and sort of walked around talking about how far he was going. Quite the daredevil...
Keegen enjoyed the beach but not in a jump in the water crazy sort of way (like Bode did at Keegen's age--we could barely contain him). He seemed fascinated by the water but would run away from it as it came towards him. Doug dug little tidepools for him and Chloe, so they spent a lot of time splashing and playing there.
Doug took Fiona and Bode on crab hunts and managed to catch a few itty-bitty crabs an
d release them into the babies' tidepools. We'd watch as the crab dug a hole and disappeared.
Erin and I managed to get away to the local shops and take advantage of the end-of-the-season sales. Doug and Erin stayed up late playing Scrabble and Boggle. I am not much of a gameplayer (such a party-pooper, am I), so they were happy to have each other to play with. I fell asleep watching US Open tennis almost every night. Gotta love it.
The weather was perfect. Sunny everyday. Not one rainstorm. The beach wasn't too full--more
people than our previous stays, but still quiet. I got to spend time with my sis. I got to get to know my nieces better. My sons got to spend time with their cousins and were totally entertained without much effort on my part. I got some alone time with Doug. I got to hear the crashing waves on a daily basis. It was simply a perfect vacation.
Literally, as we got into our rental car to drive to the airport, it started to rain. Tropical Storm Gabrielle was on her way.
We arrived back to Denver 14 hours later to a crisp, cool autumn air! Summer to fall in an instant! I can pull out the sweaters and sweatshirts I bought in OBX sooner than i thought!
Here we are in LOVELY Corolla (Cor-rah-la), on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. O
h, how I look forward to this vacation every year. The Outer Banks are the perfect place for a truly relaxing, mellow vacation. The beaches in Corolla are quiet and not commercialized. There remains a lot of open space, lighthouses and wildlife preserves. I think it's a rare place, indeed. And we are lucky enough to spend a week here to finish off our summer with my sister and her family.We left Sunday morning. It's a 6 hour drive from the DC area and it was easy. The boys really do travel well. They hung out, snacked, napped. It was only the last hour that they got cagey and we resorted to Dora on the DVD player.
We moved into our beach house, which is about 100 yards from the beach access. Nice and close. We all have our own bedrooms, which is dreamy. And the place has a pool, so
when we get sick of sand stuck in our nether-regions, we can opt for time at the pool instead!We spent a lot of time on the beach. Bode loved it the first couple of days and then wasn't all that thrilled by it. He enjoyed it in snippets and was ready to go home much sooner than I'd expected. It took me awhile to realize I should have brought some trucks to the beach, so on the last day he had a digger and a dumper and a bulldozer and all was well. What he did consistently love was the pool. He ventured out more than ever before and really had fun. He enjo
yed hanging out on a blow-up crab thingy and kicking his feet. And he held onto the side of the pool and sort of walked around talking about how far he was going. Quite the daredevil...Keegen enjoyed the beach but not in a jump in the water crazy sort of way (like Bode did at Keegen's age--we could barely contain him). He seemed fascinated by the water but would run away from it as it came towards him. Doug dug little tidepools for him and Chloe, so they spent a lot of time splashing and playing there.
Doug took Fiona and Bode on crab hunts and managed to catch a few itty-bitty crabs an
d release them into the babies' tidepools. We'd watch as the crab dug a hole and disappeared.Erin and I managed to get away to the local shops and take advantage of the end-of-the-season sales. Doug and Erin stayed up late playing Scrabble and Boggle. I am not much of a gameplayer (such a party-pooper, am I), so they were happy to have each other to play with. I fell asleep watching US Open tennis almost every night. Gotta love it.
The weather was perfect. Sunny everyday. Not one rainstorm. The beach wasn't too full--more
people than our previous stays, but still quiet. I got to spend time with my sis. I got to get to know my nieces better. My sons got to spend time with their cousins and were totally entertained without much effort on my part. I got some alone time with Doug. I got to hear the crashing waves on a daily basis. It was simply a perfect vacation.Literally, as we got into our rental car to drive to the airport, it started to rain. Tropical Storm Gabrielle was on her way.
We arrived back to Denver 14 hours later to a crisp, cool autumn air! Summer to fall in an instant! I can pull out the sweaters and sweatshirts I bought in OBX sooner than i thought!
4 comments:
Sigh, I loved this post. It made me slow down and take a deep breath. Glad you had a perfect time and thanks for bringing back many happy memories for me!
very cute family photo! too bad none of mine (of the girls) came out... (searching for a new xmas card opportunity)
This sounds lovely. Oh, the beach pics look so great. I meant to go this year, but I never got around to it.
Those beach pictures are making me LONG for summer again. How can that be?? That family one is GREAT
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