OBX

Greetings from the Outer Banks, NC. We've actually been down here for a week already...right after the kids got out of school for summer break. We rented a beach house (with Tricia's family) in Nags Head, located right across the street from direct access to the oceanfront.

It is still quite early for the tourist season and even some of the local schools are just getting out this week. It was so nice to be at our vacation spot in less than a 2 hour drive....no whining kids. The weather this past week was very warm and pleasant, although each day the weather forecast called for scattered or isolated thunderstorms. It didn't rain until late Friday afternoon and it was a good thing we went to the beach that morning.
The kids, Ted, and believe it or not, I, myself, enjoyed boogie boarding. There were a lot of surfers catching waves this week which was kind of cool to watch. The water was unusually clear and since it is so early in the season, we did not have to deal with jellyfish. The kids enjoyed swimming, playing in the sand, playing miniature golf and going for walks along the beach.

Last Monday we took the kids to Jockey's Ridge, a state park that hosts the largest sand dunes on the east coast. This excursion was definitely great exercise....climbing uphill. The views of the dunes are unique....you feel like you are in the middle of a desert. Once you climb up these huge dunes you get breathtaking views of Nags Head and can see both the Atlantic Ocean and the Roanoke Sound.

On Wed., we ventured out along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It was an all day excursion and the kids were very good but very tired by the end of the day. The drive along the seashore was interesting. Little beach towns here and there, including the now famous Rodanthe. We climbed up the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in the nation (definitely got some exercise climbing up 268 steps or 12 stories high ) in the morning. It was worth it because the views were so amazing.
Soon after we waited for what seemed like an eternity (almost 2 hrs.) to catch a ferry ride from Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island. We've never been to Ocracoke and thought this would be a good opportunity to venture out. The ferry boat was actually a vehicle transport ferry so we were able to drive our minivan right on the boat. It was a free ride on the ferry, compliments of NCDOT. The ferry ride to Ocracoke took about 40 minutes. Ocracoke itself is only about 13 miles long. The Village of Ocracoke is a very small and very quaint town with most of its business coming from tourists and fishing. We also visited the Ocracoke Lighthouse which was dwarfed by the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, standing only 75 ft. It was built in 1823 and is the oldest lighthouse still in operation in NC.
Thursday evening we enjoyed a relaxing bonfire right on the beach. Everyone enjoyed roasting marshmallows and making smores. It couldn't get better than that.
As with any vacation, the week went by too fast. But we all had a wonderful time....making memories, and there is still so much more to come because summer has just begun.....(check out more pics in the slideshow link below)