Vacation - Part 1

This time last month, our family took a little trip down to the Outer Banks. We didn't do a beach vacation last summer so we were all looking forward to it. This was the kids' second trip to the beach and the pup's first trip. My parents came along too and we all rented a house together, just a hop skip and a jump to the ocean.

(view from window of beach house, photo courtesy of my mom)


My little clan arrived first and while we waited for my parents, we couldn't help but take a walk down the beach. It was completely necessary to find out as soon as possible if the pup would be as much of an ocean lover as the pooch was in all her days. At first she was a little concerned about the fact that the water chased her.

But within a few minutes she was diving in, chasing sticks and balls, and ready to become a beach dog for life. (Although she never did get used to the taste of the salt water and would make these entertaining faces each time she got a mouthful.)


Our plan for the week was to spend each day at the beach doing fun beach things like swimming, looking for shells, building sandcastles, and more swimming.






We also got a few treats at the beach like seeing a group of dolphins playing not far off the coast. Greg spotted a giant jellyfish making its way up the coast. Some guys boogie boarding near us scooped it up on their boards and brought it to shore. It was HUGE! I don't have a picture but the top of the thing was over a foot across and it had this massive blob of tentacles. I'm not one for senseless killing but I wasn't upset in the least that this poor beast had met his fate.

Our evening plans included sometimes eating out, sometimes eating in, and exploring. These photos are from the area around one of our favorite restaurants down there that is situated on the bay.





Of course we managed to squeeze in a little relaxing too. These two squeezed in a lot of relaxing.


Speaking of relaxing, since we bought our current home almost 2 years ago, I have been itching to get back to the Outer Banks so we could hit up Nags Head Hammocks and purchase something to help us relax back home. We did a little shopping one evening and came home with this!


We had several more things planned for our vacation week including more beach time, ice cream, a seafood boil, and a boat ride. Unfortunately, as the sun began to rise on our third full day at the beach, my beach vacation took an unexpected turn which resulted in this lovely souvenir from our long awaited vacation.


To be continued...