Tuesday, May 26, 2015

OBX or Bust!

Three years ago we made this list (it's been a tradition every place we've lived since Philly):
Jon and I tried to brainstorm everything we wanted to try to see while living in the South-- from the easily achievable (like Myrtle Beach at the top of the list), to the far-fetched (like New Orleans, or the Adirondacks in NY). We included everything, hoping to cover as much as possible despite limited time and money, and I think we did pretty good! With one LAST 3-day weekend holiday left, this list helped us narrow our choices down to three feasible places: 1) Outer Banks, NC, 2) Savannah, GA, or 3) Smoky Mountains and Asheville, NC. We chose option 1 and ran with it. It was a beach!! Duh. I suppose we will just have a few more reasons to come back and visit-- so we can cross a couple more places off our list! 
We picked the kids up early from school Friday afternoon and headed straight for the Outer Banks-- a 200 mile strip of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina with pristine beaches and tons to do and see. Saturday morning we decided to head first to Kitty Hawk, where the famous Wright brothers were able to achieve flight in 1903. 
Lucy was over the moon because they'd just studied about the Wright brothers in a science unit at school. She shared everything she knew about Orville and Wilbur, including the fact that they'd chosen this beach for its wind and sand for soft landings.
The three markers you see in the background mark exactly where the first three flights landed-- the first lasting 12 seconds, and then each getting consecutively longer. How cool to stand there-- breathing in such an important part of history that nobody believed possible!
One of the hangers where they stored their planes-- including the Wright Flyer. 
The National Parks Monument to Orville and Wilbur-- the best humans ever!
We got a great view of the coast up at the top of the monument-- and it was sure windy that morning!! They weather was surprisingly cool that day, 70 degrees with lots and lots of wind. Guess it made for great flying conditions, ha, ha.
After Kitty Hawk, we still had some time to kill before heading to the beach, so we drover over to the Bodie Island Lighthouse in Nags Head, built in 1872.   
 Unfortunately there was a long line of people waiting to climb up to the top so we decided not to wait around, but it was pretty fun to see a real lighthouse. It made me think of watching "Pete's Dragon" when I was a kid.
Next we headed over to Jockey's Ridge State Park which is the East Coast's largest and tallest active sand dune system. We learned that the Outer Banks islands were formed during the Ice Age, but what scientists don't know is how these dunes were formed-- they're kind of an anomaly, most likely formed by hurricanes and storms.
Since it wasn't hot, we could walk around on bare feet, and the kids had a blast running and sliding up and down these big huge mounds of sand!
You can just barely see Lucy walking back up this hill after she'd slid down it. It was quite a workout-- that sand was so soft! 
Climbing up and down all those sand dunes definitely worked up our appetites for lunch, so we found a local place back in Kitty Hawk called the "Food Dude's Kitchen" that had great reviews online.
I'm so glad we did! We always try really hard to find local places to eat at instead of "chain restaurants"-- because you can get that food anywhere you go, but trying a local place is much more rewarding. I got a Mahi-Mahi wrap because you HAVE to eat fresh seafood at the beach!
Jon got an awesome steak wrap, and the kids got some massive burgers, and we were all happy and well-fed, which is an excellent way to head to the beach-- and that was next on our list!
Here it is! We finally made it to the Outer Banks after four years of trying.
Oops! It was so windy we kept getting sand in our eyes. Poor Leah.
 Like I said, it was SUPER windy, so there were riptide and strong current warnings all along the beach. We decided we'd better not let Lucy or Zach swim because the water looked really rough. Plus it was COLD down at the beach with the wind in full-force. Brrrr. We still tried to make the best of our beach time, but Lucy was not a happy camper about that. We're used to Myrtle Beach where the sand bar goes out forever and the tide comes in really slowly.
Zach posing with the boogie board he didn't get to use. We stayed for about 1 1/2 hours until we could take the wind no more! 
Leah was due a nap, but we weren't quite ready to head back to the hotel just yet. While she slept in the car, Lucy and I decided to check out the Lost Colony of Roanoke, which was right up Lucy's alley with some more fascinating history! Established in 1585, Roanoke Colony was the first English settlement in American history-- but due to mysterious circumstances, no one knows what happened to the 115 colonists who simply disappeared... It wasn't until 1607 that Jamestown was established up in Virginia, and the English really began to explore and settle the America we know today.   
The monument to Virginia Dare, who was the first English baby born on American soil right after the colonists landed. Too bad nobody knows what happened to her. 
Lucy exploring the earthworks from the original fort built by the Lost Colony. And other than a few artifacts that have been found and preserved by archaeologists in the museum, this is all that's left of those brave settlers 400 years ago.... 
Sunday morning we were able to find a little ward to attend in Elizabeth City (where our hotel was), so right after sacrament meeting we headed back out to the Outer Banks. Since we'd had such a bum beach day the afternoon before, we knew we needed to squeeze in a little bit more sun and sand before we headed back home. So we got some fish tacos from a restaurant to-go, and had an impromptu picnic on the beach!!
Woohoo!! Leah's expression says it all! The weather was much better-- and NO wind! And although we still didn't get in the ocean to swim, it was nice to lay in the sun and get our toes back in the sand. 
Zachary had fun playing with the beach toys and trying to build a sand castle, but let's face it-- that's a LOT harder than it looks.
Once we felt like we'd soaked up enough Vitamin D (can you ever have too much??) we loaded up into the minivan and headed back home. I'm so glad we had a chance to check out the Outer Banks before we leave for good, and get one more place checked off our list before it's officially retired. Guess it's time to make a list for Colorado now....