A long string of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, the Outer Banks are well known for their sand dunes and hundreds of miles of gorgeous beaches. The scenery is literally breathtaking and it's easy to see why it's such a popular tourist destination. It was our first trip there and despite the mishaps and bad weather along the way, I daresay that it's become my favorite of all the Atlantic beaches we've ever been to. Not that I have anything against the Delaware and Virginia beaches that we usually go to, but with the clearer water, lighter beach traffic, and awesome city names like Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, and Nags Head we are sold!
Our last day in North Carolina, our friends took us to Oregon Inlet Marina, where we'd hoped to see the fishing boats arriving with their day's catch. Unfortunately, the water had been too rough that day for the boats to go out, so we didn't actually get to see much in the way of fish. We did, however, get to enjoy a walk on the marina, looking at the boats, laughing at some of their names, and enjoying the sights while we spent the last couple of hours with our friends before parting ways.
There may not have been much fishing going on, but we did get to see a couple of boats coming and going from the marina. Glen mentioned that they were very similar to the fishing boats that he and Spencer went out on during their trip to Florida in June.
Age proved to be no obstacle to Ellie and Gianna's friendship during the trip. They may be two years apart in age, but they laughed and played and had a great time together.
Albeit with a healthy dose of silliness...
The marina wasn't sandy like the beaches, but Adam did find this very cool shell covered with barnacles. We guessed that it was either an oyster or clam and opted to throw it back in the water before leaving instead of adding it to their collection.
We took advantage of having our friends there and had them take a family picture for us. Unfortunately in order to get the best view of the boats in the background meant that we were staring right into the sun and true to form my eyes were closed in every single picture.
Here is one final group shot with everyone (except the Moms and one of their kids who randomly decided not join the picture)....
After leaving the marina, we made one more stop at a beach before officially parting ways. It was in Pea Island State Park and it was a much less crowded, more rustic beach than the others we'd been to. It was stunningly beautiful and we loved the dunes and empty expanses of sand.
There were far more seashells there than the other beaches and each one of the kids ended up with a big handful to take home with them.
It was too pretty there not to pose for pictures, so Cami had me take her a new Facebook profile pic.
After that we said, "Goodbye," then stopped for a little treat at Sweet Frog (our first time)....
YUM!
and then drove up to Williamsburg for Part 2 of our vacation.
Our last day in North Carolina, our friends took us to Oregon Inlet Marina, where we'd hoped to see the fishing boats arriving with their day's catch. Unfortunately, the water had been too rough that day for the boats to go out, so we didn't actually get to see much in the way of fish. We did, however, get to enjoy a walk on the marina, looking at the boats, laughing at some of their names, and enjoying the sights while we spent the last couple of hours with our friends before parting ways.
There may not have been much fishing going on, but we did get to see a couple of boats coming and going from the marina. Glen mentioned that they were very similar to the fishing boats that he and Spencer went out on during their trip to Florida in June.
Age proved to be no obstacle to Ellie and Gianna's friendship during the trip. They may be two years apart in age, but they laughed and played and had a great time together.
The marina wasn't sandy like the beaches, but Adam did find this very cool shell covered with barnacles. We guessed that it was either an oyster or clam and opted to throw it back in the water before leaving instead of adding it to their collection.
We took advantage of having our friends there and had them take a family picture for us. Unfortunately in order to get the best view of the boats in the background meant that we were staring right into the sun and true to form my eyes were closed in every single picture.
Here is one final group shot with everyone (except the Moms and one of their kids who randomly decided not join the picture)....
After leaving the marina, we made one more stop at a beach before officially parting ways. It was in Pea Island State Park and it was a much less crowded, more rustic beach than the others we'd been to. It was stunningly beautiful and we loved the dunes and empty expanses of sand.
There were far more seashells there than the other beaches and each one of the kids ended up with a big handful to take home with them.
It was too pretty there not to pose for pictures, so Cami had me take her a new Facebook profile pic.
After that we said, "Goodbye," then stopped for a little treat at Sweet Frog (our first time)....
and then drove up to Williamsburg for Part 2 of our vacation.
Looks like an amazing vacation destination. Would love to visit the Outer Banks some day.
ReplyDeleteLove all the cute pix. And tell Adam that we love his new haircut.