Our summer vacation this year was on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras. We were also able to see Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's house) and Kitty Hawk. We rented two rustic cabins on the beach from the National Park Service. Our first rustic cabin had a nice breeze and a fan inside the cabin but the second one had neither. Everyone was hot and sweaty all night long. This makes for poor sleeping. I will admit, I was ready to come home by the time we got home. When I say rustic, I mean rustic. We did have a flush toilet but slept with sleeping bags and cooked over a fire. The islands had these crazy biting flies that really hurt if they got you. They would bite anything, including that tough skin near the bottom of your feet. I have never had a bug bite there. Crazy. Plus their bites actually left itchy welts, kind of like a mosquito. We were glad to finally leave those critters behind. We used an entire can of bug spray on this vacation.
We brought all the gear we needed to go crab fishing. We have chicken legs, nets and string but without our crab whisperer (Taylor) we didn't see much crab action. We caught 2 small ones but they were too small to keep and really didn't see much else. While kayaking, we did happen across a sting ray that was eating a big crab. We let him keep the crab but we did follow him all over the bay watching him eat it. I don't think he appreciated the audience. I had to talk Tom out of scooping up the sting ray with the net. Ummm, crocodile hunter, duh!
We brought all the gear we needed to go crab fishing. We have chicken legs, nets and string but without our crab whisperer (Taylor) we didn't see much crab action. We caught 2 small ones but they were too small to keep and really didn't see much else. While kayaking, we did happen across a sting ray that was eating a big crab. We let him keep the crab but we did follow him all over the bay watching him eat it. I don't think he appreciated the audience. I had to talk Tom out of scooping up the sting ray with the net. Ummm, crocodile hunter, duh!
The ferry captain on the way over lent us his clam rakes. We had a lot fun walking around in knee deep water digging up clams. They are actually pretty big there. I wanted to make pasta with clam sauce but didn't bring the right ingredients. Well, next time I will know. Assateague = crabs, Cape Lookout = clams
The waves on the one side of the island are huge. Ok, not bloody your nose huge, but big enough to jump and boogie board. You will never believe it but Nick is an awesome boogie boarder. Who would have though that little pipsqueak could shred? The other side of the island is a quiet lagoon, perfect for kayaking. We tried to go about 7 miles to a ghost town. We got 4 miles in and realized that the wind was at our backs and it was going to be a fight to get back. We turned around and had to paddle like mad for 2 hours straight to get back to our car. The next day we did do a long trip across the bay to the National Seashore Headquarters. With Isaac as my paddle partner we left Dad and Nick in the dust. We got to the other side and had time to watch the pelicans, take a refreshing swim and spot cloud shapes while we waited for the other two.
We got plenty sunburned. I have let the little boys try to apply sunscreen by themselves. Isaac is doing a good job but Nick seems to think sunscreen can go on adequately with just one finger application.
This trip involved a lot of ferry riding. It is pretty cool to take the car on the ferry and drive around the island on the sand. We had to let the air out of the tires to about 15 psi. The car is so unhappy with this and won't stop alerting us to the low tire pressure. We haven't gotten stuck yet and there is a pump at the ferry dock to reinflate your tires when you get off the ferry. The only down side is that now our new car has so much sand inside it, boo! I guess you could say, it has been properly broken in.
The waves on the one side of the island are huge. Ok, not bloody your nose huge, but big enough to jump and boogie board. You will never believe it but Nick is an awesome boogie boarder. Who would have though that little pipsqueak could shred? The other side of the island is a quiet lagoon, perfect for kayaking. We tried to go about 7 miles to a ghost town. We got 4 miles in and realized that the wind was at our backs and it was going to be a fight to get back. We turned around and had to paddle like mad for 2 hours straight to get back to our car. The next day we did do a long trip across the bay to the National Seashore Headquarters. With Isaac as my paddle partner we left Dad and Nick in the dust. We got to the other side and had time to watch the pelicans, take a refreshing swim and spot cloud shapes while we waited for the other two.
We got plenty sunburned. I have let the little boys try to apply sunscreen by themselves. Isaac is doing a good job but Nick seems to think sunscreen can go on adequately with just one finger application.
This trip involved a lot of ferry riding. It is pretty cool to take the car on the ferry and drive around the island on the sand. We had to let the air out of the tires to about 15 psi. The car is so unhappy with this and won't stop alerting us to the low tire pressure. We haven't gotten stuck yet and there is a pump at the ferry dock to reinflate your tires when you get off the ferry. The only down side is that now our new car has so much sand inside it, boo! I guess you could say, it has been properly broken in.
On the way home our last night was in Chillocothe Ohio where we saw the outdoor drama, Tecumseh. I enjoyed it and I think the little boys did too. I tried to talk to them about the indians and the way they were treated and other issues about the Westward expansion but I think it went over their head. Oh well, eventually, they will be critical thinkers, right?
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