Vacation

Tuesday, September 2nd through Tuesday, September 9th, we went on vacation to the Outer Banks and Southport. We had gone to the Outer Banks before, back in 2007, and my son was really wanting to go back. So we went there for a few days before going to Southport.


Things We Did:

Wednesday, the 3rd:

The Elizabethan Gardens . It was beautiful and we especially enjoyed the spot near the water, where there was a nice cool breeze. Word to the wise though. Don't go in the summer unless you enjoy the heat. We were roasting and sweaty, even with all the shady spots.

Bodie Island Lighthouse and Coquina Beach. It was a little drizzly, so we didn't get out of the car at the lighthouse. We then went across highway 12 to Coquina Beach. We had seen an old shipwreck there in 2007 and wanted to see it again. We walked out onto the beach (Kelly wearing her hoodie, me with an umbrella), but couldn't find the shipwreck. Apparently, it's currently buried under the sand. We walked the beach for a while, until the rain got a little heavier and we could see lightning in the distance (behind the lighthouse).

Thursday, the 4th:

Roanoke Island Festival Park. Explored the Elizabeth II, the Native American town, the settlement site, and the museum.

Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. We also went to a gift shop at one of the nearby shops. I had seen a Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse replica/figurine in 2007, but hadn't bought one. I'd always wished that I had. I got one this time. I have all the other NC lighthouses also, except for Price's Creek. I haven't found any little replicas of that one.

 
After eating at La Dolce Vita that night, we went back to the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. We hung out for a bit at the lighthouse and walked along the waterfront. It was really nice.

Jockey's Ridge. Charlie and I weren't up to climbing it on that day. The sun was blazing down and I had pretty much already reached my heat limit. We watched the kids walk up the dune and took some pictures. I then went back to the car, blasted the A/C, and waited for the family.

Friday, the 5th:

Currituck Lighthouse and the Whalehead Club. Sean climbed the lighthouse to the top. After he came down, we went over to the Whalehead Club, walked down to the water, and toured the house.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Sean climbed this lighthouse as well and we checked out the museum. Afterward, we went to the gift shop and the kids got a few things.

Bodie Island Lighthouse. We were too late to go inside the lighthouse or the keeper's house, but we did get some pretty shots of it.

Charlie and the kids went swimming once in the hotel pool (I don't remember which day)  while I took a nap in our hotel room. And Charlie and Sean went fishing off one of the piers (Avalon?) one night in the OBX.

We also played Putt-Putt one night. There were two or three big waterfalls there (man-made, of course) and a pirate ship. After choosing your club and ball and paying, you ride a little train to the top and then play your way back down. It was fun. :-)


Saturday, the 6th:

We went to Southport, making a brief stop at Lake Mattamuskeet on the way. I'd only ever seen pictures of it and always wanted to see it in person.

When we finally got to Southport, we had supper at Fishy Fishy Cafe and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the yacht basin.

Sunday, the 7th through Tuesday, the 8th was all about swimming (Charlie and the kids in the hotel pool), fishing from the Southport pier (Charlie and Sean), shopping (Kelly and I - antique shops, gift shops, used book store, a clothing store), enjoying the view of the waterfront, and walking and playing on Caswell Beach (Kelly and I).

Charlie and Sean fishing in the rain. They were wearing ponchos.

On our last day, Tuesday, we took the ferry to Ft. Fisher and then went to the aquarium and butterfly pavilion. After that, we made our way back home.

Where we ate:

In the OBX:

Jolly Roger (it was okay), Slice Pizzeria (good), Stack Em High Pancakes (there's one in Kill Devil Hills and one in Kitty Hawk; we preferred the one in Kitty Hawk), Henry's Restaurant (it was decent; I liked my burger), and La Dolce Vita (delicious!! I had penne with meat sauce and loved it!) in Manteo.


In Southport:

Locals (for breakfast; Kelly and I love their French toast!), Fishy Fishy Cafe (twice) and Famous Subs and Pizza (Sean and I had the pizza - sooo good!!; Charlie and Kelly had subs).


Between the Outer Banks and Southport, we much prefer Southport. Smaller and quieter. Plus, it's home for me (where I'm originally from) and feels like home to my husband and kids. If we didn't have such an awesome church here Greensboro, we'd be mighty tempted to move to Southport.

There's a lot of beauty in the Outer Banks and we had a good time, but I don't know if we'll go back again. At least not anytime soon. We love Southport so much and the whole time we were in the OBX we were looking forward to being in Southport. :-)

New Computer and Other Stuff

So, I've had my new computer for a few weeks now. It's quite a change going from Windows XP to Windows 8.1. I'm still trying to get used to it. Everything is different. I just figured out the quickest way to shut the computer down a few days ago. :-/ When all you've known is Windows XP for the past 10 or 11 years, it can take awhile to adjust to Windows 8.1. It's very different. But I usually figure things out on my own after awhile. (I tend not to read manuals or instructions unless I can't do it myself after several tries.) I expect I'll know where everything is in due time. :-)

New monitor, new computer, new keyboard. New mouse, but I'm using my old wireless. Though that needs replacing, too.

I should be getting my new cell phone this week. Lord, I can't wait. My current phone has been such a pain for the past month.

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What else has been going on? Same ol', same ol', pretty much.

We'll be starting the new school year (homeschool) soon. I need to order their tests first so they can get that done for the year. Then go to the homeschool store and get their curriculum.


I've been working on the family tree a bit more. Speaking of which, my mom went to visit her aunt Nelie (my great aunt; my mom's mom's sister) and gave her some pictures and documents I had printed out for her. She loved it! I'm so glad I was able to share some information with her that she didn't know and that she was able to see pictures she hadn't seen before. I'd like to print some more stuff out for her. I just wish my grandma and grandpa were alive to see it, too. I know they'd love to know what I've found. I wish I'd done all this years ago when they were still living.


Other than that, there's been the usual homemaker/full-time mom stuff, reading, going to church, etc.


My next blog entry will be about our vacation. I'll get to that as soon as I'm able. That's always a long entry with lots of photos. :-)