This day of our vacation started off a little slower. For instance, we watched Dora the Explorer in our jammies. 🙂
After a bit, we all headed down to the beach. A beach session with a bunch of kids that can’t swim isn’t the most relaxing way to spend your day. It was kind of nice when they all asked to be buried in the sand. You can’t lose a kid to the surf when they’re completely buried in sand. 😉
After dinner that night, a bunch of us headed to Mutiny Bay for some pirate-theme mini golf.
Watching our first golfer (Matthew) tee off at the first hole. There was quite a crowd there that night, as you can see.
It was a fun night with only minor issues. Not too bad with such a large group!
Our big adventure on this day was to go to the Wright Brothers Memorial and have lunch at the Outer Banks Brewing Station. After checking out the memorial and doing lunch, Matthew pooped out in the car while Mike ran into the store for some essentials.
When we got there, a park ranger told us that they were doing a special event for kids over near where the flight markers were located. A park ranger was having kids run the length/distance of the first flight and see if they could run it quicker than the first flight time. I’m happy to report that both Ian and Matthew were faster than the first flight. OMG, I can’t imagine the crying and drama we’d experienced if they didn’t race equally fast. LOL
Visitor center
I’ve been to the Wright Brothers Memorial 3 or 4 times at this point and I always forget how much walking there is….holy moly, it’s a work out!
Our last visit was about 6 months before the centennial. That year, they put in Centennial Pavilion (I took no pictures of the stuff in there) and a new monument that you can see below. You can also see a giant dune in the background.
Standing at the top of the monument gives you impressive views of the Outer Banks and ocean.
We watched a plane land on the runway next to the memorial!
The loooooooong walk back. The white tent thingy (on right) is Centennial Pavilion.
Nobody wanted to walk!
Ready to get educated?!?!
Replica of their camp while they were in Kill Devil Hills attempting to fly. The buildings replicate their living quarters and the hangar for the 1903 flyer.
Next, we walked the path that represents the distance for each of the flights. There are markers that represent each flight and it’s a great way to comprehend how much improvement they made over the course of the 4 flights.
At the start of the path:
Flight 1:
See the markers for flight 2 and flight 3? Flight 4 is waaaay down the path.
Flight 2:
Flight 3:
Flight 4:
This is the view from the 4th flight marker. You can barely see the other markers from here.
On my way back:
There was a crowd flying kites on the grounds of the memorial.
Before leaving the memorial, we drove around to the new monument. It is a replica of the photograph of the first flight.
You can see the man on the wings of the flyer.
After that, we headed to lunch at the Outer Banks Brewing Station – a Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives location.
And the post-lunch carseat crash:
He has gorgeous eyelashes.
The drink of choice for this vacation:
The next day in the Outer Banks involved a little beach time, a little pool time, a little shopping time, and a nice lunch with my best guys.
First order of business, shopping for some essentials:
Lunch with my best guys. We ate at Miller’s Waterfront Restaurant and our table overlooked the sound. We watched jet skiers and wind surfers while eating. It was great!
After the Alts arrived, it was time for the beach and pool!
After everyone got dried off and dressed, it was time for dinner and a surprise birthday party for Nick and Matthew!
Finally, time for the Outer Banks!!!
I think one of the most exciting parts of our drive was the under water tunnel in Norfolk.
http://youtu.be/jevI2cSA6jM
Matthew told me that he thought the tunnel should have windows so you could see the fish in the water like an aquarium.
Once we got to the Outer Banks, we stopped at Walmart for some supplies since our house wasn’t available yet.
Matthew took this opportunity to hang out on the one of the world’s biggest Adirondack chairs! LOL
After a quick break at a playground and a stop for ice cream, we finally were able to get in our house.
We were right on the beach and had a fantastic view of the ocean.
We were very close to Jennette’s Pier.
Nick has the same love-hate relationship with the sun that I have. LOL
After listening to begging for hours, it was finally time to get in the water.
http://youtu.be/RViAvsQ48Uk
The sunset was gorgeous!
And more Super Moon pictures!
The sky was very overcast but I did manage to get some pictures. There was a large crowd on the beach watching the moon.
The next day, Mike headed to a Washington Nationals baseball game while I took the boys to a VA friend’s birthday party for her daughter. I have a handful of friends that live in the Northern VA area and generally I only get to see them when I visit Courtney. It was nice to catch up with everyone and see how much their kids have grown up.
There was a playground next to the park shelter so the kids were in heaven!
Just for reference, this was the last time these 4 were together. It was October 2008 so Matthew was just 3-4 months old. Clearly Ian wanted nothing to do with picture taking. LOL
And in February 2008 when I was in VA after Andrew was born (I was pregnant with Matthew):
Believe it or not, there were 2 kids missing from this picture!
And the moms to that herd of kids!
It was really nice hanging out with everyone for a few hours. After we got back to the hotel, we went to dinner and then visited with Courtney a little bit. We were all getting really excited for the Outer Banks the next day.
(In a funny coincidence, my friend in the white shorts was in the Outer Banks the same week as us. She stayed maybe a mile or two from us but we never managed to find time to meet up. Maybe we can meet up the next time we go on vacation together! 😉 )