OBX

We headed for the Outer Banks of North Carolina the first week of October with our good friends the Jensens. It was considered off season so we got a killer deal on a beach house right on the the sandy shores, including a deck with a hot tub. We drove down the coast and headed down past Kittyhawk to the Outer Banks. Our place was in Waves, NC which is between Kittyhawk and Hatteras. Though the winds were high the first day or so, things calmed down and we were able to enjoy the warm breezes and white surf of OBX. We took a day trip down to Ocracoke Island to experience one of the US's most beautiful beaches. The ferry trip was fun for the kids as they fed the seagulls and contemplated the pirate history associated with Ocracoke. We all agreed it was a perfect day on Lifeguard Beach boogie boarding, picnicking, flying kites, and digging in the sand. Back at the beach house we enjoyed life at a beach bum pace, making the most of our time on the sand and in the water. Our days were filled with pirate treasure hunts, sea shell exploration, sunrise photographs, walks along the shoreline, reading books and just feeling the ocean air fill our lungs. Our nights included a bonfire on the beach, relaxing in the hot tub, playing games, feasting on crab and curling up with a good book as the sound of the tides lulled in the background. It was a perfect of summer getaway!

Of course our trip would not have been complete without a pit stop at KittyHawk/Kill Devil Hills to take in the history of the Wright brothers' first flight. Since we visited the Air and Space museum in D.C. earlier in the summer, we got to see the actual plane that Orville and Wilbur used at Kittyhawk. We all remembered something of our museum visit and found Kittyhawk to be the piece that completed the puzzle. The boys ran the track that the Wright brothers used in the dunes for their first flight. Jack and Grayson were amazed to learn that they actually ran faster than the first 2 flights since we timed them and compared it with the flight times recorded by the Wrights. Our visit to Kitty Hawk brought history to life for all of us as we placed together the pieces we had gathered over the preceding months - home schooling at its best!