North Carolina

So I've been delinquent in chronicling our escapades, which with my advancing senility is a poor strategy given my propensity for easily forgetting the details.

A few weeks ago we took a trip to North Carolina with our trusty travel friends R&I. Actually, we travelled separately from them. We took two days to make the 15-hour road trip to our lodgings in Atlantic Beach. The units were tiny but included a kitchenette and were on an oceanfront property.

R&I planned ahead and booked a hotel for on their way down, but we decided to drive as far as Lily's temperament would allow, and then find a place to crash. We even packed a tent in the unlikely event that there would be no room in any inn. Of course we're too good for motels and, really, any place that has exterior entrances to its units, but we lucked out and found a nice hotel in Fredericksburg, VA. A little late in the day at 11:30pm, but at least we were two-thirds of the way to our destination.

The next day we took our time and visited an IHOP for brunch. Lily was a hit. I don't know why I even report that anymore. No one ever notices me anymore *sniff*.


We arrived on time and moved into our rickety suite. The allure of the beach was strong (to Carrie) and we (Carrie) really wanted to check it out. But Lily needed her nap, so we did the only logical thing: locked her in the room and proceeded the few steps to the beach. I'd had the foresight to bring the baby monitor along. Unfortunately it wasn't built for the great outdoors so its reach wasn't even a quarter of the way to the beach. Oh well.

The surf pounded pretty hard most of the week, accompanied with winds that had been unusually strong for the past six weeks. Just our luck. So, while hanging out on the beach can be enjoyable, sand in the face is not. The wind does provide some relief from the heat however, which is great until you realize it has also made you unaware that you've been burning to a crisp. And so my sun vacation began like any other: burn away a few layers of skin and get on with things!

A beach tent made for a nice wind/sun shelter.


As Reuben and I sat back with a drink and a cigar each evening, we reminisced about sitting back in Costa Rica with a drink and a cigar each evening. Does reminiscing about good times make for a good time or is that just a waste of time? Ah, the mysteries of life. All of which we solved whilst a-puffing, naturally.

Did I say evening? We may have also enjoyed one on the beach.


Lily's nap requirement kept us from doing any major day trips, so a planned one to Kitty Hawk (location of the Wright brothers' first flight) didn't happen. (R&I would do that later on their way home.) But we did get out once in a while.

One such outing was to a lighthouse on the Outer Banks to the east. We headed out one day to the area from which we'd need to take a passenger ferry, but no ferries were running that day due to high winds. So we tried again the next day.

In luck this time. Having a few private ferry services at our disposal, we chose the Local Yokel Ferry and were soon stepping onto the very small craft. This being the developed world, I really did not expect to be underway in a matter of seconds, with everyone hanging on to their toupées and whatever else might sail off with the wind. No life jackets?? Well, closer inspection revealed a whole slew of them under the seats, but apparently in some corners of the land of the free, the slogan "live free or die" still trumps "I'ma sue y'all". So off we flew, hoping the choppy waves wouldn't decide to commandeer the boat. At least the boat wouldn't sink when it flipped.

Some passengers were probably a little concerned. Lily was not among them, instead choosing to practice her (already mastered) look of disdain, snugly wrapped in her pappy's jacket.


Hair can look pretty funny when flying along at 40 knots.


Oh, and to you various familial readers, here's that family portrait you've all been waiting for... May this tide you over until 2020. (Insert evil snicker.)


Anyway, back to the journey. We docked near the Cape Lookout Lighthouse with only a couple of hours to kill before the ferry ride back. It was hardly enough time to climb the lighthouse and check out the immediate area; some more time to explore would have been nice.


View from the top.


En route back from the lighthouse, we passed along Shackleford Banks, an island inhabited by feral horses that somehow ended up there 400 years ago. We would have loved to explore this island as well, but that will have to happen another time.


That was about the only day trip. For the rest, we spent too much time at the beach. I can say that because Lily and I outnumber Carrie. Lily likes oceans and sun and sand and hats as much as I do. Carrie would haul her toward the water and she'd start hollering. I would wipe back a tear and be the proudest pa in the world. Here she is post-holler, hanging on for dear life.


The hat thing is annoying though, since she probably doesn't like to burn as much as I do. If we distract her properly, sometimes she keeps it on.






The weather was pretty windy the whole time, but at least while there were constant forecasts for rain, it mostly held off.


I trudged under some unfriendly trees one day and happened to take off my shirt ten minutes later at the beach (to show off my ripped abs of course), only to find a tick lodged in my belly button. Yikes, was that thing tough to yank out! You're welcome for not posting a picture of that. (Of course I got a picture (stupid question).)

Lovey-doveys under the boardwalk.


Lily's first standing grocery cart ride.


We did some finer dining...


...and some less fine: eating grass at the local Shark Shack.


We stayed a week, and then it was time to head home. We took two days again, this time going through Delaware for its no-state-sales-tax perk. We did a bit of shopping in the evening before looking for another hotel for the night. Unfortunately, our plan to stop in the capital city Dover was foiled due to a music festival that had every room in the city booked (save one at the Sheraton for $230).

So we kept driving, hitting nothing but tiny towns, and almost running out of gas at one point. By midnight we were near the north end of the state. We ended up in a very nice hotel in the town of Bear. Lily almost had the king-sized bed all to herself. Oh, not so nice was the dog barking in the adjoining suite!! Fortunately (for the dog) that didn't persist.


We took our time the next day, found a nice big mall and a cigar shop, and didn't strike out for home until 2:30pm. Our dawdling, plus an extra stop to buy dairy and beer in New York just before the Canadian border, meant we didn't get home until rather late. But we made it back safely, with another nice vacation behind us.