Outerbanks

Last week we took an awesome vacation with our Hamilton family siblings to Outerbanks, North Carolina. Having very little experience with the East Coast, and never having touched the Atlantic Ocean before, I was pretty darn excited. Minus the very long plane flight with two kids. But still, super excited!

Jude was sooo excited about the airport. We ran from window to window to see all the planes.

Our big mistake was deciding to take the red eye flight out to Durham. We bought a seat for each kid, put them in their carseats, and figured they would pass out and sleep. It sounded pretty simple to me, but I neglected to take into account two major things: 1. turns out I can't sleep on airplanes. I was awake almost the entire time, trying to get comfortable 2 inches from a total stranger who was totally out. So, I ended up very, very tired. 2. Flying east means flying into the sunrise. The sun started to come up about 1:30am. Once the sun was up, the kids were too. The last 3 hours of this flight were basically torture. 

BUT, we survived and did our best not to let this ruin our awesome trip. Matt picked the kids and I up from the airport while Peter got our rental car so I could grab a few hours of sleep at their house before we left. If we were to go again, I would definitely fly into Norfolk; Durham is about 3 1/2 hours from the Outerbanks. Driving after all that sleep deprivation was as equally frustrating as the flight.  Especially when our phones went out of service (this happens a lot lately; time to switch providers I think) and we missed a freeway change and ended up going almost an hour in the wrong direction. But after the ordeal of getting there, it was a pretty fantastic week!

We spent many hours in the sun and sand. Having access right to the beach from your backyard is amazing. The Atlantic was nice, but I wouldn't say it was as warm as everyone had told me it would be. The first few days were windy and choppy, but once it settled down I actually went swimming in the waves and it was really nice! I even tried paddleboarding.

Ellie was not so sure about the water. She cried whenever I put her feet in. But she loved the sand! I'm sure she ate about half her weight in it, despite my attempts to keep her as sand free as possible.

Also while on vacation, Eleanor finally figured out how to get herself all the way up on things. 

It's a fun stage, but a difficult one. 

Jude did NOT like the water. He also did not like ME going in the water. A couple times I tried to go in and he would come screaming for me. However, Jude did love making train tracks and trains in the sand (duh). He also loved the pool. Jude was really nervous at first but we finally got him swimming with his little puddle jumper floatie!

But the best part of the trip for Jude was Grandma and Grandpa! He wanted to do everything with them. All the time. Always. Grandma and Grandpa are amazing and great sports.

We visited Bodie lighthouse on Cape Hatteras. I LOVE lighthouses. Maybe it's growing up visiting them on the Oregon coast, but I just love a good lighthouse. Sadly, we couldn't go inside since our babies couldn't make the many many story climb, but it was great to look at!

The best part for me? Driving into town and realizing there was SO MUCH HISTORY where we were. About ten minutes into our trip I realized that we would be right next to ROANOKE ISLAND. I seriously freaked out in excitement. I somehow convinced everyone to leave the beach and go see a replica English settlement from 1585 in 85 degrees & southern humidity, and then dragged my family to see a large mound of dirt that was the original Fort Raleigh. And I couldn't have been happier! (If we ever go back, there are about half a dozen more fascinating historical sites I'm dying to see. Did you Roanoke was a freedman's colony during the civil war?!)

Jude swabs the deck on the replica ship Queen Elizabeth II

Jude and Will were great buddies this trip.

Here they check out a canoe

Helping carve out the canoe with a shell

learning to decorate chair legs

no caption needed

boys and swords...

dressing up like a pirate in the museum

Super huge points to this awesome museum for being so interactive and kid-friendly

Marker commemorating the birth of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America in 1587.

(She's a BIG deal around there.)

They're not sure where the exact settlement of the original colony was, but it was somewhere near the fort.

Earthen Fort Raleigh

No one knows what happened to the original "lost colony." They were left on Roanoke in 1587 and by the time the English came back three years later, they were gone. The only clue was the words "CRO" and "CROATOAN" written on a tree, suggesting they had left for a nearby island. Super fascinating, right?!

Thanks to the suggestion of Ryan and Tricia, we also got to see "The Lost Colony," an annual play put on by the historic site every summer since 1937. It was like the Hill Cumorah pageant meets Shakespeare in the park. Some parts were a little weird, but I actually really enjoyed it. Additionally, the dancing and costumes were phenomenal. If you ever find yourself near Roanoke Island in the summer, you should definitely check it out!

Also, Kill Devil Hills, where the beach house was, was actually the site of the Wright Brother's first flight (Kitty Hawk is right next door; I guess they get the credit because it's less of a weird name?). So we got to go to the historic site and see where the first flight took place! Even Jude and cousin Will loved it; lots of space and "train tracks" to run on!

Replica of the first plane

This path marks the durations of their first successful attempts

Jude and Will running down the "track"

Take off spot of the plane

Each stone represents how far the plane flew. Not pictured is attempt #4, way off in the distance!

memorial to the Wright brothers

Our other fun adventure was miniature golfing... in a pouring thunderstorm! It started to rain and storm at the beach house, and we happily watched from the balcony. I LOVE summer storms; it's one of the few things California is lacking. Even Jude got really into it. He kept telling me it was "stormy!" and he still tells me about it at home. Once the rain let up we decided to go mini golfing, an Outerbanks must. Sadly, the little train at the golf course was closed in the rain, much to Jude's disappointment. But we did have a blast golfing. I didn't think Jude would be interested, but he loved it. He would put his ball down, swing once, then pick up the ball and run to the hole. Then he'd put the ball right next to the hole and knock it in. It was adorable. And while we played it poured and poured, and we had a blast! I think it's one of my favorite Hamilton family memories.

holed up in a conveniently placed cave to try and avoid a sudden downpour. we eventually gave up and just enjoyed the soaking

cutest caddy ever

every rainstorm has a rainbow!

Oh, and Peter, Brooke, Nick, and I created the first annual Hamilton family olympics. It was basically just cheesy games on the beach, but I thought it was really fun. I even got to hone my history teacher skills and ask them local history questions as part of a race.

I was pretty sad to say goodbye to this amazing vacation. I loved the beach house, the delicious food, the beautiful beach, and the fantastic company. I've always loved Hamilton reunions because everyone always has so much fun together, playing games or just chatting. We're already starting to plan our trip for next year; I'm hoping we can try somewhere new, but if we ended up going back to Kill Devil Hills, I would still be a very happy camper.