We always have seemed to have a packed truck but when the kids want to spread out it seems to shrink significantly. This trip Paul found a way to put the cords through the seats so that there aren't any cords for the kids and the dog to get tangled in, I don't know why he didn't think of it sooner to be honest it made a world of difference.
It was an easy 6 hour drive from Baltimore to Rodanthe, North Carolina with one stop right outside of Williamsburg for gas and a stretch at the Wawa. During this trip I pack the kids their own lunches and told them to eat as they wanted but it was 6 hours and once it was gone it was gone and we weren't stopping. Wouldn't you know it JP was the first one to eat all his food and of course when we stopped at Wawa he was also the first one to ask me to buy him food... typical. After we arrived at the Camp Hatteras Campground and got everything set up the site this year was once again on the sound side but we were about 20 feet from the water. After Paul put the kids bikes down the kids were off. Paul bought new lights for the kids bikes that are really bright so they'll be seen better now that they are riding at night more.
Tuesday we woke up and had breakfast and in the afternoon I took the kids to the playground and helped Kenzie put Emma down the slide that's her doll she never leaves home without. After we came back we went to the pool where as usual I got some sunburn even though the campground put in a new deck and sun shade. Kenzie used her birthday money to buy JP and herself laffy taffy and an ice cream. that night we kept our tradition and stayed out for like an hour and a half catching ghost crabs and looking at all the stars. It's amazing how many stars are in the sky that we don't see at home because of all the light pollution. Paul has a cool app on his phone that shows where all the planets and constellations are. He told us about how when he went of seas and that there were even more stars that he could see over there. While we were catching crabs we grabbed any trash we saw on the beach to throw away.
Wednesday was another pool day we were luck and got a spot under the shade while the kids played in the pool Paul and I had a couple of drinks and we all played a couple rounds of Uno. A couple of years ago I found water proof cards that are perfect for the pool and they come with a little key chain to keep them all together. so after sitting by the pool and drinking, needless to say I was a little drunk when we decided to go to the beach.
If anyone knows me they know that I am not a beach person I never really was a beach person and I really don't recall going to the beach a lot when I was younger. I remember going to the beach with ,y parents and my father taking me out in the ocean and I thinks that the only memory I have of getting in the water. I think going to the beach freaks me out a little because the thought of my kids going in the ocean and getting sucked out in my mind is a real possibility. My husband on the other hand is a beach person and in turn wants the kids to be beach people but they make me so nervous. I will say that I have gotten a lot better with going to the beach as long as I go after like 5pm I find it really enjoyable because the sun isn't beating down on my, even just have one umbrella up is so much better then dying in the sunny I have even gotten in the water up to my waist, I would say 3 or 4 years ago I couldn't even stand the sand being on my body. The last day I was actually a little disappointed we didn't go to the beach again. After we sat on the beach while the sun was going down we found our way back to the pool and stayed till about 930. Camp Hatteras is one of the only campgrounds we've been to that has a night swim, most close the pool once it gets dark.
Thursday we hung out at the trailer for a while and the kids went to the playground around 5 we went to the Pea Island Animal Refuge and went on a hike. I have been on a mission for a couple years now to see an otter in the wild and rumor is is that's the place to see it. All we saw was geese and huge blue crabs and a crane here and there but alas no otters. It was a very relaxing hike though and it wasn't really hot out and we were basically the only ones there. Every so often they have binocular stands to look out that are free and at the end of the hike there's a 2 story raised platform that looks out at the entire park. On the way to the platform we use the trail and on the way back we walk the service road by the water to look at the huge crabs and hope to see an otter. I'm pretty sure we just go when it's to early while we were leaving a man with a very large camera lens approached us and asked if we seen any otter and I told him it was my life dream to see an otter in the wild, he confirmed that there at at least 5 otters that frequent that little river and he's filmed them. I was really hoping that he would offer to show me some picture but he didn't and he looked like he was on a mission so I didn't pry. On the way home we stopped at a cute little grocery store and a couple other stores and then we went back to the camper for a bike ride to the store after we ate dinner and then to the Dairy Queen for ice cream. After we ate our ice cream to took a quick ride through the KOA and smelled the campfires... you can't have a fire on the ground at Camp Hatteras it has to be in a raised fire pit, which we do not have. I went back to the camper to do the dinner dishes and Paul and the kids played mini golf at the campground I'm sure he whooped them he always does.
Friday was a busy day for us we woke up had breakfast we all got showers and got ready to head out for the day. As soon as the kids got in the car it started pouring down rain, so Paul and I grabbed whatever we could but it was to late pretty much everything we own that was outside was soaked... what are you going to do. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the aquarium but it's worth it it's not the biggest aquarium but it's very well maintained and it doesn't cost a lot of money. They also have a peir and a nature walk and a little cafe so theirs plenty to keep you busy. This year they had a dinosaur exhibit that you could walk through and they moved and made sounds, they also had a fossil dog and these things you put on your feet to make dinosaur foot prints in the sand. Inside they have a lot of indigenous species found in North Carolina they also rehabilitate sea turtle here and you can go in and look at them in the tanks and a little white board gives you a description of why they're there. After you leave the turtle rehab area there's an interactive turtle rehab area where you get your own toy turtle and you take it to a could different station and diagnose it and rehab it then you get to set it free. The best part of the aquarium though is obviously the OTTER exhibit, they have 2 otters that are pretty big and they had just fed them when we got to the tank. I think the kids favorite part is touching the sting rays and the horseshoe crabs they also have a little shark in the tank that you can touch I'm not brave enough to try to touch them I settle for the baby horseshoe crabs in the little tank. The last stop is the shark tank, it's the biggest tank they have there with 3 sharks the size of a grown man. In order to exit the aquraium you have to walk through the gift shop... this year we didn't buy anything. I always enjoy the trip to the Aquarium at 374 airport rd in Manteo North Carolina and make it a point to go every year rain or shine.
After leaving we stopped at Big Als for dinner a coke a cola themed restaurant where the food was just ok but the service and the milkshakes were amazing! We left there and headed back to the Pea Island refuge but this time we walked on the beach across the rd and I found some cool shells, I left the family at the truck when we were done for a last effort to see a wild otter but still nothing. When we got back to the campground we played corn hole and JP and I played basketball.
Saturday morning I woke up at like 9 and saw that Paul had gotten up early and went and bought apple uglies pastries 30 minutes away because he couldn't sleep. One of his friends told him they were delicious and he had to go early or they would sell out, so we had apple uglies for breakfast that morning for the first time. Even though it was the last day at the outer banks and we really didn't make the most of it to be honest. We spent the morning relaxing at the site enjoying each others company. Mckenzie made stuff with the clay she bought at one of the shops we visited and JP drew a picture of our old trailer which got hung on the wall with the pictures of the trailer we have now. Kenzie drew a picture of herself roasting a pink marshmallow that also got hung on the wall. We had beeferoni for lunch in Styrofoam bowls and Paul and I zillowed houses in the area just because with not a care in the world. Mckenzie was very insistant about going to the lounge to do the parrot craft at 3 so we decided to just go to the pool to past the day. The kids implanted themselves in a family and got invited to have birthday cake at her trailer and Paul and I stayed at the pool and had our alcohol and left eventually and had dinner.
Sunday it was time to pack up and make the 4 hour drive to one of our favorite campgrounds in Cape Charles Virginia Cherrystone Family camping resort. For once in our almost 10 years of camping we were packed up and out of the campground by 11 and were on the road again. I really like how quiet the outer banks is Rodanthe is away from the hustle and bustle in Kitty Hawk and Nags Head, the beaches are always clean unlike a lot of places in Ocean City Maryland and unlike Ocean City there's always room on the beach, you not on top of everyone. Ocean City Maryland is so much closer to us and would be a lot easier for us to go to but it's completely over priced and over populated.
