Summer Vacation - August 2010

After much research and hand-wringing, I found a great place to stay on Emerald Isle for our family vacation this summer.  I have many criteria for the "perfect" place, not least of which includes a washer, dryer and dishwasher.  Vacationing moms don't mind starting appliances with the push of a button, but hand washing...anything...is out of the question!  I booked a great 3-bedroom condo only a few feet away from a pool and only a few more feet away from the steps down to the ocean.  It was the perfect location.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  With an 11-hour trip ahead of us, we decided to stop in Raleigh, NC, to visit Aimee, Chris and Jacob for the night.  They were wonderful hosts and after a nice breakfast Saturday morning, we convinced them to join us at the beach for the night.  Hooray!  We were so glad to have some extra time with them and the kids got along great, which made it all the better.  I managed to get a few shots of the kids before Aimee, Chris and Jacob headed home.

Cousins :)

The obligatory silly picture. :)

We spent the majority of the week alternating between the beach and the pool and we certainly had our fill of both by the end of the week. Juliana did a whole lot of digging and building and sculpting (which was very impressive, although it's hard to see in the picture.)

Juliana's lizard sand sculpture (2 big eyes and 2 smaller nostrils at the bottom right.)  See the front and back legs with claws on the left and the front leg with claws on the right?

 
Alexander also did a lot of digging and he was a great shelling buddy.

Alexander wielding a shovel with a rather maniacal look on his face.

Sand crabs were a huge hit!  We found them in all sizes and sometimes you'd get 20 or more big ones in one scoop of sand and it was freaky when they all dug down into your hand; just so freaky that if you were Kathryn you would then drop the whole handful of sand and said mother lode of sand crabs and shake your hands wildly saying, "OH MY GOSH! THAT WAS FREAKY!"

Kathryn looking for the aforementioned sand crabs.

One evening, we played a rousing game of miniature golf on a very cool course.  It began with a train ride to the first hole (bonus!)  Throughout the course, Alexander delightedly exclaimed how great he was at golf, regardless of how many times he had to hit the ball to sink the putt.  When he got that ball in the hole, he might as well have won the Masters; his enthusiasm was infectious and we had a great time!

On the train

On the way to North Carolina, I was in touch with a friend from high school who had vacationed on Emerald Isle the week before we arrived.  She highly recommended the NC Aquarium, which we visited one sweltering afternoon.  Turns out, we were able to use our Columbus Zoo membership, which saved us $34.00.  Yay!  There were far more exhibits than I expected and we had a great time exploring.  The kids posed as hermit crabs,

touched hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs and Lightening and Knobbed Whelks,

 

This picture is of Alexander decidedly NOT petting a crab.  

Love the look on his face and his hands balled up in fists!

pretended to be eaten by a very large shark,

and pet stingrays, a major highlight.

We also watched River Otters play in the water and eat snacks (one of my favorites) and even saw an octopus, which was the main thing Alexander wanted to see.  All in all, it was a fantastic way to spend an afternoon.  Thanks for the suggestion, Debra!

As I mentioned, we pretty much split our time between the beach and the pool.  The girls are great swimmers and with Alexander's new life vest giving us a bit of peace of mind, Nate and I actually managed to relax by the pool.  We kept close watch on the kids, of course, but didn't have to be in the water with them every second.  Ahhh...it was so nice...

After a week of sun, fun, rest and relaxation, we were ready to head back to reality and get ready for school to start.  We have fond memories of our week on Emerald Isle and look forward to returning in the future.

The view from our patio; makes me want an adult beverage.  :)