As I posted from the beach a couple weeks ago, we had one day where the vacation gods were actively taunting us. You can read about it here, but the short version is: burns, bruises, an ambulance, a rescue boat, a WWII mine field, and a tetnus shot. All makings of a fabulous vacation, no? That day ended with a storm cloud that looked like this.
Seriously, what had we done to anger the vacation gods? By the time this cloud rolled in, I wouldn't have been at all surprised if a swarm of locusts blew in with it, and we all came down with the plague. Most evenings, the lovely view from our porch looked more like this.
That night was fierce though. We were beginning to wonder if we had been struck with a vacation curse.
My go-cart injuries were beginning to get as dark and foreboding as the sky as well.
Thankfully, with the exception of that 24 hours of vacation voodoo, we had a great time.
We went to the beach...
a lot.
We jumped over waves...
a lot.
We waved to all the miltary jets and helicopters doing maneuvers overhead,
and sometimes they even waved back.
We rode a shark in the pool,
relaxed in the pool,
and jumped in the pool,
a lot.
One night, Grandmama and Papa treated all of us to dinner at my favorite beach spot...
Sanitary Fish Market,...
and the girls and I treated ourselves by updating our Sanitary Fish Market wardrobe.
We took a boat over to Shackleford Banks one day.
That was a fun day trip but a little depressing too. When we were last there just two years ago, the beachs were wide, flat, and so much fun for long walks hunting for shells. In just a very short time though, the beaches have eroded, and it no longer even looks like the same island. There is hardly a beach to walk on post-Hurricane-Irene.
The wild horses who have lived on the island since the 1600's are still doing fine, but the island is only a mile wide. With that sort of erosion, it makes you worry a bit about their future.
Despite our initial shock and sadness when we arrived on the island, we still had fun collecting shells,
studying the shells we collected,
swimming with Papa,
listening to tunes on the beach,
laughing in the tide pools,
building drip castles,
and playing in the water.
I think one of the keys to a vacation with extended family is having a nice place to stay, with room to spread out, and space for people to have a some alone time when they need it. We rented a house that worked out great for us. The teens could take over the basement with the pool table and theater room. The little kids could get the day started early without waking up everyone in the house, and the adults could escape to the hot tub for a little relaxation.
The house had an oceanside porch, just perfect for relaxing in a rocking chair with some ice cream,
or giving grandmama some lovin'.
Despite a few bumps in the road mid-week (and what sort of vacation doesn't have a good burns-bruises-mine field-ambulance-rescue boat-tetnus kind of story?) we had a really great time.
Good-bye Emerald Isle! Hope to see you again soon!
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