Nags Head Beach Trip - Part II

Back to the beach on a very windy day! 

What a special thing to have a birthday while you're on vacation! Kade turned 7! He wanted to open presents right after breakfast. 

I think he was giving Brock a hug?? 

That little smirky smile when he opened the gift from Papa and Nana Phyllis! His own set of snap circuits!

Brent had been battling a cold the whole week, so when Thursday became cloudy and gloomy, he opted to stay home and rest while we toured the aquarium. 

The boys really enjoyed looking at all the creatures! 

Because of Covid, we really haven't visited a museum in quite awhile. I realized how different this trip was when both Brock and Kade were reading the informational signs to me! 

Watching the otter swim!

This interactive part was cute - kids rescue a sea turtle (plastic toy turtle) and go through the steps to rehabilitate and release it back into the ocean. 

Brock was so proud of himself for knowing several of the fish species before reading their signs!

But the touch tank was probably the most favorite thing for my boys. 

Kade was a little fearful of touching the sting rays so opted for the more shallow pool with hermit crabs and starfish. 

The jellyfish room was mesmerizing!

Sharks!! With a real tiger shark!

Like every museum, the tour ended at the gift shop and oh how the boys were overstimulated with alllll their options. I set a dollar amount, but of course they negotiated on raising it just a bit for TWO stuffed animals, agreeing this was all they were getting for souvenirs from this week's trip. 

Kade picked out a "mommy and baby" dolphin while Brock picked a colorful stingray and axolotl. 

We all got dressed up for our fancy dinner out at Owens' Restaurant - it's become tradition to go there every year! 

We skipped out on dessert because we had CAKE at home! It's not official until he eats his birthday cake! Chocolate cake with white buttercream frosting and sugar candy sea creatures. 

Tonight was Moose's big night too! We had to wait for the sun to go down a bit more..... 

...for some crab hunting!!

Here's a little video of Moose in action. *Be warned, the crab did not make it, so if you are a crab-lover, do not watch.  (Brock got upset at the end of the video too)

Last day, and it was a sunny day - good day to head to the water park! 

On our way back to the beach house from the water park, we discussed the possibility of packing up early that night and heading home - or staying our included night just to wake up and then go. We decided to cut it short (Poor Brent had been sleeping on the couch because of his cold!) - took about 3 hours to pack and load everything before starting the drive home. 

We stopped at Bojangles for dinner and arrived home about 9:30PM. Just as Brent was backing the boat up the driveway, we heard a bad noise and then a hsssssss. He put the truck in drive, then tried reversing again - this time louder. No good. He pulled forward along the road (in front of another house on our narrow street) and surveyed the damage. After so much corrosion from the salt water, the brake broke and had completely severed the tire. The crazy thing was that it happened right at home - not on the side of the road where Brent had been driving for the last 3 1/2 hours!! So very lucky! He did a "quick" fix just to pull it into the driveway. What a crazy long ending to our restful beach trip!

Nags Head Beach Trip - Part I

Every year we rent a house, we figure out what works for us and what doesn't. Even though I'd say this house wasn't the prettiest we've rented, it really fit the bill for the things we were looking for! Three bedrooms with ceiling fans, fenced in backyard with outdoor shower, great location close to Dowdy Park, wide driveway off quiet road for the boat, and a good living area layout. 

After driving in and getting everything unloaded, our go-to dinner is pizza for the first night. Kade was a little dehydrated, so Brent knew exactly how to get him to drink more - make it a competition! He bet him he couldn't drink the entire water bottle without stopping. And Kade did it - every last drop. 

 

Look at that view from our backyard! 

Brent talked Brock into going on a little run with him on our first full day. While they ran - Kade and I walked to the park. 

Our beach trips are special because every member of the family gets to go - even Moose - so naturally we find beach rentals that are dog-friendly. Now we don't let Moose on our furniture at home, but there's many rugs and dog beds for him to cuddle up on.... wasn't so in this house and he just wasn't enjoying the towel I put on the floor. We spoiled him and let him up on only this red chaise (according to the visitor log, it seemed it was the favorite spot for many other pooches!). He was so polite and "asked" every time to get back on by laying his head on the chaise. 

That first day the ocean was a little rough. No swimming, but we at least had to go see it! The boys and I took a nice walk down the beach and of course they had to get their feet in it! 

They had the best time jumping off these sand  hills. (they aren't the dunes)

Back to the house for ice cream! Are you begging Moose? 

The next day the water calmed down enough for us to have our beach day!

The water was actually a little cool - technically the whole week was a little cool compared to how it had been and it would be the following week - high of only 74 that day! Kade got out of the water for snack and started shivering - even with two towels wrapped around him. We cut our beach day a little short. 

The boys ransacked the games closet and found this cool mini air hockey. Kade was so cold, he put on long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.  

Brent was busy getting the boat all squared away for our EARLY morning. We all had an early start to go fishing! We had to be at the marina at 5am to follow the charter boats out! It was absolutely gorgeous seeing the sun rise while you're out on the water. 

All in a line!

Brent followed the boats a little more south than the last time he and Kade went out and caught yellowfin. 

We all had jobs on the boat! Well.... some of us....

The water was ridiculously calm. It was so beautiful and eerie - knowing we were 45-48 miles off shore and anywhere from 200 to 1,000 feet of water below us - who knows what animals were lurking around!

Whales and porpoises!! 

Brent came up to the front of the boat to watch all the action on the surface. I asked Kade to be our cameraman. 

Such a gorgeous day - and pleasant temperatures!

Then we saw something swimming solo. Brent thought it was some type of marlin swimming along, but as we got closer, it became very clear what type of animal. 

This was a hammerhead shark - my favorite! A solid 8 foot hammerhead shark - I was so excited to see one in the ocean!

It slunk a bit more in the water as we passed by it, but we could clearly see his very cool shaped head. 

We were out there to fish, however. Alas, no fish today. Brent thinks that we picked too good of a day to go fishing - the fish were all relaxed because there was no movement in the water/wind. The next day was forecasted to be just as calm in the morning, but progressively more windy with waves as the day went along. We were afraid it would get too rough too fast for the boys. Alas, we heard the fish went back to biting. 

Oh well - it was still a really good day on the water. It didn't take us long at all to return to the marina - Brent switched on the auto pilot and headed in at 28 mph. 

We walked to Lucky 12 Tavern for an early dinner and we all went to bed early that night!