Nags Head Beach Trip - July 2023 - Part I

 

Boys down at the water's edge

Packing and traveling and unpacking for a week at a beach house is exhausting. We didn't end up getting over to the beach until after 12pm on our first full day.  The beach was quite populous with umbrellas and chairs! Finally, found a spot for our set up. 

I went down to the water to watch the boys, turned around and saw this big menacing cloud staring back at me! Brent's text confirmed that we needed to head back in - he was kind enough to come back with the truck to pick us up from the beach access! (It was only a 3 block walk!)

The view from our front balcony confirmed we would be getting some serious storms!!

What to do at the beach while it's raining? Play games provided in the house and watch Jaws! Haha yup - Jaws was playing on the tv and we thought it was an excellent time to introduce the boys to this 1975 classic the day before we were scheduled to go out into open ocean to fish. :) 

These big Jenga blocks were a fan favorite. 

Getting up at 5am is EARLY!   But, it is beautiful. 

A little tricky getting out of the inlet, but once we did, we were all business catching our first fish! We caught a pompano - a very flat looking fish. Brent didn't know what it was at the time, so opted to throw it back in. 

Karma worked well for us - not too long after, we were hooked up again!

We caught a keeper!!! 

It's a............. 

Ribbonfish!! Not for eating, but it's the secret weapon to catch BIG King Mackerel in the fall! 

So many jellyfish!!

We moved a bit further out - still in sight of land - about 3-4 miles offshore. We were hunting Spanish Mackerel - and we found them!!

Caught them mid-jump!

Brock reeling in a Spanish Mackerel!!

We were ON the fish! Every time we caught one, we threw the lines back out to get another!

Kade reeling in a fish!

So many bites!! (And all on one fishing pole!!)

We ended up with 10 Spanish Mackerel and 1 Ribbon Fish that day! I'm sure Brent could have continued on, but the boys were starting to fade (fishing is hard work!). 

The best part - we had the staff at the Marina filet them up for us - they were so small, it would have taken Brent a long time (and the flies are ridiculous when you start cutting fish). Totally worth the $20! 

A great day on the water!!

Salamanders Baseball Camp

The week after our trip to Huntersville, both boys were to attend the 3-day Salamanders Half Day camp. They were supposed to go TOGETHER - Three days of only ONE drop-off site. Nope. Brock contracted conjunctivitis and couldn't go to camp for two days. 

Alas, Kade went the first two days and had a blast - the camp is taught by some of the Salamanders' players - college players. Our favorite thing about this camp - they serve lunch at 12pm - hot dogs (or hamburgers) with popcorn (or chips). What a deal!!

All participants get a camp tee-shirt... AND a free ticket to the Wednesday evening Salamanders game! 

(Brock's eye cleared up enough for him to attend on Wednesday - the last day - but he was still very sensitive to the sunlight...)  And Kade decided to accompany Brent on his fishing trip that day, so only Brock attended. Oh well - that's why it's hard to plan summer camps MONTHS in advance!!

As Brent and Kade were still driving back from their fishing trip, we asked Papa to join us for the evening game! Papa bought Brock his cool Salamanders Baseball hat!!

We left a bit early, but the Holly Springs Salamanders held on to their lead to beat the Martinsville Mustangs 12-8! Woohoo!

Lastly, here are some Moose photos - some our dog-sitter took while we were in Huntersville for the weekend. Too funny!! 

Love my big hydrangea

Wet grass is apparently awesome to write in!

Carowinds and Huntersville Weekend

 

The Eason Family had planned to visit the Huntersville crew in July and decided that we would add one more day to the trip and treat the boys to an amusement park! Surprisingly, Carowinds was not that busy on the Friday after 4th of July - thank goodness! They offered this "fast lane" option for an additional $90 per person that we were 5% considering.... never had to wait longer than the ride before to finish before we got on! 

Kade was really brave and rode the Hurler - sat in the very last seat with Dad. (According to Brent, the best seat on a wooden coaster is in the back). 

No one was THAT brave to ride the upside down roller coaster - Carolina Cyclone - with Dad unfortunately. We waved to him as he passed overhead!!

If you zoom in, you can spot him in the very last row!!

Even though the lines were short on this Friday, it was still hot. We were excited to go on Boo Blasters on Boo Hill and sit in the air conditioning, but the boys were not feeling a picture yet. Oh well!

Yay bumper cars in the shade! The boys ended up riding this one twice!

Brock let Kade drive and I think he just thought it hilarious that Kade continued to go the opposite way as the rest of the traffic. 

Let's cool off with some dippin' dots!

Waiting in line for the roller coaster Brock agreed to ride - Kitty Hawk - where the seats are under the track! Of course Brent and Kade opted to ride in the very first row! My little daredevil. 

Snoopy!!

Brock and I opted to ride the Carousel while Brent and Kade went back to the wooden coaster to ride again. Poor Kade got booted off as he was right under the actual 48" mark. He even told the attendant, "well, I rode it this morning!!" Alas, she still wouldn't let him. Annoying. 

We returned back to Maddox & Asher's house just in time for them to be picked up from their summer day camps! 

Yay cousin time!

The boys had fun playing with Asher before his bedtime. Then it was off to sleep for everyone because the next day we had another long day in the sun planned!

Boat Day on Lake Norman!!

After Brock and Kade showed Maddox what Big Mabel was all about, Uncle Brian and Maddox had their turn. 

Brent takes his job seriously as Captain of our boat, so he was more than happy to enjoy Big Mabel with Aunt Nancy as captain! 

I think about 2 minutes after I stopped recording, Brent's hat went flying! Nancy had to use her driving skills to get us turned around to recover it!

We parked the boat at North Harbor Club's dock and had an excellent dinner! I think everyone was hungry - the boys split about 3 orders of chicken nuggets (after Brock ate his cheeseburger!)! 

We attempted a family photo by the marina.... guess the woman I asked wasn't sure what to do about the sun rays! Oh well! 

Awwwwwww!!

Sun-kissed faces. We re-applied sunscreen several times, but that sun is no joke! 

A super fun action-packed weekend visiting family! Thank you Aunt Nancy & Uncle Brian for treating us to your lake days!