One of our bucket list items is visiting all of the lighthouses in NC and climbing them. In 2012, we climbed Cape Lookout. Last year, we saw Old Baldy and Oak Island Lighthouse (and a bonus Tybee Island in SC). This year, we were invited to a wedding in Manteo, the perfect place to visit Bodie Island Lighthouse-that just opened for climbing for the first time last year! YAY! So, we planned a week down at the beach with a special trip to the lighthouse on our first day!
How is it that when vacation is almost here, the days just drag by? We got off work on Friday-it was time for vacation!!!-NOPE...we weren't going down until Sunday. Between Friday evening and our Sunday drive to the beach I had goodbye drinks for a co-worker, we had dinner out at Moonlight Pizza, Kevin had his last Miracle League Game of the season, we visited my mama (who's still recovering from surgery), we attended a surprise 30th birthday party, and packed and parked cars at church Sunday morning and loaded the car and finally, FINALLY, it was time for the 3 hour drive to Nags Head.
After settling into our beach house and taking a quick walk to the beach, I made spaghetti for dinner and we prepared ourselves for a relaxing week!
Monday morning, bright and early, we woke up to eat a cereal breakfast before driving over to Bodie Island (pronounced Body). We got tickets for the 2nd tour of the day, which started 15 minutes from our arrival time. After wandering the grounds a bit, we met our park ranger on the brick path to the lighthouse and started our climb. With all of the ocean deaths, we had to sit through an info session on rip currents before learning a bit of the history of the lighthouse. There were a few kids in our group. We knew that meant excitement and that they'd be anxious to get to the top. So, we opted to walk a little slower and stay at the back of the pack for more alone time and better pictures at the top.
I think the lighthouse has 7 levels and I was very happy to reach the top! It was a gorgeous day!
After our climb down, we walked over to the marsh area to explore a bit.
It was only 10:30am, but we were starving, so it was time to leave Bodie and venture into town for some lunch. We drove, and drove, and Kevin didn't believe there were any restaurants anywhere. Finally, I remembered friends recommending the OBX Brewing Station, so we headed in that direction. We arrived around 11am and it wasn't open until 11:30, but I knew just what to do! We rounded the corner for a pre-lunch snack at Duck Donuts. Maple for Kevin and Maple Bacon for me-and it hit the spot!
The brewery was fun! We each got a beer...Lemongrass for me and Knucklehead for Kevin, and some lunch and relaxed a bit! We happened to run into the groom for Saturday's wedding and a groomsman too, which was an added bonus!
After our meal, we went over to explore the Wright Brothers Memorial. I've been here before, but it was fun showing Kevin the ropes! It was neat to see the memorial and pretty surreal to see planes taking off right beside us, knowing that only 100 years prior Orville and Wilbur were flying only 120 feet. We've come a long way! My favorite part was a statue at the base of the memorial that depicts the iconic picture of the Wright brother's first flight. I think it's newer-at least I don't remember it from my last visit.
After a jam-packed day, it was time to relax on the beach! We threw on our suits and headed out to relax in the setting sun!
Tuesday, I had plans for us, but Kevin was super pumped for a beach day, so I postponed my plans and we geared up for an entire day at the beach. Gearing up consisted of me making pancakes for breakfast (complete with mimosas and bloody Marys), lathering the sunscreen, preparing sandwiches and snacks for lunch, packing the radio flyer with beach chairs, cooler, beach umbrella, towels, etc. and rolling out to the beach. The rip tides were bad, so we had a no-swimming sign up all day, which didn't bother me because the water was freezing! The day was spent reading in the shade of the umbrella and watching a school of about 12 dolphins play in front of us for about 2 hours. Surfers were allowed in the water and a group of them came by exclaiming they had seen a huge splash about 30 feet from where they were and it was the school of dolphins attacking a shark. In the words of the gnarly surfer, "they folded the shark like a taco man, it was rad!"
Tuesday evening we showered and had some dinner at the house before driving into Manteo to see The Lost Colony-the longest-running symphonic outdoor drama-in it's 77th season. I've seen it years ago, so I made sure we were seated center stage in the middle of the aisle so "the Indians couldn't get me". The play is the historical story of the Englishmen, led by Sir Walter Raleigh, coming over to America for the first time to settle here and how the attempt failed. The colony disappeared. This version didn't explain Croatoan or how it was carved on the tree, but I know the real story! You can't fool a North Carolinian!
Stay tuned for more of our adventures!
Maple Bacon??? Gross! I love how yall can make anything look fun. Do more of these trips before kids because you'll never get this time with just the two of you back. Miss ya!
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