OBX 2011 - Old friends, new friends, and a big red house

There have been two things that Anna has been asking for since we did them last year.  First is another trip to Disney World, which we have had to explain to her is not something you can do all the time.  The second is a trip to the beach, which is much more realistic and something we were planning on doing this year, anyway.  So Anna was extremely happy when she learned that we were headed back to the Outer Banks.

When I was younger, my parents and I vacationed in Nags Head for a week every summer.  It was a yearly tradition, and sometimes I got to bring a friend along, and sometimes Mom and Dad had friends who would stay with us down there for a few days.  I always loved it (minus the extremely long wait at the bridge on the way down). 

Anna had been to the beach three times before this, and Lizzie had been once.  When I rented the house online, Anna had to look at the pictures of it over and over and over.  Lizzie caught Anna's enthusiasm and kept asking when we were going.  And once we got there, they didn't want to leave :)

Our beach house

Mom and several friends stayed with us, and we had an absolute blast!  The house had a pool that Anna could stand in, making it so much easier for her to play in the pool.  The Corolla beaches are awesome.  I remember when Anna used to be scared of the ocean, but this time she wasn't (well, at least not until she got stung by a jellyfish, but she got over it after a day).  Lizzie loved the waves, and kept wanting to walk further out into the water so she could get hit by them.  And of course sand is always an attraction, requiring a special extensive sand removal session after we got back to the house each time we hit the beach.

The benefit of having friends with us is that there was never a lack of people who wanted to play games in the evenings.  Between all of us we had Descent, Guillotine, Rummikub, Dominion, Gloom, and Racko with us.  Anna and Seth both learned how to play Rummikub, and Anna was so proud that she could play mostly without help by the time vacation was over!

Remember when I said that Mom and Dad used to let me bring a friend when I was younger?  In high school my friend Leah came with us, and I hadn't seen her in ages.  Guess who is now living on the Outer Banks?  She and her girls (who happen to be almost the exact same age as my girls) came to visit us for a day, and we had a great time.  Thank you, Facebook, for getting us back in touch :)

Me and Leah after dinner, with her daughter Mary

We did so many things while we were there besides play in the waves and the sand.  We have a tradition of visiting the Christmas Shop in Manteo, and this year we opted to do a dolphin cruise instead of a trip to the aquarium.  We shopped at Kitty Hawk Kites across from Jockey's Ridge.  We visited a friend of Dad's who retired from teaching and now owns an ice cream shop in Corolla.  It was a wonderful week, and we all could have easily stayed for a second week if we were able to.  But alas, we had to come home.  The girls did not want to leave, and Anna is already planning our next beach vacation.  So look out, OBX, the Goodmans will be back again soon!