Thursday had always been predicted to be a break in the rain so we planned on travelling south on that day to Hatteras Island. We wanted to visit the lighthouse there which is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The kids all did their Junior Ranger activities and earned a second badge. Matthew wanted to know if in July, there would be a "July-ior Ranger program." It was a beautiful drive down with a windswept landscape consisting of dwarf trees and grasses. We were able to see both the Hatteras lighthouse and the Bodie lighthouse. The latter we saw in the daylight on our way down and then at night, with its distinctive light signal of 2 white pulses followed by a pause, on the way back up. Weather held and we had a great day.
The Hatteras lighthouse with a distinctive daymark.
We decided to climb the lighthouse by family since Quincy and Josie weren't big enough to go. We went first and then swapped with the Allens. The lighthouse is about 12 stories tall and we had to climb 8 flights of 31 stairs each to get to the top.
We all made it up!
Multiple panoramic photos from the top
This one has the Diamond Shoals in the distance.
On our way down.
At the base of the tower again.
Quincy was very sad that her family went up without her. She was excited to see them waving at the top.
We went to a program about sea turtles. Megan and Matthew were really excited since they had studied sea turtles at school. Megan was excited to answer a few of the ranger's questions.
Megan and Matthew with a sea turtle shell and skull.
Oh no! The Ghost Turtle!
After the program, the ranger took the kids out to play a sea turtle game. Here Megan and Matthew are sharks trying to eat the sea turtles.
Now Matthew is a floating piece of plastic trying to entangle passing turtles.
After the lighthouse, we ate in the park and gave the kids some time to run around a little.
Climbing a tree at lunch.
Then we went down to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. It was fascinating and a little scary to see how many ships have gone down off the Outer Banks. Over 600! This is in large part due to the shifting sand bars caused by the meeting of the Gulf Stream from the south and the Labrador from the north. (We could see where the currents meet from the top of the lighthouse as there is a sandbar that extends quite far into the Atlantic.)
Map marked with known shipwrecks in the area.
Matthew posing in a cart used to haul lighthouse pieces.
The original Hatteras Fresnel lens.
Oh no! A pirate!
On the way back up, we stopped at a beach to play. The kids can't get enough beach time. The water was much warmer at this beach because it gets water from the Gulf Stream. The sand was super soft and fine.
Jon taking his youngest two into the waves.
And coming back in. Many of the kids did this a lot.
Marci took Aspen and Megan to run through the waves.
There were a lot of little mollusks at the beach that would bury themselves when they were uncovered.
Jon and Me
Sarah and Kinley out in deeper water.
Matthew and Zach look like they are ready for a race.
There was a very steady breeze so U got out the kite again.
The wind was so strong and constant he could even launch it himself and fly it on a two foot string.
Me at the beach.
Uncle Jon was popular with all the kids wanting to go out in the water.
Kinley, Marci, Josie, Megan and Me
After the great sand race the other day at the beach, many of the others also wanted to be included.
Matthew driving his boat that he can get in and out of.
Zach with his new car.
Quincy wanted to drive too.
Megan's car had to be "sharp" to please her.
The race is set. On your marks...
We stopped at a sandwich place on the way home. The kids enjoyed eating at the counter and watching extreme BMX biking. There were several new life goals resolved upon.
Me loved this sign in the restroom.
One more beach to see what it looked like partway up the coast. Time for family pictures. One with the ocean...
... and one with the beach.
The Allens took some as well.
That night we did one of the kids' favorite activities: We went looking for crabs at night with flashlights on the beach.
We found a lot of crabs. Here is one of the many.
Another crab.
Matthew showing off his awesome sunburn. U somehow missed over half his back.
Friday morning, we had to go out on the beach for an early morning walk.
Megan and Matthew with a lifeguard chair.
Some crabs were harder to spot in the daytime.
The three amigos
A huge pod of dolphins went cruising down the beach. They just kept coming and coming. They were a little more active and we saw tail flips and even one jumping out of the water.
Tail sticking out of the water.
If you look closely you can see three dolphins in this picture.
After breakfast, we went to Jockey's Ridge State Park. There are a few giant sand dunes. Legend says that Blackbeard buried his treasure in the dunes although no one has ever found it.
Kids are ready to explore the sand dunes.
"Hey guys! Let's run down this dune we just hiked up."
"Okay!"
"Let's do it again!"
"Yay!" (This was repeated many more times)
Matthew watches out for sand people.
Josie and Jon collecting discarded shoes.
The wind was very strong and we brought the kite to fly. It was very popular. Here you can see the beginning of a line to fly it after Zach.
Matthew's turn to fly.
Quincy also took a turn.
Megan flying the kite.
Me flying the kite.
A panoramic of the dunes. U said it reminded him of the Great Sand Dunes National Monument but on a smaller scale.
After we explored the dunes, we went over to another part of the park which was a beach on the sound side. The water was warm and shallow and there were a lot fewer and smaller waves. This was great for the kids and they really enjoyed playing in the water. Even those who had been a little nervous before got into it. Matthew told Me excitedly, "Rip currents aren't a concern here!" (There was a high risk along the ocean side all week.)
Group construction project to make a wading pool.
U and Jon walked out to see how far the shallow water went with Matthew and Megan. Jon estimated we were a quarter mile from shore at this point and you can see the water is still only knee deep.
The smaller kids all had a blast with the shallow water.
Building a wall to keep the wading pool separate from the knee deep sound...
Quincy, Megan, U, Josie, Marci, Jon and Aspen
"Look guys! We made a swimming pool."
Matthew and Zach planning another building project.
Playing with Uncle Jon in the water.
Me standing at the point of a sandbar. You can see the waves coming in from both sides.
Josie especially got to spend more time in the water.
The girls decided to build a volcano. They poured water on top of it to make the molten lava look.
The Allens happened to have baking soda and vinegar in their car. (You must always be prepared to demonstrate a chemical reaction.) The eruption was fun but not quite as violent as hoped for.
We did see some of it rolling down the sides.
The group gathered around the shade tent.
Sarah decided to make her own swimming pool farther up the beach. She enjoyed having the younger kids dump water on her while she was digging.
The hole kept getting deeper and Aspen was happy to help out. The younger kids continued to try and fill it for them.
It got really deep!
After spending all afternoon at the beach, we headed to get pizza for dinner. Afterwards we went to get some ice cream. It was all delicious but very dangerous. There was a warm wind blowing hard off the ocean and if you stepped around the corner it immediately started melting your ice cream and blowing the drops on you and others. We stayed up on the porch after discovering this.
Matthew, Me, Aspen and Megan
Marci, Josie, Kinley and Zach
We went out crab hunting again in the evening as it was one of the kids' favorite activities.
Saturday morning, Me got up early to go watch the sun rise over the beach.
We all went for one more walk down the beach before heading out.
Matthew wanted to take a picture that included U.
Sarah claimed the landscape.
U just used it to pledge his love.
When we were checking out, we saw that the Ecto 3 was parked in the parking lot. Matthew had to get a picture with it before we left.
We had a lot of fun in the Outer Banks and would love to go back again.
