OBX 2012: Day 2

(Day 1 is here.)

Monday, September 17.

Our first full day on the Outer Banks, and of course, the only thing on the minds of most of us was hitting the beach!  So we did--well, seven out of ten of us did anyway.  My parents stayed in the cottage which worked out very conveniently for me since I could leave Moriah sleeping there and let her have a nice, uninterrupted morning nap.  The boys, Jeff, his mom, and I headed for the ocean; and did we ever have a good time! It's amazing, you know, how the very simple things--playing in the waves, digging in the sand, playing in the waves, looking for shells, playing in the waves, walking along the beach, etc.--can be so much FUN!  (And did I mention playing in the waves?)  ;-)

We didn't venture very deep in the water at all, but it was enough to be thrilling for Josiah and David who occasionally would be knocked down a bit by the waves.  Throughout the week, we would refer to that as being hugged by the water; and once or twice each of the boys in turn got to experience "a big bear hug" from the ocean!  :)  Tobin came in the water some, but stayed mostly on the sand, and Shav?  Well, that dear boy sat on the sand just about as far away from the water as he possibly could without going back over the sand dunes.  He very contentedly sat and dug in the sand, but he wanted NOTHING to do with the water.  ;-)  By the end of the week, that had changed.  :)

After a wonderful morning, we returned to the cottage for lunch, then had an afternoon quiet time of sorts.  Of course, books were a big part of relaxation in the house.  Josiah's favorites during the week were books from the Black Stallion series (and seeing him so intrigued by them made me remember how much I enjoyed them when I was a kid)...

...and David's favorites were from the Boxcar Children series (which I actually never read when I was little).

That afternoon, Moriah got some cuddles on Grandma's lap...

...and I loved seeing my mom...

...holding my daughter...

...who was holding a doll.  :)

After quiet time, we played some games, including Spoons.  It was the first time Josiah and David had ever played it; but they caught on fast and LOVED it, and the rest of the week we often heard requests to play Spoons!

Since I knew that the cottage we were renting had TVs and DVD players, I decided to bring along six kids' movies, one for each of the full days we would be spending there, knowing that a time might come when the adults would be ready for a break and the boys would be able to be happily occupied with a movie then.  All in all, I think they only watched a movie two or three times that week; but I was still glad to have brought them.  Late afternoon on Monday was one of those times when it worked well for them to watch something, so they got to see Piglet's Big Movie which we had borrowed from the library.  You're never too old for Winnie-the-Pooh.  :)

After that, we ate lasagna for dinner, which I had made at home and had frozen to take along.  I did that with a few meals, and I really liked that because not only did we save money by eating most of our meals at the cottage, I also didn't have to spend much time preparing food during that week.  I would definitely do the same thing in the future, if we ever get to go back.  :)

Then it was time to head down to the beach again; and this time, all ten of us went.  As we were walking away from the cottage, I turned back for a quick picture of it...

...then turned forward to go through this "secret passage" to get to the beach.

Well, OK, it's not much of a secret, not with a sign proclaiming "Beach Access," but it was such a narrow path that it felt like a mysterious entrance, so I pretended with the little boys that it was.  :)

It's hard to see in the picture below, but the grandparents are climbing up a path through the sea grasses, getting ready to head over the dunes to the ocean.  That soft, shifting sand was NOT easy to walk in, especially (I was told) for people in their 70s.  But they all made it, the troopers that they are.  :)

Looking back on the front row of houses...towards the north...

...and towards the south...

I'm awfully fond...

...of sea oats.

This was the area between the first dune and the second dune that we had to cross to get to the water.  It was like a little valley filled with sea oats and other sea grasses.  This was the view to the north (or maybe to the south...I can't remember...)

...and the view to the south (or maybe the north).

From our years of going there when I was a kid, I remember how extremely important and valuable these sea grasses are at preserving the seashore which is so vulnerable to erosion if not for the stabilizing forces of the grass.

Maybe that's why I'm so fond of sea oats.  :)

Finally, the ocean came in view.  :)

Moriah and I were the cow's tail in our parade to the beach, so by the time we came up over that last dune...

 ...the rest of the family was already spread out before us.

 One unique thing about this year was this turtle nesting site right there on the beach.  One time when we were down by the water, we saw a pick-up truck driving along the sand, and two park rangers got out and checked on the site.  A day or so later, the fences and signs were taken down; but we couldn't see any evidence of baby turtles or eggs or anything else, so I don't know if the whole thing was a dud, or if all the action of hatching happened when we were away from the beach.  Who knows?

 My dad loves talking on the phone.  L-O-V-E-S, I tell ya!  It made me smile to see him doing it here.  :)  He was probably talking to one of his sisters.

 Jeff enjoyed...ahem...modest success during the week, as far as fishing was concerned; but he didn't give up, and he spent many hours standing here looking like this.  :)  I suppose it was relaxing?  :)

Here, in pictures, is what the boys were having fun doing during this evening on the beach...

 I really like this picture of the two grandmas.  It reminds me of Proverbs 16:31.  ;-)

 This picture of Moriah and I is blurry, but hey, at least it shows we were there!  :)

Besides sea oats, I've also always loved seagulls.  Really, most anything about the beach would make it onto my I Really, Really Like It list.  :)

By the time we headed back to the cottage, it was nearly dark.

 Light shining from homes is a particularly beautiful, poignant image for me.

 Our cottage with lights on, ready to welcome us "home" (well, home for that week anyway).  :)

By then, it was nearly bedtime.

Except I, once again, stayed up late after everyone else was in bed.  Why?

Because I just HAD to finish The Hunger Games.  ;-)

(And then after that, I had to think about the book and ask myself some questions.  Did I like it?  Was I glad I had read it?  Should I read the other ones in the series?  What was the point of the book, the message it conveyed?  Would I want my boys to ever read it--obviously when they are older?  And so on...  Lots of thoughts...  Swirling thoughts...  And then...sleep...)