OBX 2012: Day 4

Our 2012 vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina was so long ago that it seems slightly ridiculous to go back and try to finish up this series of posts about it; but even if it seems silly, I'm going to do it.  For one thing, when winter, my least favorite season, lingers on--especially when it does so without winter's great redeeming quality of snow!--it helps to remember that spring is on the way, and then summer, and warmth, and sunshine, and short sleeves, and sandals, and open windows, and outside play, and all the things I find myself longing for as February plods on by.  It's good to remember...so here we go, back to September of last year.  :)

Here, by the way, is a preview post of sorts...then Day One...a few from Day Two, and then the full Day Two report...and Day Three.  Now on to Day Four!

Wednesday, September 19.

This day began much like the previous one, with Jeff having left the house early to go down to the ocean and fish.  Josiah and David, accompanied by Grandma Fisher, went next; and lastly, Tobin, Shav, Moriah, and I made our (slow) way to the beach.  My parents stayed in the beach cottage and kept the "home" fires burning.  :)  I was really grateful, by the way, that Jeff's mom went along with the older boys because I know it would have really tested their patience if they had had to wait until the little ones and I were ready each morning!  :)

Before I left the house, I paused to take a couple pictures of Moriah in her sweet floppy hat.  :)

When we got down to the water, we discovered that the protected turtle egg area was gone, the fence and signs having been taken down.  We never did find out if that was because all the eggs had already hatched or because none of them ever did.  Who knows?

The weather was windy on this day and a little cooler, and the youngest members of our group weren't enjoying the beach very much that morning, so it wasn't too long until I decided to return to the house with Shav and Moriah.  With the little lady tucked into bed for her nap, the little man playing happily, and my parents watching over them both, I decided to return to the ocean and hopefully go in the water; but when I got back down there, the others were ready to go.  Oh, well!  Another time!  :)

Back at the beach house, we ate an early lunch, then headed out for a drive down Memory Lane.  Buxton was our destination; and since that is the town in which we always stayed when I was a child, I knew there would be many sentimental moments during this day.  I love sentimental moments!  :)

No visit to Buxton--or Cape Hatteras, for that matter--could possibly be complete without a visit to the most beautiful lighthouse in the world (coming from a completely unbiased perspective, of course!).  :)

Josiah and David were excited to climb the lighthouse with Jeff.  Jeff would have let me go, but somewhere along the way from my childhood to here, I have lost my comfort with heights and have actually gotten really afraid of them.  Shhhh...don't tell anybody.  ;-)

Tobin really wanted to go up in the lighthouse, too, but he was a tiny bit too short.  The park ranger kindly let Jeff take him into the bottom of it so he could at least look up and see all the stairs, and I appreciated his thoughtfulness very much.

Next time we go--whenever that may be--Tobin will surely be able to climb it, too!  :)

While the climbers were climbing, the rest of us were exploring the little museum...

...or relaxing on the front porch.  :)

We were so happy that Jeff's mom made the trip in from California to be with us during this vacation!

Moriah was kickin' back...

...and chillin'.  Life is good.  :)

Tobin walked along...

...until he spotted something interesting...

...a dragonfly!  :)

We had to take pictures with the lighthouse...

...that's not even optional.  :)

And then we walked closer to the water to take a family picture.

Five years previously, we took a family picture in this spot; but back then, we only had two children!  (Well, as a matter of fact, I was pregnant with Tobin at the time, so technically, we had three...)  :)  I couldn't be more delighted at how our family has grown!  :)

And then I took some pictures that look like this...

...just mostly feet and sand.

Why did I take those pictures?  Because the boys had found a huge sand crab and were trying to catch it.  The crabs really blend in well with the sand; and boy, are they fast!

This next picture is precious to me.  I'm certain it will be treasured in years to come!

Before we left that area, we walked over to these big stones which show the outline of where the lighthouse used to stand...

...a perfect place for boys to run!  :)

After we left the lighthouse, we visited a couple of other Buxton sites:  the beach house where we always used to stay (and we realized anew how CLOSE to the water it now is since erosion has actually shifted where the beach is), a bookstore my mom and I would always visit (the funny thing is that I didn't find it nearly as appealing as I used to; and although I did buy a book for each of the boys there, I really wasn't tempted to purchase anything else!), and Dillon's Corner, a sort of Everything Store that we would often go to for bait, postcards, and souvenirs, etc.  Some of the most precious of my childhood memories were made in that little village of Buxton, and I was so grateful to be able to ride around and see those sites again!

Eventually we got back to our cottage, and Jeff was the chef in charge of supper, grilling some meat for us.  Yum!  We went for a walk on the beach, but it was a little chilly and we didn't stay out long.

Back in the house, we had a pleasant, cozy evening.  Lots of reading...

...(I never get tired of seeing my mom read to my kids!)...

...and game-playing.  We played some Skip-Bo, but the most fun came when we played Upwords.

That was a new game for me--well, not just for me.  I think Jeff had played it before, but Josiah and David hadn't.  Jeff took pity on us and helped us occasionally when we got stuck and couldn't figure out where to place a letter.  :)

I quickly grew to love that game, but I wasn't so quick to change my mindset from Scrabble to Upwords.  In Scrabble, I try to make the longest word I possibly can...not that I'm that great at the game, but at least I know what my objective is. :)  But with Upwords, using a single tile to change one letter of a word(s) can often give lots more points than creating a new word would.

Neither Josiah nor David nor I could hold a candle to Jeff's sharp brain, and he always trounced us decisively; but that didn't stop us from wanting to play another game.  "Just one more??"

And so ended the fourth day of our vacation.  :)