Vacation

*Sigh* That was blissful!

We went to Outer Banks for a week and did simply nothing.

We rented the nicest little condo.

The perfect part about a condo is that the kitchen comes fully stocked and you can go for a week of vacation, but really not have to eat out at all if you wish. And we're weird like that so we mostly packed our own food. Including fruit loops. Just like our first honey moon.

 Except we skipped the chocolate milk this time.

Maybe that is the real difference between 19 and 24 yr olds.

The beach was awesome but the highlight of our trip was the segway tour that we took. Segways are fantastic and if you ever get the chance to ride one, take the opportunity!

The tour was of a historic village and our tour guide told stories of the family who built this house during the prohibition. Apparently they were a wealthy family of duck hunters, the wife of whom was a fairly outspoken woman!

The story goes that they had a large party one Saturday night and everyone was there, enjoying the beverages that were offered, including the preacher who got quite hammered. The next morning there was the preacher, boldly preaching in church on the horrors of alcohol and how everyone ought to abstain from it. This Mrs. caught wind of what he was speaking on and although she never graced the doors of the church normally, she marched right in, still in her nightgown, to line him out for being a hypocrite. 

I thought the house was beautiful and unique.

 And the surrounding village that built up there was quaint and fun to see.The one room school house is still in use today by the few locals who live in Corolla county. 

 Lighthouses...

And Beaches...

Miles and Miles of beaches to be exact. And best of all, most of them had very few people. 

My husband does have a love for history, just like me, so we toured a ton of the islands, searched for a few old shipwrecks, and studied up on some of the fun history of the place. We were too late to watch the play of The Lost Colony but we went to Roanoke Island and toured the state park that tells the bits and pieces of what happened and what John White did when he returned to find them all gone. 

Roanoke Island was also home to a colony for freed slaves during the Civil War. 

The Wright Brothers Museum was intriguing. 

The monument:

One of the original motors that they used is on display.

 Or what is left of it because it is from one of their crashes. 

Those two brothers sure were determined! And when you think about the history of air travel and how quickly it moved, it really is amazing! Realize that 1903 was when the brothers finally flew 600 feet and in 1910-1915 range a few more people built airplanes of their own and by WWII bomber planes were used in war.

 My favorite of all the pilots recognized at the museum was Calbraith Perry Rodgers. He was the first man to fly across the country. In case you can't read his little plaque, I will tell you about him because I liked him. 

 

In 1912 a publisher offered $50,000 to the first person who could fly across the country in 30 days or less. Calbraith paid one of the Wright brothers' technicians $70/day to come along with him by train as his mechanic. He made thirty stops across the country, nineteen of which were crashes and the plane was virtually rebuilt by the time he arrived. Although he missed the deadline by 19 days, he still received the award for being the first person to fly from NY to CA and he landed in front of 20,000 spectators. 

A few months later, right near where he landed in California originally, he was making an exhibition flight and flew into a flock of birds, severely crashing his plane into the ocean. He died shortly, making him the 127th airplane fatality in the nine years of aviation history, but the first to die as a result of a flock of birds.

On our last night there, we sat on the beach till well after dark.

I am pretty sure that the ocean is the most magnificent force that God created. It is fascinating and bold, yet so relaxing at the same time. I'm pretty sure that Blake enjoyed sitting on the beach or walking through the waves as much or possibly even more than I did. :)

I'm so thankful that we got to go. It was definitely our the best anniversary ever!