OBX Vaction

Well we are finally home from a great vacation in the Outer Banks! We decided to drive straight through, and made it back home around 8:30 after leaving at 5:30am. Ryan was great on the ride; he watched a couple DVDs and even took a nap as we entered Ohio. Aaron was pretty grouchy as he has caught a cold. He was officially done after Dayton, but there was no stopping there! Kim also has a cold, and didn't have a fun ride home - but she was a real trooper, just like the boys!

Our house was in Rodanthe, it was about a 30 minute drive south of Nags Head. Info for our house can be found here. We shared it with 5 other couples, including the Swick's. There were a total of 15 children (13 boys, 2 girls!) from 9 months to 17 with 8 of them being 4 or younger. The house was about 100 yards from the water, so it was a nice easy walk to the beach. We tried to go to the beach and the pool each day. Ryan really liked the pool - he learned to jump in and would sometimes venture to shoulder-deep water - but he still preferred to stay by "his steps".

Our beach was great! The beach/water was really clean - no seaweed, garbage, etc.The beach had a "hump", so when high tide came in, it filled a channel-like tidal pool. The kids had a great time splashing in the water.

With the exception of the last day, the ocean water was cold, but you would get used to it. Ryan started the week afraid of the water, then would stand in the crashing waves holding hands, then finally braved the waves by himself (w/ Daddy or Mommy there to grab him for bigger waves of course). Ryan also collected some seashells and built a sand castle. Aaron mostly splashed in the tidal pool or sat on a blanket in the sand. We would also hold him while we stood in the waves w/ Ryan.

We ate a couple good restaurants (Kill Devil Grille was my favorite - Cheesesteak Egg Rolls!!!), and the gang cooked 3 great dinners and every breakfast at the house. BTW, we saw dolphins in the water every day, including while we were in the ocean the last day!

I have a photo gallery of the trip on Facebook, and will put up some videos really soon.

We really liked the OBX, and look forward to going back!