A Vacation for Three!

This past five days, our little family of three has gotten to enjoy our first vacation together! Joe had a business opportunity that brought him to the North Carolina coast, and with the help of AA airmiles Owen and I got to join in the fun!

To say I was terrified flying with an 11 mo was an understatement. There are just too many things going on and going wrong with air travel these days. But O showed me! He was a trooper, and I even got to snuggle with my little guy for two whole hours while he slept on me!

Let's see... We visited the Great Dismal Swamp, saw a blimp and ransacked a hotel room on our first few days! O loved being able to wander all around the room.

Blimp and blimp hanger....doesn't it look like a loaded down milk cow?

After Joe finished his business obligations, we headed to the Outter Banks, or the OBX as all the cool kids call it. We stopped in Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills to see the Wright Bros Museum only to have missed it by 30 mins. Then we headed to the beach. Owen LOVED IT!!

O on the OBX

He loved the water. He loved the sand. He loved the birds. He loved the people. It was soo much fun getting to see him smile and enjoy something we love too! After unloading a diaper full of sand, we enjoyed a great dinner on the beach and a stroll on the pier.

Daddy and son making waves!

To continue our adventure, we headed down the road a bit to visit Joe's college buddy, Dave and his wife and kiddos. I have to take a second and rant here. On what should have been about a 2-hr trip in Texas turned into a 3.5 hr trip in NC. PEOPLE!!! It is OK TO GO FASTER than 55mph on a straight road with NOTHING ON IT!!!!! For the love of families with young kiddos, boost the dang speed limit!!!

So, when we finally arrived in New Bern, we had a blast! Dave and Bekah and Jonathan and Miss Abby were the perfect hosts. We played hard, visited an aquarium, checked out a fort, played on the beach and even went to church!

On our Fort Macon visit, we changed Owen's diaper right where a civil war canon used to sit. Now, do you think that guy all those years ago in the throws of battle was thinking, "You know, some day some dippy tourists are going to be stomping all over here and even changing diapers where I'm fighting so hard?" Kinda puts things into perspective a bit -- everything changes, even the things that change history.

Notice the sign says "Fort Macon was made for war, not safety. Please be careful. " Kinda interesting!

The Atlantic Ocean at our backs!

To wrap up our visit, we "pushed" the speed limit on our way back to VA, and got to visit with my cousin Merritt and her boys. It was so fun to catch up with family that we don't get to see as often as we like!

Wow, a great trip! Lots of memories, lots of sand in our shorts! Can't wait to do it again...after a bit!