Blueberry and Blackberry picking at Vollmer Farm

Last weekend we took Avery to an organic pick-your own farm to pick blueberries and blackberries at Vollmer Farms.  It is a neat place, with lots of fruit to pick throughout the year, homemade ice cream stand, a playground, and during the fall they have hay rides, family movies in the barn, etc.

We met up with our friends Ariel and Chris, and their son Jude who is a month older than Avery.  Avery and Jude get to hang out a lot, and they are good friends!

They liked the wagon ride out to the field.

Avery loved sitting down and literally picking the "low hanging fruit", and then eating them!

After picking out in the sun, the kiddos needed a drink break from their sippy cups

Then they played on some of the fun toys!  Avery sat in the old plane (painted like a pumpkin for the fall season I guess!)

Then daddy joined her in the cockpit

Then Avery took a drive in the John Deere tractor!

When Avery and Jude were on it together we thought it was cute, it looked like Farmer Jude driving his wife Farmer Avery around the family farm!

Avery also loved drawing with the chalk

Then we went into the gift shop, Avery and Jude had a "date" at the kids table.

We ate homemade ice cream with homemade waffle cones, then Avery tried her hand at checkers

We can't wait to come back later in the year to pick more fruit, and to come in the fall for hay rides and movie nights in the barn!

Outer Banks

Last weekend we took a trip to the Outer Banks (OBX), and met up with our friends Mike and Lisa from DC.

Thursday night after work we drove out to Moorehead City on the coast just south of the OBX to stay the night.  We woke up Friday morning and Avery had her shades on ready for the beach!

We first hit the beach in the town of Atlantic Beach, here is Jim and Avery on the boardwalk

Then we headed to the little seaport town of Beaufort.  It is not pronounced how one would think, it is pronounced "BOE-fert".  We walked around the shops

Walked down the boardwalk by the boats

And had lunch by the bay

Colleen in front of a brick building in town:

Then we drove up across Cedar Island to the ferry out to Ocracroke.  The car-ferry was a 2 hour - 15 minute ride out Ocracroke Island, with only water as far as you could see

That gives one an idea of how far out the Outer Banks are from the mainland!  Avery enjoyed sitting on the benches up on the deck to get a taste of the great sea breeze

Once we arrived in Ocracroke, we realized it was our favorite town on the OBX.  It had a little harbor and looked very New England-ish!  We have more pictures of the town farther below when we went back for dinner the next night.  When we were there right off the ferry, we had ice cream from a little homemade stand

Then Avery enjoyed a nice time relaxing on a hammock in the shade

and we saw the lighthouse on the island

Avery turned into Godzilla and was as tall as the lighthouse!

After that we headed up to the end of the island and took the short 30 minute ferry over the Hatteras Island to our beach house where Mike and Lisa were meeting us.

That evening we had dinner at a restaurant and relaxed with a beer on their nice deck overlooking the sound to watch the sun set

It really is true that on the OBX you can watch the sun rise and set over the water since the islands are so narrow!

Avery enjoyed playing on the deck that night!

The next morning we headed over to the beach side to enjoy the ocean

In the OBX, there are stretches like this where you can have a mile of beach to yourself!
Later that afternoon we went to the pool at the hotel and enjoyed relaxing and lounging!

Avery enjoyed sticking her tounge out at the camera!  What a stinker!
That evening we headed back on the ferry over to Ocraocroke Island, and stopped at the horse preserve

Then we headed into town for dinner on a wonderful outdoor deck overlooking the harbor and sailboats!

(The town is really nice, lots of people ride bikes, scooters, and golf carts to get around.)

We walked down to get more ice cream, then walked over the water's edge to see the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT), which is right on the shoreline!  Colleen remarked how neat it would be to take the one-week training offered there sometime!

We ferried back to Hatteras Island for the night to go to bed.  The next morning we visited the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse...it is the tallest lighthouse in North America and the 2nd tallest in the world (One in Norway is about 12 feet taller).

We climbed up all the steps to the top and enjoyed a nice view!

 The keeper's quarters way down below:

An interesting fact is that the lighthouse had to be moved about 10 years ago because the islands are constantly shifting due the fact they are small, made of only sand, and are subject to strong wind and waves.  The lighthouse was located at the end of the tree cut in the picture before they moved it.  We were amazed that they could move such a tall brick structure without damaging it!

Mike and Lisa watched Avery while we went up (kids under 5 couldn't go up) and then while they went up later, Avery took part in an interactive interprative lesson from the National Park rangers where she had to act as a sea gull.

Then we looked up and zoomed in to see Mike and Lisa at the top!

After that we drove farther up the coast and had lunch at a nice spot overlooking the sound where a huge kite surfing center was located!  What a view!

Then we headed farther north and saw the Bodie Island lighthouse.  It is currently under renovation, once it is done it will be re-opened to the public to climb up to the top

Then we hit the outlet mall in Nags Head before crossing the bridge back to Roanoke Island (where the first Eurpoean settlement in North America was located), then one more long bridge back to the mainland.