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.

Avery's 1st Birthday Weekend

We had a busy weekend celebrating Avery's 1st birthday and hosting family who came to take part in the festivities...Avery's Grandma Woods (Colleen's mom) flew in from New Hampshire.  Avery's Grandma Ball (Jim's mom), Grandpa Ball (Jim's stepdad), and Uncle Adam (Jim's brother) flew in from Missouri.

Avery's actual birthday was Saturday May 14th.  The party was on Sunday so we could do a 1-year photo shoot on UNC's campus on Saturday mid-day.  Once we get photos back from the photographer we will post them online.  We had some great shots of Avery; some great family shots with Jim, Colleen, and Avery; and some great ones of Avery, Colleen, and Colleen's mom (3 generations of ladies).

After we did the photography session, we walked along Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill to get lunch

We ate at our favorite place there, Carolina Coffee House.

Despite the name, it is a neat pub-style restaurant with a good beer selection!

Later that night we went to Goodberry's, a local chain of ice cream stands that sells frozen custard.  Turns out we went the next 3 nights in a row too, Jim's mom loves Goodberry's!

Avery really enjoyed her Grandma Woods feeding her some too, it probably helped numb her teething gums..

The next day of the party we started the day by setting up decorations

Then Avery looked out the window seeing how would be the first to arrive!

Including us, we had 29 people for the party.

We grilled up 4 types of burgers (Beef, burgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, and mahi burgers).  We went through all 28 of them!  We also had homemade pesto pasta (Colleen made the pesto from the basil in our herb garden), homemade white-bean salad, and veggies.  We made cup-cakes for dessert.

After we all ate, Avery sat down in her high chair for singing of Happy Birthday.

She clapped when we were all done!

Then she ate the whole cupcake by herself:

Afterwards she opened presents, all the kids there helped her open them up!  She loved all the attention

We can't believe our little girl is now over 1 year old.  The first year has gone so fast!!!

Avery Cruising

One week before Avery's 1st birthday she is cruising around the coffee tables, couches, etc.  She's also looking more and more like a toddler and less like a baby each day:

Making a mess with the magzines on the coffee table!!

She'll probably be walking soon, maybe for her grandparents visit next week! 

5K, SPRING DAZE ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL, GARDEN, AVERY LEARNING TO WALK

We've been really busy lately!  Yesterday especially...

We went to downtown Raleigh for the Run For Our Heroes 5k Race (Benefits the families of police officers killed in the line of duty).  It was a neat course, right through downtown, around the State Capitol building, then through Peace College, and back downtown for the finish.  We did it with Jim's cousin John who lives near us.

It was absolutely perfect day out for it, mid-70s and clear skies.  On our walk back to the parking garage, we passed by the City of Raleigh's building, and it was named the Avery Building... So Avery had to get her picture taken sitting up on the sign!

Then we still got home in time to do some yard sailing, still wearing the bib number from the race

After that we walked over to Bond Park where the Town of Cary was having there Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival

We wandered around listing to the live music on the different stages, checking out the art/photography, and having some food to eat too.  We had soy barbeque sandwiches , you'd never known the difference between real meat ones, they were great tasting!  There were litterally hundreds of booths, 4 music stages, and great weather too!  They also had a section for Earth Day there, Avery and Colleen got their picture taken

On our walk back home, Avery and Colleen posed for a nice picture in front of the lake in the background, people were out paddle-boating enjoying the perfect day out.

Then we went to Durham to meet our friend Tina and her husband for Sushi.

Later after that, Avery was showing off her new skills!  She is getting really close to walking now, she can cruise with her walker

We also got our garden going this spring, we got a lot of our plants at the Raleigh Farmer's Market.  We planted bell peppers, tomatos, squash, cucumbers and strawberries.

We also have an herb garden with basil, rosemarry, and chives.

We wish every day could be filled with so many fun things!  Too bad every day isn't a weekend...