Outer Banks Day 4 - Lighthouse Tour

Today was lighthouse day. It took us 11 hours to drive (and ride a ferry) 160 miles round-trip to see three lighthouses. Our first stop was Bodie Island Lighthouse (pronounced "body"). Built in 1872, it is 156 feet tall with 214 stairs to the top. We weren't able to climb this lighthouse because it is currently undergoing renovations. We took an easy hike on a boardwalk that wound through the marsh, where saw several kinds of birds. The marsh lookout also provided the perfect spot to snap a picture.Next stop: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. This is America's tallest lighthouse at 198 feet, and it is the world's tallest brick lighthouse. It was built in 1870. It used to be right by the ocean, but it was moved to its current location in 1999 to avoid being swallowed up by the sea. We personally weren't able to climb Cape Hatteras because Julia is too little - you need to be able to ascend and descend the lighthouse on your own, and I'm quite certain 257 steps is too much for our Sunshine. You can tell by the giddy smile on Julia's face that she really enjoyed our lighthouse tour, with the National Parks passports in hand. Cape Hatteras was Evelyn's favorite.
In order to get from Cape Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island, you need to hitch a ride on a ferry. Julia thought we were talking about a fairy, and she honestly couldn't figure out why Evelyn and I said the ferry was a boat with white and yellow stripes. Poor thing, she was so confused! While on the ferry, I had to take a picture of my GPS, with my car in the middle of the water.
Our last stop was Ocracoke Island Lighthouse, which is the second-oldest lighthouse in the United States (built in 1823). This was the shortest lighthouse we saw today, only 65 feet tall. this lighthouse is not open to the public - too bad, because Julia might be able to climb this one. Julia picked Ocracoke as her favorite lighthouse. If you look closely at the base of the lighthouse on the left, you can see the girls peeking over the fence.

Julia's 3rd Birthday

Julia had a simple birthday party at the beach house - pizza, pinata and cake. Julia took several good swings at her pinata. After a few more kids had their turn, the candy spilled out onto the ground.
Julia loved being the center of attention this evening. Here she is with her cake, waiting for everyone to sing "Happy Birthday" to her.
Just like last weekend, Julia only needed one huff to blow out her candle.
Woo hoo - more chocolate cake with pink frosting!

Outer Banks Day 3

We spent about three hours at the beach this morning. Evelyn had fun running......and jumping in the water.
Julia was eyeing the ocean, but she stayed up on the beach with her toys today.
Our little Peanut...
...and a group shot!

Birthday at the Beach

Hollywood is sunscreened and sporting sunglasses. Beach, anyone?Julia had asked me to fly the kite. What did she do once I was distracted? She rummaged through the beach bag until she found her Goldfish, and then she stole my lounge chair. Julia is quite the opportunist!
Look! A seashell!
One of Julia's favorite sayings today: Mommy, can you go get more ocean water in my bucket?
Birthday Girl posing with her big sis. What a way for Julia to spend her 3rd birthday!

Outer Banks Day 2

Evelyn wanted to go to the sand dunes today (also known as Jockey Ridge State Park). It was a sunny morning with just the right amount of wind (not too much!), so we loaded up on sunscreen and headed out to play in the sand. Here's a shot of Evelyn climbing a ridiculously steep sand dune. Julia and I climbed it, too, also on our hands and knees. Evelyn climbed this hill five or six times, but Julia and I had had enough after one ascent.Once at the top, you just see rolling hills of sand all around. The girls took a break from all the walking and climbing we had done by digging and playing in the soft sand.
Julia discovered she could bury her feet in the sand...and when she kicked up her feet, sand went flying everywhere. She thought this was the funniest thing, and she did this over and over again.
My rule for Evelyn was for her to make sure she could always see me. I reminded her that, if she could see me, then I could also see her. I let her roam where she wanted to since she was much quicker than Julia. (Evelyn is the small dot in the middle of the picture, with Julia looking on.)
It's hard to see in this picture, but both girls are completely covered with sand. It's amazing they didn't get any sand in their eyes because it was all over their faces. After spending over an hour at the sand dunes, we called it a day.

Outer Banks Day 1

We arrived at the beach house pretty late, around bedtime, so we weren't able to do any touristy things. But this morning, we kicked off our vacation with Duck Donuts. Both Evelyn and Julia requested going there for breakfast. How can you go wrong with hot, fresh, made-to-order donuts?An added bonus to eating at Duck Donuts is the osprey nest in the sound, a few feet from the boardwalk. We watched the daddy osprey (pictured below) fly around while the mommy stayed in the nest (you can't see her - she's down in the nest).
After getting our fill of donuts, we slathered on sunscreen and headed to the beach. Both girls played and played and played in the sand. Evelyn built sand cities while Julia moved sand from one container to another.
Evelyn also took a few splash breaks in the ocean. That water was freezing cold, but she didn't care.
Here's a group shot of us girls. We beach bums spent close to five hours at the beach today - with the weather absolutely beautiful, we couldn't resist.

Julia's Happy Birthday Song