Corolla, NC

From Atlanta we travelled to Corolla, NC - The Outer Banks. It was the outer most portion of the peninsula off the coast of North Carolina. The ocean baby and it was cold! We forfeited a night's stay at our resort because we left Atlanta late and were still travelling but we got there in time to watch the sunrise over the beach. Everyone else unloaded and went to bed. Max and I suited up and headed for the beach, he had waited so long to see it. He asked me every other hour that we spent on the road or doing something else, "Are we at the beach yet?" We walked around and collected sea shells and watched the seagulls fly by. We were the only ones there and it was so peaceful.

At some point the waves came to shore while our backs were to the water and all I know is that I felt the stabbing cold around my ankles. After the initial shock, I turned around to find Max, who had been digging in the sand near my feet. He was missing, my initial thought was, "Oh no, he can't swim. I am watching the shore line going crazy and then I here his voice screaming, "Mama, the water, the water!" I follow the direction of the excited screams and there he is standing at the base of the steps leading back to the resort, a very long walk in the sand away from me. All that talk about the beach and the boy runs at lightening speed in the opposite direction the minute the water hits the shore.

We headed back up to the room to corral the rest of the troops and everyone joined us back on the beach after a couple of hours. I actually left him in the room playing with trains while Moo and I went down to enjoy one of our resorts three outdoor pools. I looked like a beach whale in my too little swimsuit so no pictures of that; I packed the wrong suit; the look very similar when they are folded.

Kisha rented a body board and enjoyed riding the waves while I sat under the umbrella we rented on the beach and watched Max dig holes and build his sand castles. Maddy ate a lot of sand which made for a very horrible diaper later.

Rodney soaked in lots of sun and enjoyed the freedom of being shirtless on the edge of the water. Eventually I took a nap since I had done most of the driving. Then we enjoyed lunch at a local beach side diner and drove around town. We tried to catch a tour of the lighthouse before it closed but we missed it. We had dinner at another town favorite, did some laundry, and packed it all back up to head to Greensboro the next morning.

I spent a lot of time on this trip looking for a car charger for my new 120 GB Ipod, so Kisha and I struck out on our own later in said search. Didn't ever find a place that had one, but we did find a mall and a bunch of cool beach wear stores. We got a little shopping in before we left the next morning.

It was a beautiful peaceful time and we definitely plan to visit again.