Our Hols so Far

I have been dying to get on here since Sunday and post but it's been a crazy wonderful week and I just haven't had the time or the energy until now. For those of you outside of the US, the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina consist of a very long, thin peninsula of white sandy beaches and glorious weather. Most importantly for us, it is home to a plethora of shipwrecks, and therefore pirates folklore and maritime history that would be hard to match in the USA. It is also home to Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills where the first flight took place. And so here's some pictures from this week, which has gone TOO QUICK!

The boys in Monteo on Roanoke Island. Roanoke Island was the first British settlement in the USA and the first English child, Virginia Dare, was born there. The settlers were sent out in 1585 by Elizabeth 1 and Sir Walter Raleigh to conquer the new world before the dastardly Spanish claimed too much. The little town has so much Englishness about it, with St. George's flag flying and pretty cottage-style gardens. When the second set of settlers arrived they found the first group had completely vanished, and so the mystery of Roanoke was established.

At a local pirate restaurant, our Jack made firm friends with Palmico Jack, a pirate of much daring and swashbuckling action. He also used to be a male model and did some work at Whitbread Brewery in northern England many years ago, but don't tell Jack.

Kill Devils Hills was WONDERFUL. To see the place where Orville and Wilbur Wright took flight on the world's first plane was a lifetime wish for me and Craig.

The monument, which stands high on a hill

The view from the monument - this area used to be windswept sand from the sound-side to the ocean. The Wright brothers flew the plane 800 ft down the center line in this picture, making it the world's first official flight in 1903. They lived in a wooden hut and slept in hammocks to avoid rats and rising waters. Those pioneers of yesteryear were so courageous weren't they.

Next up, a pirate ship adventure for me & Jack. Argg! Jack totally believed the whole thing and helped find the treasure and fire cannons at the baddies. Each child was allowed one big hand scoop of treasure at the end and our Jack just picked out one pirate coin and a plastic frog. My heart melted.

Jack helps Skipper hoist up the treasure

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum on Hatteras Village. I am over the moon because they just salvaged an enigma machine from the U-85 sunk during WW2, and I got to see it.

Hatteras National Coastline - Gorgeous

On Hatteras Beach - Jack flying his pirate kite (do you see a theme here?)

Danny loved the beach, just loved it and cried his little heart out when I scooped him up, full of sand, and wrested him back into the car.

We celebrated Harry's 70th Birthday yesterday

Tonight, at dusk, we drove through the wildlife refuge on Roanoke and look who we saw!

One thing that I'll miss about this place is the amazing sunsets, every night. There's still so much I want to do but time is running out. Isn't that always the case.