Stephen had been working insane hours at work (12-18 hour days and more days than normal) for weeks leading up to our vacation from July 14-21. It was crunch time on a project he and his team were working on. Plus, the dedicated Daddy wanted to try his best to guarantee that his time off would indeed be honored.

Obviously, it was tough for Stephen and the rest of the family, but Daddy prevailed. So, we hit the road for the Outer Banks, bound for our first whole-family (meaning all five of us) vacation ever!

Day 1: A rough start

Being that the OBX is more than five hours from our house, packing and getting there was, you know, arduous and exhausting. But overall, the boys did surprising well on the trek.

The dudes celebrate Independence Day. (Click to see our patriotic pics.)

The house we rented was quite skanky upon arrival and required some cleaning — never a fun thing to do after a lengthy road trip with kids. Moreover, I had packed the wrong size sheet, so getting some much-deserved sleep in our strange bed proved difficult.

Day 2: Avalon Beach

We left our Kill Devil Hills house early and hit the closest beach, where the swell was intense. The sand was so mushy that I could never get my footing while in the water, the waves were choppy and the undertow strong.

I might be old and overweight, but I am a pretty decent swimmer, yet I could barely handle it alone. Still, we did our best at giving the boys a good beach experience. They ran around in the crashing waves, played in the sand, chased seagulls, etc.

However, at one point while I had Gabriel on my back in the shallow water, I lost my balance due to the soft sand. Luckily, Stephen was nearby and was able to quickly pull Gabe out of the crashing wave. After that, he decided that he hated “the rough beach” and refused to get wet again this day. I’m so sorry, G-man.

That afternoon, we welcomed the rest of our posse: Aunt Dina, cousins Kara and David, and David’s girlfriend, Lorna. We told them about our ocean experience and explained that we wanted to find a beach that was more tranquil and less exhausting.

Day 3: Albemarle Sound

Our good friend, Ashley, who has lived in Nags Head for 10-plus years, told us that she heard reports that a man broke his neck swimming yesterday. Turns out, those were some of the summer’s most powerful swells for Kill Devil Hills. She suggested a fairly unknown beach, located on the Albemarle Sound.

Many of the 4th of July festivities were held in the shadow of Gen. Nathanael Greene’s beautiful monument.

“The calm beach,” as it came to be known, was perfect. Since the Sound is really a shallow lagoon, the water never got above the kids’ tummies, no matter how far we walked out. There were small waves, so the dudes got their I’m-at-the-beach fix, but they were gentle and non-threatening.

Other families were spread out along the small, clean beach, and tons of kids of all ages frolicked about. The boys had a great time playing with Kara in the water and sand, Ashley met us for some hang time, and we all just soaked in the sun and enjoyed this much-needed relaxation. Thanks, Ash!

Day 4: More Sound swimming

We went back to the Sound for more chilling and mellow swimming. David and Lorna joined us this time, and the 3 Amigos enjoyed swimming with the big kids. The dudes had a blast rough-housing with David and loving on Lorna, especially Zeke, who proclaimed that he was her boyfriend, not David.

Day 5: Manteo, Roanoke Island & shopping

We decided to take a beach break, so Stephen and I took Kara and the boys out to eat in Manteo and then visited Roanoke Island Festival Park. Our first destination was the Elizabeth II, a 16th-century replica ship. The in-character sailors were funny but informative, and touring the English merchant vessel and all of its tight quarters was interesting.

However, it was an oppressively humid day (don’t know how the sailors in their long, woolen outfits did it), which is my guess as to why Zeke had a meltdown. Sadly for Daddy, who is a lover of history, he volunteered to take Zeke back to the van to help quell the outburst. Thanks for taking one for the team, Stephen!

This did allow the rest of us to explore more of the park. We visited the American Indian Town, which features replicas of coastal Algonquian culture, and the English Settlement Site, which represents the first English settlement in 1585.

My home-state flag is one of the kids’ faves because the goddess Virtue has uncrowned & crushed the naughty tyrant.

A costumed interpreter of the Roanoke Voyage gave Kara a woodworking lesson, and taught Houston and her how to play an Elizabethan game. Then we perused the settlement tents, checking out the goods and supplies (Gabriel was really into this) and the armor and weaponry (of course, a big hit with all the kiddos).

I dropped Daddy and the twins back off at the house, and took Houston and Kara swag shopping at a couple cheesy beach stores. And then Stephen and I rounded out the evening with a kid-free dinner at a yummy local eatery with Ashley and her hubby, Greg.

Day 6: Swimming down south

Our posse met up with Ashley in south Nags Head. The water at this beach was a lot more swimmer-friendly, so much so that Gabriel even gave the ocean another try.

Until he got his nerve up, Gabe hung out with Ash near the umbrella and played in the fiery-hot sand, eventually made his way down to the wet sand to play in a massive hole that Kara created, and then finally edged his way into the surf a bit.

I actually got to ride a few waves on Lorna’s boogie board, and both Zeke and Houston braved the waves beyond the crash zone with Daddy. It was a great final day of beachin’ it. Thanks again, Ash!

Some 200 years after the Declaration of Independence & I was all ready to rebel in 1976. (Click to see a few awesome old pics from my aunt.)

Day 7: Lighthouse, pier & seafood buffet

Clan Dillingham headed south to the Bodie Island Lighthouse, located just above Oregon Inlet. Unfortunately, the 1870s-era tower was undergoing restoration during our visit and was completely covered in scaffolding. Nonetheless, the 165-foot light station was impressive in its presence alongside the flat freshwater marsh.

From there, we headed back to Nags Head to meet Ashley and Greg at Jennette’s Pier. The OBX institution dates back to 1939, but has been rebuilt time and time again due to the ravages of hurricanes and nor’easters.

The newly constructed pier is spectacular. It is all concrete; an outpost for the NC Aquarium Society; 1,000 feet long; and home to three wind turbines. (I’m not a fan subsidizing wind power, but hey, if private donors want to fund wind energy, let ’em have it).

The boys got a lesson on sea turtles, and giggled and squealed whenever they spotted the huge electric eel swimming around the pristine aquarium. The twins checked out a huge dead shark hanging outside, and all three liked peering through the telescope and watching surfers ride waves.

Although it was intermittently rainy, we began walking down the pier. There were a couple huts along the way, where Greg and Stephen had stopped. But Ashley, the kids and I kept meandering toward the last one when a massive thunderstorm unloaded on us.

Unbeknownst to me, Ash managed to make her way around to the front of the construction, but the dudes and I had to take cover on the side. The only thing that kept them dry was a small roof overhang and a drenched mama bear who huddled around them as a barrier from the pummeling downpour.

Beck-Nut w/ Mom & Dad: Some of my fondest childhood memories are from our summers @ the river; these times were the epitome of freedom!

Being that far above the roaring ocean during a storm was scary enough. But the whirring and howling of the 90-foot windmill we were right beside made it even that much more ominous.

Luckily, Ashley had told all the stranded anglers at the pier’s end about a mother and tree small kids being stuck around the corner. So, a nice fisherman braved the storm to lead us to the front of the hut, where there was a bit more protection from the elements.

“We’ve made better decisions,” chuckled Ashley. (This is saying something, considering that I’ve known Ash since I was 14 and we certainly have done some crazy things together over the years.)

We rounded out our final day by going out to eat for an early-bird dinner at Carolina Seafood. It was three adults and four kids, so the logistics of getting everybody their food and actually eating the delicious fare proved to be a challenge.

Our adventures from earlier, as well as the thunder crashing all around while waiting to be seated, had worn out the boys. Their little bodies and brains were shot, so much so that Zeke even fell asleep while sitting up in his chair in the loud restaurant.

Desperate to have a few fleeting moments to eat in peace, we opted to pay for Dina and Kara’s dinner, so they could entertain the 3 Amigos some place away from the table. Everyone had devoured their food, so we figured it was money well spent for the two of us to enjoy each other’s company and feast on snow crab legs.

Synopsis of behavior 

Gabriel was excellent all week, with the exception of his crying fits about getting in the ocean. Houston was pretty good overall, but had his moments (just as Stephen and I did). Also, hanging out with his older cousin made Houston not want kisses from me — only hugs were allowed — but he has since gotten over that. And Zeke was just ornery when he felt the urge, which was fairly often.

Love her or hate her, you will never forget her: Nanny Quate, who was born in 1899, was always old & always grumpy.

Mistakes made, lessons learned

• Never again rent a small, one bathroom beach house for nine people. What were we thinking? Bigger is better.
• Don’t rent from your boss ’cause you can’t really complain when there are problems.
• Stay near a body of water with more kid-friendly swimming.
• Rent closer to the body of water, so you can walk back and forth to the house with ease. This minimizes the stress and time of packing up for the day’s beach trip, and decreases time organizing the whole posse, driving and parking.
• And since I’m homeschooling, we don’t have to go on vacation in the summer. For example, Ashley said that up until October in the OBX, you can swim without a wet suit. Moreover, rental prices are obviously drastically reduced during the off season.
• Last but not least, have grandparents along for the trip. This increases our chances of being able to sleep in a bit, and thus, enjoy the nightlife a little more.

Sure, vacations for us will probably always be more adventure than relaxation, but we can certainly make a few easy improvements to wherever our next trip takes us.