As a kid, it was typical for us to vacation in Ocean City every summer. On occasion we varied and tried other beaches, but OC was usually our family's choice for a short three or four-day getaway. (I even went for my senior beach week there!)
When Dave and I got married, we decided to mix it up and try new places every year. But, when we had kids, back to Ocean City we went...a short drive from home in an area where we kind of knew what to expect since everything was familiar. After a while though, we started to realize that things weren't quite as family friendly as they could have been. While the boardwalk there is beautiful and exciting, inappropriate t-shirts were displayed right out in the open for passerbys and wild teens and college students roamed showing off for their friends (some even intoxicated). Hotel prices were high, the water was cold, and the beaches crowded; all of which started to make the nostalgic appeal of my childhood vacation spot dampen. That said, we decided to try Virginia Beach a couple years ago and thought it was better in some ways, but it didn't have some of the attractions OC has and the incredible seafood Maryland's known for.
In years past, I've also heard a lot of friends talk about the Outerbanks (OBX) and what a wonderful vacation spot that is. Many of them who were raised going to the beach at OC like me even commented that once they tried NC beaches they were hooked and there was no turning back. With tons and tons of recommendations, Dave and I decided it was worth a shot even thought it was a little farther away, so we made plans to try it out.
Day 1: For various reasons, Dave and I thought it would be great the next time we went to the beach to get a house to stay in for a week vs. the normal 3-4 day hotel stay we usually do. The OBX actually was the perfect location to do this because there are very few hotels there and most visitors end up renting one of the hundreds of beach houses available. While we booked months in advance, most of the houses had already been picked over, but thankfully we did find the perfect little cottage for us just about a block from the ocean. Wright Court Cottages was the name of the group we stayed with and "Summer Daze" was the name of our little "home away from home" last week. It was adorable online, but when we arrived late Saturday night after battling traffic all day, we were more than satisfied to find such a clean, well-decorated, and fun little place.
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| Hadley shared a room with Aunt Courtney and NaNa. |
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| We thought it best to break all the kids up into different rooms because Caleb had been having night terrors and Reid still wakes up to nurse sometimes. The plans was that if each one had their own space it might help everyone get better sleep and be less cranky. Caleb chose to be in the the surfboard room and have Mommy as his roommate. |
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| That left Reid with Daddy in the flipflop room! |
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| The kids love exploring when we got there (well, so did the adults). |
Though it was late, we did take a little walk across the street to the the beach since all day long we'd been hyping it up as we'd traveled for hours down the highway. Though it was pretty dark out and not much to do, I think everyone enjoyed just getting that first chance to put their feet in the sand.
Day 2: Sunday, Dave and the kids were up raring to go early, but he let the womenfolk sleep in a little. Then, out to the beach we went. The owner of our cottage had an agreement with the hotel next door, so we could use the pool there for free too, which we took advantage of.
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Our cute little cottage!...While most of the houses were raised, this one kind of stood out since it was the only ranch style one around. Despite that, we loved it because it meant no steps to have to worry about with the little ones.
Being so close to the beach was convenient too. We were able to easily go back an forth to get lunch and put the kids down for naps. Right across the street from the house was the pool and just a few yards farther the beach. |
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| Caleb didn't even make it to the beach before he started playing in the sand. |
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| Look closely...Can you see what Caleb found? |
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| The ocean was pretty rough that day and the undertow terrible, so the lifeguards put up red flags warning vacationers not to swim. That said, we couldn't do much more than just put our feet in to wade a little. However, even in the shallow water at the shore, Hadley was having fun. |
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| Reid enjoyed chasing the birds. At one point, it sounded like he said something about chickens, so I think he may have been a little confused. |
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| Caleb didn't have to nap as early as the other two so he got a little extra time in the sand with NaNa. |
Later that night, we tried a seafood restaurant called Miller's Waterfront. They had a little bit of a wait, but in the meantime we enjoyed some beautiful views of the "sound." Since it was a waterfront restaurant, I think we all thought we'd be eating outdoors on a deck or something, but that was actually not the case. While I was somewhat disappointed, it was still nice to be able to see the sun setting over the water as we looked out the windows. The food was pretty good but expensive, and the kids had a hard time waiting and the sitting still so I'm don't think we'd do it again with them. Nonetheless, it was a nice way to spend the evening and get our first taste of the seafood there.
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| The boys couldn't sit still long, but Hadley found a way to keep herself entertained. |
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| My silly boy - always trying to make some type of goofy face when I try to get a good picture! |
Day 3: The next morning Dave let the ladies sleep in again, but it wasn't too long before we were out on the beach again. We planned ahead and even brought a few Lunchables so we didn't have to go in for lunch, making the most of our time before the kids napped. We played between the beach and the pool as long as possible until it was finally time to take the babies in to sleep.
To save money, we made dinner at the cottage that evening. Afterwards, we tried out Professor Hacker's Putt-Putt.
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| Caleb was trying to carry his club in his pocket. |
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| Reid was so excited that a "choo-choo" took us to our course. He loved watching it while we waited in line. |
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| Courtney showed everyone how it was done. |
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| Proud of herself |
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| Reid didn't need anyone to tell him what to do. Right to it he went. |
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| Caleb had his own technique. Dave was going to teach him how to do it right, but I told him not to because it was so cute to watch. (Shame on me!) |
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| Reid got a plastic club and it's a good thing. He was waving it all over the place. |
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| The kids made a slide out of this course. |
Looks like quite a vacation just the first few days doesn't it? More pics to come!
