Every summer we vacation in the Outer Banks with our family. We rent a beach house, pray for good weather, and hope to spend our days on the beach and evenings relaxing and playing games. This is our 5th year doing this and this year did not disappoint. Here's a recap in the form of an acrostic poem (I'm feeling creative this year!) of our trip to the OUTER BANKS...
O
On a pontoon...
One of my favorite traditions we have is renting a pontoon boat on the last day of vacation. It makes our last day of vacation a little less dreadful and a little more fun, plus we miss all of the check out traffic! On Saturday, we packed up our cars and pick up some food and drinks and off we went. We spend the day fishing, swimming, and looking for dolphins. The girls and Bryan each took their turns driving the boat and Noah enjoyed a quiet nap in the shade. Once the meltdowns started kicking in, Eric and I got dropped off back at the dock with the little ones and the rest of the fam finished out the rest of the afternoon on the boat. Then, we went back to our house for Chinese take-out and some relaxing on the couch before everyone drove home the next morning.
U
Under an umbrella
My dad's weather curse continued this year and we had 2 back to back days of rain. I don't mind a little bad weather, but this year was rough because it was in the beginning of our trip and 2 days in a row. We made the best of it and used our time to explore the island and get some yummy food and drinks. We took the kids to Bodie Lighthouse, ate and did some beer tasting at the brewery, went to the outlets, and played hide and seek at least 100 times at the house. Rainy days at the beach are not ideal, luckily OBX has a lot to offer and we still were able to have some fun!
T
Traditions
Over the last 5 years, we've created a lot of other fun traditions during our annual OBX trip. This year, we each picked a night to cook dinner for the group, took our annual family beach pictures, and spent our days at the beach and by the pool and our nights playing games. Nothing says Castello-Harvell family beach trip like a good old game night! We added "What Do You Meme?" to the game rotation and it did not disappoint, it's absolutely hilarious and I highly recommend it any time you need a good laugh!
E
Eating out at the Colington Cafe in Kill Devil Hills
Every year we pick one night to get dressed up and go out for a nice dinner. We have tried lots of new restaurants in the past, but this year we decided to stick with what we know and pick one of our all time favorite spots, Colington Cafe. It's a little Victorian house turned restaurant with the most delicious food, the desserts are literally to die for! To our surprise, our littles were on their best behavior and it was a nice evening out as a family...thank you to our amazing waitress who told Addie a little story about a deer family who lived outside in the garden. She spent the entire meal looking out the window waiting for the deer to make an appearance!
R
Rose floats and pink flamingos
Meet the newest member of our family - Julian (as Addie named him) our giant pink flamingo float who was the perfect addition to our pool at the beach house. Everyone took a turn lounging on Julian so I didn't think I could write a recap of our vacation without including him. Oh and Rose floats - my new favorite pool side drink, amazing! Simply pick your favorite flavor of sherbet, we used raspberry, and fill your cup with a few scoops, then pour over some rose and there you have it! So refreshing and so yummy!
B
Beach, beach, let's just get away..
Our favorite time on vacation is spent with our toes in the sand. We had lots of fun sun-filled days on the beach. Addie loved jumping in the waves and digging for sand crabs, Bella preferred walking on the beach searching for seashells, and Noah took beach naps like a champ! The all had an absolute blast hanging out with Grandpa, Pap, Uncle Brian, Carla, T, and cousin Bryan!
A
A week of FIRSTS
This year was extra special because it was the first year we had this little guy on vacation. Noah was lucky enough to experience the OBX at just 2 months new and he lived the life. He was spoiled with lots of naps and Grandma cuddles. He joined us on all of our adventures, including his first boat ride. Noah may not remember his first family vacation, but lots of wonderful memories were made that I will forever cherish!
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Nags Head MP 20
This year we stayed at the most perfect beach house "Owl's Perch" in Nags Head at MP 20. It was updated, had plenty of bedrooms, and lots of fun including a pool, hot tub, sauna, playground, and game room. It was a quick walk to the beach and a short drive to all of our favorite places on the island. "Owl's Perch" was one of my favorite beach houses!
K
Kid-free time
We had an absolute blast making memories with the kids, but also enjoyed some kid-free time thanks to some amazing babysitters (Thank you Pap and Grandma!) Eric got to golf not once, but twice and I got to do some kid-free shopping at the outlets. We even got to relax on the beach a few times when Grandma or Pap held down the fort during nap time! Once the kids went to bed at night we got to enjoy drinks and games with the fam, along with a lot of laughs!
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Sweets for days - Duck Donuts & Fat Boyz
Nothing says OBX like Duck Donuts! They are made to order, melt in your mouth donuts that are a-mazing! The girls would literally eat them all day long if I let them and I don't blame them, I would too! Another favorite spot is Fat Boyz (with a "Z") ice cream in Nags Head and if you go you absolutely have to get cookie dough ice cream as a topping. It's literally chunks of raw cookie dough and so so good.
There you have it, the Castello-Harvell OBX 2017 acrostic poem recap. Until next year...but first a photo dump of a few (or a lot!) more of my favorites!
