Turnkey Camping

We arrived in the Outer Banks and are camping at Camp Hatteras.  The campsite is a little forlorn, but we're at an oceanfront site, so you can hear the waves - although the sand dune in front doesn't allow us to see the ocean from the site.  Yesterday we stayed close to home.  J was desperate to try jet skiing, so we rented two for about 45 minutes.  All of us loved it!  Afterward, we jumped in the ocean over by the campsite.  The water was beautiful but the waves were bigger and stronger than we were used to.  J had a bit of a scare when his boogieboard leash was ripped off his arm and he struggled against the tide to get back on shore.  We relaxed in the pool for a bit then went to Kitty Hawk Kites and an ice cream shop.  It was a great day!   Today we got moving around 9 and drove to the Ocracoke Ferry.  Finding a little sandwich shop, we enjoyed a picnic in the shade.  We found some fun t-shirts and drove past the ligh...

The day after Williamsburg, we spent the day exploring Jamestown.  We really enjoyed exploring the area.  We took a ferry over to a beautiful lunch spot on the water and then beat the heat by taking C to his first movie!  We saw Toy Story 5 and it was a good reminder on how tech has overtaken our lives.   Next we drove to Ocean City, MD.  The kids had a ball on the amusement park rides at the boardwalk!  We tried the famous fries, boardwalk lemonade and ice cream.  The view from the top of the ferris wheel was beautiful and even Gampie got in on the ride-fun with the bumper cars! The next morning, we popped over to Delaware to see a lighthouse in the morning and then ventured to Chincoteague with the hopes of glimpsing some wild ponies!  After a visit to the wildlife refuge visitor's center, C got a birding patch and picked up his Junior Ranger badge packet.  We drove Beach Road and saw some wild horses!!  The wildlife loop didn't o...

​Back in February, we hatched a plan with my parents to visit Williamsburg.  As a child, I loved the American Girl Dolls - especially Felicity.  My mom and dad took me on an “Educating Kate” tour where we visited Williamsburg and Washington DC as a child.  I fondly remember the cobblestone streets and blacksmiths shop.  It was like walking back in time with folks roaming around in period correct clothing.  They even sold old fashioned children’s toys - mom bought me a hoop and stick that you could roll along the roads.  I have no clue how that one made it home - we must have driven. In an effort to show our kids as many states as we can, my primary goal of this trip was to check a few states off the list.  When we zeroed in on the Fourth of July as our ideal timeframe for vacation, I thought “how festive to be there for July 4th!”  We booked - only later to put 2 and 2 together and realize that this year was America’s 250th birthday!  What a ...

Two days ago, I took Charlie to the cutest place for his Back to School haircut!  We had lunch as a family and then ventured to the mall because my parents have a tradition of buying each grandchild new tennis shoes for every school year.  Charlie chose his and the boys checked out Lush at the mall.  Next we visited Cloud Candy - a really fun Boba Tea and Cake Pop spot.  Charlie had been asking to go to a playground all day - every time we drove past one, he shouted and got so excited!  Jude and I fulfilled his wish and then we ended up at Target to get him a small scooter for the camper.  He picked up the concept right away!  Afterwards, we got to see my niece’s hip hop dance class.  It was a busy and fun day! Yesterday I took the cousins to Urban Air because it was really hot outside.  Then we met up with the rest of my family to pick up some yummy local preaches.  After eating pizza, we went to a Willy Wonka themed escape room at a lo...

The more I write these posts, the more I realize what a gift it is to have friends all across the country.  Our camping friends have been an incredible network and it’s amazing how fast you get close to people when you have shared experiences and adventures.  Tonight we saw more Wisconsin friends and had a wonderful dinner together with my sister and her family and our airstream friends.   Earlier in the day I went to a Mamma Mia sing along drag brunch.  We had a great time.  It has been great to have time with family!!  I only wish we lived closer so we could have times like these more often.    

We had the world’s best time at the Coldplay concert in Madison!  My family helped watch Charlie so we could go and it was just a fantastic time!