Outerbanks Trip

We just returned from a week long vacation in outer banks. Having our dear friends Sue, Shibin and their four boys Mathew, Joey, Alex and Ryan with us was double the joy. Shibin and Anurag were disappointed that their charter fishing plans did not work out. I do wish them better luck next time because Shibin's wild tuna cutlets turned me into fish lover. This just affirms my favorite saying, ''never say never''.

I wish the weather was a bit warmer but all in all it was a great trip. There was lots of pool time and beach lounging. Avi and I also learned to play shuffle - thanks to Joey and Mathew !

On day 2 We took a ferry trip to Cape Hatteras and its National Sea shore drive. What beautiful beaches and what a beautiful sight of hundreds of wind-surfers enjoying themselves in the ocean !
Boys found it very interesting that the infamous pirate Blackbeard was killed right there in Cape Hatteras at Ocracoke inlet in a dramatic hand-to-hand shipboard battle in Nov. 1718. The attack was led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, by order of governor Spotswood of Virginia. While the kids imagined the scene in their minds, we enjoyed the sun on our faces and admired the beautiful boats parked on the dock.

On day 3, we drove to Corolla and loved the drive. Some beautiful beach houses on each side of road lined the thin strip of land. Corolla is home to the famous Currytuck lighthouse. Boys enjoyed climbing 250 steps to the top of the light house. Was our out-of-breath ascend worth the breathtaking view of outerbanks from top ? You bet ! We are glad we picked this one since later I learned that this light house is distinct among its fellows along the outerbanks. While the other 4 lighthouses are painted in black and white vertical, horizontal and checkered patterns, Currytuck shows off its natural brick used in its construction. We waited patiently outside the lighthouse while Anurag took his time helping Neev climb down. His reward was to also see the old mineral oil lamps which produced light visible to 18 nautical miles before the light was automated in 1939.

On day 4 of our vacation we drove to Kitty Hawk to see the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Here, after 4 years of experimentation, Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved first successful flights in 1903. After watching the amazing movie about them we walked up to see the memorial. Its a 60 foot granite monument which reads, "Achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith'' around it. The gate in the front has 8 fine carvings depicting things pertaining to flying. Among them are wings of a bird, kites, a Britisher who tried to fly by gluing wings and flippers and a mythological Greek character who could fly.
At the bottom of the hill there is a sculpture park recreating the scene of the first flight. Kids had a lot of fun playing there , specially Alex who rode on ''Órville'' the entire time.
The highlight for us was to drive in sand in our 4 wheel drive by the beach in Corolla. It was awesome ! We are very proud of our truck to pull us through that drive (we did see a couple 4 wheel drives stuck in sand). Corolla is popular for its wild horses and guess what , we did see a magnificent looking family strolling on the beach.

This also turned out to be one big fat delicious vacation since every night we noshed on Shibin's wonderful cooking including Chicken Biryani, Fish cutlets, fresh milk shakes and smoothies.

We concluded our holiday by going for the night stroll on the beach . Anurag was holding the flash light and when we found a big live crab , it was time to return.

I stood humbled and unassuming in front of the ocean , my feet wet and sandy. I breathed in the smell of sea water one more time and said good bye!