Our trip to The Outer Banks of NC

The view from our room.

We decided it was time for a little fun and relaxation, so we took an overnight trip to The Outer Banks of North Carolina the other day. At first we wondered if we would make it, since our first attempt on Monday turned into a 6 hour long stay at a car dealership mechanic waiting room in Hampton.


The Jimmy being towed to the shop. We were in the courtesy shuttle van.

We had loaded up the Jimmy with our bags, ice coolers, a portable crib and a box of baby items such as food, juice and diapers. It was a beautiful day as we drove south eastward towards our beachside destination. About a quarter of the way there, the engine died and we were stuck in the car beside the busy interstate with the cars and trucks speeding by. It was hot and muggy so without the air conditioner running, it quickly became uncomfortable, needless to mention we were worried about Molly getting hot and making a mess in her diaper.


This was where we broke down, beside the highway. This was taken the next day.

We called emergency road-side assistance and they called a tow truck and they took us to the nearest shop....this did involve moving the car seat from our car to the courtesy shuttle van and then back into our car later that day once it was finally fixed. That's no easy task as anyone with a car seat can tell you.

The friendly people at the dealership did what they could to make us comfortable, free soft drinks and coffee all day...and luckily, there was a nice little playroom with lots of toys to keep Molly occupied for what turned out to be an all day event. We were grateful to be there and not beside the road, but still, we wished we were having our picnic by the beach like we had planned.



After the Jimmy was repaired, we got back in and went home, still not confident to take off on a trip in it quite yet. We had changed our hotel reservations to the next night with no problem, so we went home and tried to get a good night's sleep.

The next morning, since we were still mostly packed up to go already, we left early enough to get to the beach by lunchtime. It was another beautiful day and we enjoyed the scenery all along the way to the shore.





Our hotel, The Colony IV by the Sea was right on the dunes a short walk from the beach. We had a top floor room with an ocean view. It was just perfect. There was a nice board walk, picnic area, and a gazebo overlooking the ocean. This was a small, older but very comfortable hotel and the staff was very friendly and helpful.


The view from the balcony in front of our room.

We spent the day down at the beach, taking walks, looking for shells and playing in the cool water. There was a dangerous currents warning so no one was really swimming but it was nice to just wade in the water and play. It was Molly's first time to see the ocean and it was fun to see her reactions to the splashing waves, little birds and seagulls flying around and playing in the sand.







Playing in the sand...





We cleaned up and then went out for dinner at Hurricane Mo's...but first, we went up to the gazebo to check out the beach before sundown.







Around the hotel...







One of my favorite things to do was to just sit and watch the waves come rolling in, one after the other. I got up early in the morning to watch the sunrise and enjoy the peace of the ocean.
















One last look at the ocean before we left.


Some videos from our day.