I fell in love with the 130 miles of unspoiled coastline in the Outer Banks.
Though truth be told, I only explored a very small portion of it.
Everyone has a different idea of the ultimate beach vacation. When we were evacuated from Hurricane Earl, we spent part of the afternoon exploring Virginia Beach. A popular boardwalk, the beach was littered with tourists, tattoos and revelries. The atmosphere was upbeat, fun and for me, completely overdone.
The Outer Banks’ pristine coastal villages were the very antithesis of this party atmosphere. My very first morning, I arose before dawn (at 4 a.m. Denver-time; oh, the insanity) to watch the sunrise and collect seashells. It was the perfect kick-off to an idyllic vacation.
Getting lost and wandering around for an hour trying to find the beach house afterward? NotSoMuch.
I truly did not know how Bode would react to the ocean. Haddie fell in love with the surf in Puerto Rico but Bode is notoriously the more timid of the two. But within a few minutes, he was the madman of the ocean.
Just picture him on the bow of the Titanic with Kate Winslet in this shot.
Hadley was predictably in her element, even forsaking her Colorado mountains and declaring herself “a beach babe.”
Sigh. I just know I’ll be fighting off the boys sooner than I’m ready.
Some of my favorite beachfront moments:
So great was my love for the beaches of the Outer Banks that I was even tempted to declare myself a “beach babe.”
But then remembered it would likely entail actually getting wet.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 