We decided to take Craig's truck on this trip so that we could bring our kayaks. We spent time on a few different occasions paddling through the canals that feed into the sound. The kayaks turned out to be fun for the whole family with my sister and parents trying them out also.
Another benefit of bringing Craig's truck on the trip was that we were able to explore the off road beaches in Corolla! This was a really cool way to see parts of the island that are normally cut off to most visitors! It was amazing how many houses were on this stretch of "road". Although, I must admit it was a little dicey at times trying to figure out which "lane" to drive in, but still a ton of fun!
No trip to the Outer Banks would be complete without a visit to the historic light houses. We were only able to make it to two of them--Currituck and Hatteras. The Bodie Island light house was under construction and we never quite made it as far down as Ocracoke.
My sister Erin is a HUGE Nicholas Sparks fan. I think she has read every one of his books. So, naturally we had to make a pit stop in Rodanthe for a quick Nights in Rodanthe tour. We stopped off at the village's visitor center to get the scoop on where to go. Erin was very excited to meet the lady who played Jill, the woman who Richard Gere killed on the operating table in the movie (she was played by the woman who works at the visitor center). Anyway, Erin got some insider information about how the movie was shot, how things were edited, etc. I think this may have been the most exciting part of the whole trip for her... even though we didn't manage to bump into Richard.
As usual, my family felt up for a little adventure. So, we dediced to try out hang gliding. My mom and Bailey decided to sit this adventure out! They watched from the ground as the rest of us glided (we were towed up behind a small plane and then dropped free once we reached 2000 feet). Depending on each of our comfort levels, the instructors would spin, twist, flip, and drop the gliders. I LOVE roller coasters, so I was all for that! All I can say is that this was TOTALLY AWESOME!!! Well worth the money!
We, of course, spent some time on the beach! The beaches for absolutely gorgeous! The water was unusually cold for this time of year according to the locals we talked to, but I think we all still managed to enjoy ourselves!
No trip to the Outer Banks would be complete without a visit to the historic light houses. We were only able to make it to two of them--Currituck and Hatteras. The Bodie Island light house was under construction and we never quite made it as far down as Ocracoke.
My sister Erin is a HUGE Nicholas Sparks fan. I think she has read every one of his books. So, naturally we had to make a pit stop in Rodanthe for a quick Nights in Rodanthe tour. We stopped off at the village's visitor center to get the scoop on where to go. Erin was very excited to meet the lady who played Jill, the woman who Richard Gere killed on the operating table in the movie (she was played by the woman who works at the visitor center). Anyway, Erin got some insider information about how the movie was shot, how things were edited, etc. I think this may have been the most exciting part of the whole trip for her... even though we didn't manage to bump into Richard.
As usual, my family felt up for a little adventure. So, we dediced to try out hang gliding. My mom and Bailey decided to sit this adventure out! They watched from the ground as the rest of us glided (we were towed up behind a small plane and then dropped free once we reached 2000 feet). Depending on each of our comfort levels, the instructors would spin, twist, flip, and drop the gliders. I LOVE roller coasters, so I was all for that! All I can say is that this was TOTALLY AWESOME!!! Well worth the money!
We, of course, spent some time on the beach! The beaches for absolutely gorgeous! The water was unusually cold for this time of year according to the locals we talked to, but I think we all still managed to enjoy ourselves!
