BOS in OBX

Back at the end of January, Brad, Brynna, and I headed to the Outer Banks (OBX) for a couple days. We've lived in North Carolina for almost five years, but until January, we'd never made it to the Outer Banks. I've realized that we don't tend to do a whole lot of state exploration; if we're going on a trip, we tend to go visit family or even further destinations. It's not intentional, but it seems to be our way. We decided to try to change that up with a quick trip to the coast.

(By the way, a little North Carolina quirk I've noticed: they refer to the beach area of the state as the "coast" more than "the beach." )

But before our trip, Lily had a little adventure of her own! To Tennessee as a lone granddaughter. It was very much a last-minute plan for her to return to TN with Barbara, but she was thrilled at the opportunity and had an absolute BLAST during her solo week.

Please enjoy her hair/shadow of her hair in this one

Gran and Grandpa brought Lily back home and then stayed for a couple of days with both Claire and Lily, so that we could spend time in the OBX, which we very much enjoyed.

It was pretty chilly and gusty, given that we were there in January, but we weren't planning to "beach" so much as just enjoy a change of scenery with a few less children than usual, so it worked out. We stayed in an Air BnB so that we could cook breakfasts and lunches (and have more than one room so that we could put Brynnie in her own spot). We read, worked on projects, watched The West Wing (again), ate out a few times, and visited Kitty Hawk, where the Wright brothers made their first flights. I also got a migraine one of our afternoons there, which majorly cut into our plans, but what can you do?

This monument (and the neighboring museum) are a part of the National Parks Service. We didn't do the museum, but we walked all over the monument/hill.

Guys. It was FOR SURE a big hill.

See?

There was a beautiful view of the town and ocean from the top.

There's a great life-size monument of the plane and all of the players involved. We learned there was even a photographer friend of the Wright brothers there to capture it.

Cheering friends

A Christmas wreath was still up...which we found odd until we realized that we were visiting literally days after the government shutdown ended. The NPS is a governmental entity. There was probably no one there to take down the wreath! By the time they were back at work, it had been a month since Christmas, and I'm guessing no one remembered the wreath.

If anyone would like to know: we stayed in Kill Devil Hills and ate at Kill Devil Grill (so good), Mama Kwan's (so good AND pretty unusual), and Outer Banks Brewing Station (also very good). We went to the first two on the recommendation of our Air BnB host and really really enjoyed both. The third we went to based on a recommendation from a colleague/friend of Brad's + having met the owner's parents while visiting Kitty Hawk. They were walking their dogs while we were wandering around, and they were drawn to Brynnie. Obviously.

Kill Devil Grill- extremely popular, even in the off-season.

Brynna loved it (probably because everyone loved her).

Super hippie and chill.

Brynn was slightly less taken with Mama Kwan's. Our time there encroached on her bedtime.

Outer Banks Brewing Station. It's powered by turbines and is very eco-conscious. To the point that they couldn't give Brad a straw for his to-go cup, as they don't have any on the premises.

Super interesting bathroom stalls- papered with vintage advertisements.

We also stopped by the Tanger outlet and picked up a few good deals. Brynnie clearly enjoyed it.

It was so nice to have uninterrupted conversations and talk about what the next few years might look like. That said, it was so fun to get back to our big girls. We really do miss them when were gone.

Everyone had a great time with Gran and Grandpa. Thank you so much, Bill and Barbara! Everyone had a wonderful time in our various locations.