Since 1985, when our youngest child was a baby, our family has vacationed on the beaches of Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
“Doesn’t that get boring?” a friend asked. “Why stay at the same place year after year?”
Maybe my friend thinks: You’ve been there once, so you’ve seen it all. Check it off your list and move on to another destination.
I don’t think that way. Neither does my family.
Is it the same old, same old?
First of all, when you’re vacationing with children, there’s comfort in familiarity. We know what to expect. We know where to go, what we don’t want to miss, and what we want to see again. Little ones aren’t all that impressed with sight seeing. For them, staying in a beach house with new rooms and new views to explore (extra points for bunk beds) is pure excitement.
We’ve stayed in several different rental homes along the Outer Banks from Avon to Buxton. We love the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, Buxton Village Books, Dillon’s Corner (best store to get bloodworms for fishing and beach toys), the North Carolina Aquarium, and The Lost Colony play in Manteo. We enjoy taking the ferry to Ocracoke Island, seeing the wild ponies, and learning about the last battle of Blackbeard the Pirate. There are turtle ponds to check out, kites to fly, and ghost crabs to chase at night.
Along the Outer Banks, there’s no Walmart, no night clubs, no McDonald’s or Burger King. No movie theater, no miniature golf. It’s a gorgeous National Seashore with laid back, uncrowded beaches. Don and I have found Ocracoke to be the perfect getaway for just the two of us in the fall and early spring
We never feel rushed to see it all, yet one week always goes by too fast.
Same but different
The ocean is incredibly renewing. It’s an endless source of amusement: big waves, warm saltwater, sand, lots of sun and fishing. Each visit, our children experience the ocean in a new way, building on what they remember from the visit before. They’ve learned about sea turtle preservation. They appreciate the power of wind and water. They know how to safely swim out of a rip tide. They’ve learned to surf.
Shared Memories
Vacationing on the Outer Banks has built a lifetime of fond memories, like the time Don accidentally snagged a skate when fishing in the sound (and got it safely unhooked). And the year Uncle Mike’s truck got stuck on the beach and almost ended up in the ocean. And the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Sonar, that cracked the shells of live crabs with his jaws and ate them. We’ve weathered some incredible lightning storms that left us in awe. One year we learned about the shipwrecks along the Outer Banks, and brought home a poster called the Ghost Fleet of the Atlantic, but my eldest son was too spooked to hang it in his room.
The third generation
It’s been a joy to share the Outer Banks with our son-in-law and two grandchildren. My daughter is reliving her childhood, watching Oliver and Lillian run along the seashore, skim a boogie board along a wave, and dig in the sand. My husband and I enjoy keeping the memories and traditions of a great place alive for future generations.
The way I see it, we haven’t taken the same vacation year after year. We’ve only gone to the same destination. Each time, it’s a new vacation with fresh experiences.
Inspiration
After our last stay on Ocracoke Island with the grandchildren, I wrote and illustrated a children’s book inspired by our visits. Gordy and the Ghost Crab is about a young boy’s first visit to the beach and his encounter with a ghost crab and a girl intent on capturing it. It doesn’t help that his big brother told him ghost crabs will snip off his toes! Eek!
Thank you for visiting Linda’s blog.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her poetry chapbook, Security
“Gordy and the Ghost Crab invites readers to share a beach day adventure like no other. Blending sea life curiosity with an act of compassion, this story is sure to become a favorite for youth of all ages, from the read-to-me crowd on up.” ~Jean Alicia Elster, award-winning author of the Joe Joe in the City series, Who’s Jim Hines? and The Colored Car.