Chasing Hurricanes






We arrived in Norfolk, VA (pronounced No-fuk) on Sunday August 16Th to beautiful sunny, humid weather. We drove two hours to the strip of sand known as the Outer Banks (OBX).









(This is the front of the house we occupied)


During the drive I soaked in images of the picturesque towns, equipped with fruit stands, old white churches, and North Carolinian BBQ joints every mile (with crude names like Dirty Dick's--heehee). The houses were just like I imagined, clapboard shingled exteriors painted in bright whites, blues, and natural wood browns, the kind that make you feel splinters just by looking at it. The kind that would surely go up in flames during Arizona's dry extreme-heat summers.
We stayed in the town of DUCK. The name Duck was taken simply for the vast quantity of water birds that used to thrive in the area during the migratory periods. The town is quaint and beautiful. It has a boardwalk scattered with restaurants and boutiques. The town park has free yoga and pilates classes held in the summer mornings; my kind of town!
We spent every day in the fine grain white sand and in the cool water waves. Having only been to West coast and Mexico beaches I had never seen the East coast version. It is quite different. The beach grass and sand dunes were so beautiful, I felt like I was in Nancy Meyers' "Some thing's Gotta Give".
At night we ventured to the beach again with flashlights in hand, searching for crabs. They were everywhere! We would make a circle around the largest one we could find and play 'chicken', trying not to be the first one to move when these suckers came pinching your feet. There was a lot of screaming.....and laughing.
We played many games of Outburst, Scrabble, and cards at night.
Each night every family had a turn to make dinner for everyone. It was really neat to eat a variety of food each night. Everyone made really delicious meals.












Then Taylor's favorite part of the trip came upon us...unexpectedly. Hurricane Bill sent ground swells our way. Taylor was in heaven.
It was amazing how the weather changed --well-- overnight.
The dark clouds moved in and the ocean water got colder and colder. Over the sea hung an eerie, foggy mist; seemingly in war with the warm, sunny skies.
The waves got bigger and crashed harder.
The riptide could carry you 3 miles in 8 minutes.
Mother Nature is truly an awesome force.




















We left with bumps, bruises, sunburns, swimmers ear, cut up toes, overpriced souvenirs, sandy scalps and ear canals, and smiles on our faces! We couldn't be happier to go home with our new experiences from the Outer Banks.
Thank you Grandpa Slim and Jima!!







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