On our final evening of vacation, we were graced with some beautiful views of the beach. A passing rainstorm left us some slivers of a rainbow over the ocean.
We headed down to the beach to look for shells and feel the sand in our toes one last time.
A view of our house, Captain's Quarters.
It was a busy and fun vacation. Plenty of new experiences for us and for Will. We miss the beach already, but it's good to be home, too.
Our little Pirate William is turning one on July 3rd, but my family can't come for the "real" party, so we decided to have a little one of our own at the beach.
His birthday will be a pirate theme, so we made sure to stock up on TONS of pirate goodies at the beach...after all, Blackbeard was from the Outer Banks! So, we had to have a tiny pirate costume with TWO pirate swords...
And he got a ton of tiny pirate clothes!
I ordered a cake from the island's Food Lion grocery store, and it turned out WAY better than I could have done! We put the little one-year-old friendly toys on it, and it just looked SO cute. (A big part of me hoped it was going to turn out to be a disaster, so I could submit it to Cake Wrecks, but no luck.)
Will was a bit freaked out by the 20 or so people staring at him at first, but he dove right in after a few minutes. Mmmmmm...pirates...
For Father's Day the three fathers in the group (me, Beth's dad, and our Uncle Ted) were sent on a plane ride over the Outer Banks. We flew with the tiny husband-and-wife operation called Burrus Flightseeing Tours. The weather was perfect that morning, so we got a lot of excellent pictures and video.
The flight was about 45 minutes and was simply amazing! It's a whole new perspective on the Outer Banks. It really gives you the sense of how vulnerable these islands are - in the empty stretches between tiny villages, the islands are really just glorified sand bars. The above and below shots are of the town Hatteras, at the bottom tip of Hatteras Island. The top picture shows the ferry heading further south to Ocracoke Island.
Here are a couple shots of the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
The best part of the flight was when Dwight, the pilot, flew us north to Avon, where the family stays. The rest of the fam was out on the beach already. Dwight circled them a couple times and waved the wings. You can see them on the beach - just look for the cabanas set up!
Part of the tradition of visiting the Outer Banks is taking a day trip down to Ocracoke Island. Ocracoke is a small island south of Hatteras, where we stay, accessible only by a 45-minute ferry ride.
Will seemed to enjoy the ferry ride, although it was a little windy. But he could see the gulls flying around, and the other passing boats.
Ocracoke is a really small island. The top 13 miles of it are all National Seashore, which means it's wide open and undeveloped. The southern end of the island is a small town with shops, restaurants, a harbor, and many things to see and do.
Highway 12 is the road that travels up and down the Outer Banks. Here's the southern end on Ocracoke.
Hammocks!
You can buy snowcones from a double-decker bus.
Nerd alert: there's a lot of great history to the island, too. This is the British Cemetery, a small plot of land where four men from the Royal Navy are buried - the only bodies recovered after their boat was torpedoed by a German U-boat during WWII.
One of our favorite shops is called Village Craftsman - it's a great little shop with pottery, jewelry, books, etc. - run by members of the Howard family, who have lived on the island for generations. This sign at their front steps marks the high tide line from various hurricanes in recent years.
The shop itself is on Howard Street, and many of their family members are buried in family plots across from the shop.
Streets lined with shells!
The famous Ocracoke Lighthouse, overlooking the harbor.
We snapped some shots of the beaches along the National Seashore. They are stunningly beautiful, and are regularly rated as some of the best beaches in the world.
My parents are avid bikers, and love to ride their tandem. They rented a child-carrier (much like the one my siblings were carted around in when we were younger) in order to give Will and little Zach a ride.
Will was all smiles as they took off down the road, and was still smiling after a mile!
I think he's hooked!
I know Grandma and Grandpa are!
We're still keeping busy down at the beach! We paid a visit to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse yesterday.
Will also met his second cousin Zachary, who's staying next door with some of the extended family. The boys were wearing matching outfits, so the adults spent a good hour photographing and oo-ing and ah-ing over him.
And after these busy days, it's always good to get some rest.
Even though only his toes get to hit the water, Will has really enjoyed the hot tub so far!
And, even after only a few days, his hair is already getting lighter!
I have waited for this moment for almost two years now: introducing Will, at that time known only as 'Baby D,' to the ocean. It has become such a respite for me and my family over so many years that it feels as much like home as Pennsylvania or Ohio.
Nick carried Will up and down the first dune stairs, and then up and down the second dune, the whole time Will smiling at the bright sun and new smells and sounds.
My parents led him down to the edge of the water and he was interested at first and then a bit overwhelmed...understandably so! This is the biggest bathtub ever!
The first little wave hit him and he felt that cold water hit his legs, and wanted to be picked up, but still had a smile on his face.
He regarded the ocean with a bit of trepidation, but jumped right in the next day!
Best moment ever.
Anyone familiar with the Outer Banks will know Kitty Hawk Kites, with the main store located across from the Jockey's Ridge, and up from the Wright Brothers Memorial/Museum.
It is a very colorful and fun place, and great for kids!
Hopefully Will is going to continue the family's kite flying tradition as well!
My family has been visiting the Outer Banks in North Carolina since before I was born - we have been down here every summer throughout my lifetime, and I now have the joy to share this beautiful place with my son!
Will took to the beach after only a few moments of hesitation and confusion - it's a pretty overwhelming place for a boy from Ohio. But with a family full of beach bums, he was crawling full-speed towards the ocean in no time!
We dug a little pool for him, and he set right in to getting sandy and salty.
We still can't believe we have two weeks here!
...When he gets his first car...
And his first corn dog.
It was a good day.
Nick and I rarely go to malls. It's not that we have anything against them, really, it's just not somewhere we gravitate to. This past Friday, though, I had to return something, so off to the mall Will and I went!
One thing I have always been terrified of, however, is the swarming mass of kids, parents and brightly colored playthings known as the Mall Kid's Play Area. However, on this day, I had a few extra minutes and Will's squeals of delight from the stroller were too loud to be ignored.
Needless to say, he loved it. And if this face isn't a "MOM - YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS AND DIDN'T BRING ME HERE EARLIER? WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?" face, I don't know what is.
The theme of this play area is "Jack Hanna's Zoo," so there were many spongy animals and a large tree in the center to play on. Most of the big kids had taken over the tree, so we settled in around the gorillas and monkeys.
He played very well around the other, older kids, and on more than one occasion tried to emulate what they were doing.
Will really liked that the floor was also spongy and kept crawling back and forth over this one patch of "grass." And he loved the gorilla's nose and eyes.
At one point, Will got very brave and crawled under the giant gorilla, quickly getting himself stuck towards the back end. I had to crawl under and pull him out. (But not before getting a picture, mind you. Yes, I am a terrible person. But it was too funny to miss.)
Nick, Will, and I took a family day last Saturday and headed West of Columbus to Yellow Springs, Ohio. It is a beautiful little artsy town full of lovely shops and great restaurants. On the way in/out of Yellow Springs is a huge dairy farm and family fun area that we were told we couldn't miss.
There was a petting zoo with the most well-behaved and patient goats I have ever seen. Will giggled throughout the whole experience, but fed them open-handed like a champ!
He then, in true Dekker man fashion, crawled aboard the nearest transportation with Daddy and took a trip on a little tractor-train, which he thought was the best thing ever. (His face says it all.)
We then got to go into the barn and meet the sweetest calves in the world that licked Will's little fingers until he squealed.
And then we got to quack at the ducks, of course!
Nick and I headed up child care for our small group this past week, and got to play outside with the kids on a beautiful night.
Even though most of the kids were older than him, Will held his own and seemed to have a great time with other fellow kiddos.
Of course, there is the always popular climbing-the-wrong-way-up-the-slide game.
But then little Miss Temperance, a cute little two-year-old catches Will's eye.
She seems to fancy him as well, even though he is about a year younger than she.
And...too much hugging for Will.
But she tries again, which is just too cute for words!
Will finally warmed up to the sweet hugs from Temperance, and we just thought it was about the cutest thing in the world.
