Mid-July Already????

Well. Where is this month going???

We've been back from the beach for an entire week. I really didn't have a spare moment until today to sit down and update you all on what we've been up to. But, here it is.

As I mentioned previously, we left for the beach on the 30th of June. We had no idea the storm that had come through the night before--a Derecho!--had been so bad. We knew there were some power outages and a huge tree on the court house lawn in Leesburg came down, but we had power and the Starbucks in Leesburg had power so how bad could it really be?? Well, when we were unable to buy some of that cheap gas--$3.16 a gallon!!--in Fredericksburg due to power outages and our friends were delayed on leaving their house in Mineral due to power outages and we finally found a gas station with power. . .and a very long line. . .in Bowling Green we started thinking maybe this was a little bit more than just a garden variety storm.

Okay, okay so we saw some trees and limbs and other debris along the road as well, but it still didn't really click for some reason. Then the text messages started saying how to find shelter and cooling centers and that this or that intersection had police direction traffic so be cautious. And then the phone calls started. . .we began to be a bit more concerned that our vacation would be cut short. In fact, we had just barely made it to North Carolina when we found out vacations may, in fact, be cancelled!

 But we continued on. . . And found GRAVE DIGGER!!!! We had planned on stopping here so Aidan could see Grave Diggers home and he seemed to enjoy himself except that he didn't want to meet the driver! He did have fun posing by the Monster Trucks and going for a ride in one though!!

Once at the beach, we tried to relax and everything started to be calmer. Except that the phone calls from Pat's work kept intruding and making us feel as though we should go home.

Pat and the other older guys went deep sea fishing on Monday and caught some awesome Amberjack and Cobia--which we grilled up for dinner on Tuesday and it was soooooo yummy!!! But, when he got back, we found out that vacations had indeed been cancelled for Pat's work AND his dad was in the hospital due to some breathing troubles. So, we spent the rest of Monday planning to come home on Tuesday.

 Oh, and Ice Cream on the beach is so awesome. . .but so messy!!!

But, on Tuesday, Pat's boss told him to stay at the beach and it sounded like things were improving for his dad. So we decided to reevaluate things on Wednesday. . . Wednesday was the Fourth of July and we just played all day on the beach had shrimp and more of the Amberjack for dinner and then watched the fireworks on the beach. A perfect day. LOVE watching fireworks on the beach!! The shot them off the pier and out over the water. It's beautiful and safe! And to top it off, we had a call saying Pat's dad was going home from the hospital!! Perfect!!!!

On Thursday we decided to get up early and head down through Buxton and catch the ferry over to Ocracoke so we could see one of Blackbeard's hideouts. We saw one of his houses a few years ago down in Beaufort which is near Morehead City so we were excited to see some more about Edward Teach. Aidan could hardly sit still. He was so excited to see everything. We went to every store we could that had something to do with pirates. . .which, I'm pretty sure, was just about every store!!

Then we got a call that Pat's dad was back in the hospital. That decided it for us. We made the decision to finish out our day at Ocracoke and then head home on Friday.

So, off to lunch we went at Howards Pub. The most awesome food. . .I had a crab cake sandwich which was soooo good! Pat had a hamburger that he said was one of the best he has ever had. Even Aidan didn't fuss about his food! Then we went to one last store--Teach's Hole that also had a Edward Teach museum attached. Really interesting stuff about Blackbead and the Queen Anne's Revenge! But, Aidan liked the store best--all the coloring books, flags, hooks, water guns, and tattoos!!! Oh, and shirts, too!!! We got it all! We took the ferry ride back to Buxton and then went to the Hatteras Light House. All, in all, we saw three Lighthouses. . .Bodie, Ocracoke and Hatteras. Pretty cool! We were close to seeing the Currituck light as well, but it was a little too far north.

Friday we packed up and came home. Note to self: come home early every year because the traffic is minimal to none! What might have taken 10 to 11 hours on Saturday due to the traffic, took us 6 1/2 even with getting gas, potty breaks and dinner. And, when we got home and saw Pat's dad, we were again very glad we came home early. His lung infection was pretty bad. He has since been released--on Wednesday--and seems to be doing pretty good at this point. But, Pat is pretty tired. His sister Becky is in town until Sunday so, I made the decision that she will take care of things today so we can have a family day. We're going to go to the library and either the pool--if it's sunny, or a movie--if it rains. We'll see!

In other news, I got a message yesterday that it's time to sign Aidan up for fall/winter hockey. He is moving up a level so his ice time will double: practice on either Wednesday or Friday evening and then he will have games on Sunday morning. And the price doubles too!! : ) He is also signed up for flag football--one contact sport is enough! I don't know when the practices will be, but I think the games will be Saturday mornings. Then he will have his hockey skills class on Saturday afternoon. Whew!!! Already fall is shaping up to be very busy! But, we'll be having some fun!!!

And, with that, I guess I will upload some pictures and probably change the header picture since Pat doesn't like the hanging slobber that Mosby has. . .

So, what have you been up to???