Day 20 - Jamestown and the Outer Banks

July 16, 2013

Day 20 - Jamestown and the Outer Banks

After breakfast at the hotel this morning we packed up and loaded the car to check out early from our hotel and save a little money since we’d rented the North Carolina house for the full week which meant we’d double booked those nights in Williamsburg (that was the only way they do it in the outer banks – weekly rentals – and everything was booked so this was all I could find). Williamsburg hadn’t been a huge success. It was really cool but just not the speed of our kids yet. And the size was really overwhelming.

Even though Williamsburg hadn’t really worked out, we still wanted to see more of the historic triangle so we headed to the recreation of the Jamestown settlement. It was awesome! The size was much more manageable, the outdoor exhibits were really interactive and they had a nice air conditioned museum onsite as well. We started down at the ships where the kids could explore all over on the recreation of the Susan Constant, Discovery and the other ships. You could climb in the beds, sit on the cannons, go down in the hold and up in the bow. They loved it! Then we all gathered on the docks for an artillery demonstration. They chose Kira out of the crowd to call the orders. She had to yell things like “Have a care!” and “Charge the weapon!” It was great job training for her future fast food career: “Free Meal!”

The heat was sweltering at Jamestown. It was in the mid 90s with way higher humidity than we’re used to. After standing in the sun for a half an hour for the artillery demonstration we were all “sweating hot” as my kids say. Drinking fountains became our best friend since we hadn’t packed any water.

Next we headed to the Jamestown fort where the village had been recreated. We stopped in little homes and buildings where the kids rolled paper for casings for paper charges for the guns. We watched a musket demonstration, walked through the church, tried on armor, helped make custard, drilled holes using the spoon drill they would have used back then. It was really interesting. On the way out Mikey and I stopped by the garden and helped hoe a row.

Next stop was the Powhatan Indian village where we saw them burning out a canoe and watched one guy scrape the hair off of a deer hide in preparation to make summer clothing. We walked through several ? houses and imagined what it would be like if this was our home and our “neighborhood.” The kids thought it would be pretty awesome if we lived in this little Indian village with their friends like the Tillmans and the Vances.

Then we headed to the museum and exhibits inside. The air-conditioning felt awesome and the exhibits were really well done and interesting. We ended our visit watching the dramatic documentary 1607 that gave the history and background of the Jamestown Settlement. In the end, we had spent over 4 hours and the Jamestown settlement and the kids hadn’t even batted an eye or complained a bit, even though it was 2:00pm when we finally left and we hadn’t even had lunch yet. That tells you how much fun they were having!

We grabbed lunch and a few movies from the redbox and the grocery store salad bar and started our 2.5 hour drive to Kill Devil Hills and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. On the way there were several farmers markets and we stopped at Powell’s Farmer’s Market and bought some Carolina peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe and corn. I loved the sign out front that said “Jesus Loves You. Vanilla Soft Serve Sundaes” amongst all the other signs around that said “Parents Keep Your Kids Close” “You Break It, You Buy It” “This is a Sample, Not a Buffet” and “Do Not Touch” signs all over the farmers market.

We arrived at our little house a little before 6pm. Our first impression was that this place is kind of a dump. The beach is gorgeous but the house is very run-down and no one has done much to maintain it. When we arrived there was not a single square of toilet paper in the whole house and we had to “rent” our sheets for the bed. There were two large dirty black bins full of wadded up, wrinkled sheets that I had paid nearly $200 to rent for the week. I wasn’t really sure if they had been washed but they smelled okay. It took me a while to figure out which sheets went on which bed but it all worked out. I was a little frustrated to think that there is a Walmart 5 miles down the road and I could have BOUGHT sheets for all the beds for less than $50!!

Even though the house is very “rustic” it still has some charm. It reminds us a ton of Eagles Mere, a beautiful old home on a lake that we’ve stayed at for several years in the Poconos Mountains of Pennsylvania with my family. There is no internet and limited TV channels on a tiny old TV. We’ve decided this will be our 1950’s beach vacation. We’ll play games and play at the beach and get creative!

The house is next to “Jolly Rogers”, a tacky, old restaurant and bar with late night Karaoke each night. The crowd is a bit of the “beer” crowd. Lots of smokers! But again, the beach is beautiful – miles of sandy coast either way with great boogie boarding waves.

After we sat on the back porch eating Carolina peaches in the shade Jeff and I went grocery shopping and planned the menu for the week. We’re tired of fast food and eating out! We’re ready for some good old-fashioned family dinners. And vegetables!

When we got back we headed straight to the beach and went swimming with the kids in the ocean. We played in the waves, Jeff swam with the older kids and I stayed closer to the beach with Mikey and his lifejacket and cast cover. I love watching my kids play in the ocean. The smiles on their faces as they play in the waves are just priceless! Mikey and I played tic-tac-toe in the sand and the kids ran down the beach finding washed up jellyfish and throwing them back in with their one bucket and shovel. We played in the water until after sunset then we came in and showered and got in our PJs and had our homemade dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, corn on the cob and watermelon at 9:30pm! It was so nice to eat at home.

After our quick devotional on obedience, we hit the sack after a long day and the kids were out like a light. What a great day!