OBX Camping Trip

This past weekend the whole family went camping.  The boys and I have camped several times but this was one of the few times that the whole family has gone together.  We went with the boys' Cub Scout pack and stayed at Camp Immanuel (owned by Liberty Christian Fellowship).

We didn't get to the outer banks until 8pm which meant pitching a tent in the dark (This is pretty normal for our family who does everything at the last minute.).  Shortly after arriving at the campground the cubmaster gave announcements detailing the general rules and info.  He also told us that lights go out at 9:30pm and the time is non-negotiable (camp rules).  I can't remember the last time I went to sleep by 9:30 but after the long drive I was ready.

In the morning we woke up early (6:30 am) only to find out that a number of people had woken up even earlier than us and had used all of the hot water in the bathhouse!  Since it was somewhere between 50 and 60 degrees a cold shower was not very pleasant.  We ate breakfast at 7:30 am, cleaned up and then headed out for the day's activities.

The first place we visited was the United States Coast Guard Station at Oregon Inlet.  This was really a great place to visit.  We were first shown a video of what the Coast Guard is and what they do.  The video showed things like boats and helicopters performing rescues in rough seas.  Cool stuff to the boys.  They also described how the Coast Guard changed as a result of 9/11 (such as becoming a part of the Department of Homeland Security).  After the video we were given a tour of the station.  One of the more interesting parts (probably for the adults) was the control room.  They described what the person on duty does, what they track and document on their control board and what happens when a call comes in.

After we left the control room we went outside and the boys were allowed to climb in 2 of the boats.  I think this was the part they liked the most.  The visit to the Coast Guard station went a little faster than expected and ended at 10:30 am.

After the Coast Guard station everyone was on their own for lunch.  Since it was still early a number of us decided to visit Bodie Island Lighthouse which was on the way back from the Coast Guard station.  Earlier in the year the lighthouse was being restored however during renovations it was discovered that the lighthouse had more damage than previously known about.  They weren't able to get enough funds to cover the additional work so the restoration work was stopped.  The scaffolding was removed so we could see the lighthouse but the lens was not replaced.  Around the lens room was what looked like a black cloth of some sort.  We spent about 30 minutes at the lighthouse and then left for lunch.

We had planned to eat lunch with several other families but got separated from then after stopping for gas.  The last several times that we have visited the outer banks we have eaten at a restaurant called MexiCali Brewz.  We were disappointed to find that it didn't open until 2:30 pm.  Moving on we found a Dairy Queen where we stopped an ate.

The plan for the afternoon was to meet at the Wright Brothers National Memorial by 1pm.  We made it there just in time.  For the most part we were on our own here.  The 1pm meeting time was really just to get everyone there.  After taking a group picture we separated to visit the memorial.  We started by going into the visitor center and letting the boys participate in the Junior Ranger program.  After they finished their questionnaires and we listed to the program, we went outside to visit the area where the first flight took place.

Andrew decided he could run faster than the first flight so I timed him.  He beat the first flight, second flight and third flight (just barely).

Olivia tried as well but was not as successful.  Since we had been to the memorial on a previous trip to the outer banks, we decided to skip some of the areas and go to Jockey's Ridge State Park.

Jockey's Ridge is one of our favorite parks to visit.  There are huge sand dunes that just go on and on.  We brought our kites and flew them for a while.  We also ran and jumped down the sand hills for a while.  It was good fun but tiring.  We didn't get to stay as late as we would have liked because Aimee was on duty for dinner and had to be back at the campsite by 5pm.

We made it back a little after 5pm and Aimee went to help with dinner.  I watched the kids until dinner time.  After dinner we had dutch oven desserts around a campfire.  Several of the scouts told jokes until it was time for story of the night.  One of the parents usually tells stories at scout events.  This time he told us a story about how everything disappears at the outer banks.  After the story our cubmaster told us bedtime was at 9pm tonight.  The previous night not all lights went out by 9:30 so he was moving it up some.  It was a busy, tiring day.  Nobody was complaining.

Even though everyone was tired and went to sleep easily, they didn't stay asleep.  I don't know what the temperature was but it got a bit colder than anyone expected, including our family.  We under-packed for the weather and as a result everyone was cold.  I got the boys up extra early (6 am) to make sure we could get some hot water.  After a cold night it was nice to have a hot shower.  That is until you had to get out of the shower.

I was on breakfast duty so the boys played while I went to work.  I was a pancake cook along with another of the dads.  After breakfast our cubmaster held a brief worship service and declared us free to go.  Since I was also on dish duty I stayed to help clean and then pack the dishes.  Once that was done I went back to the tent where we packed up all of our stuff and then left.

We had discussed maybe driving down to Cape Hatteras then to Ocracoke (via ferry) and back to the mainland (via another ferry) but decided we didn't have enough time to do that.  We also considered driving up to see Currituck Beach Lighthouse but nixed that idea after seeing that we'd have to drive back to near where we were just to go home.  We finally decided to visit the beach for a while since we were so close.  We found a public parking area, parked and went out onto the beach.   We brought an Aerobie Pro disk I received for my birthday and had a lot of fun throwing it until we accidentally threw it into the water and couldn't find it.  Uh oh.

We stayed at the beach for about an hour and started our journey home.

Andrew asked if we could stop in Manteo to see the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse which we agreed to.  We enjoy walking on the riverfront there and figured we could stop for lunch too.

After visiting the lighthouse and letting the kids play on a nearby playground we went to Poor Richards Sandwich Shop.  The food was good but a bit expensive.

After lunch we got in the car and started driving home.  An hour or so later as we were nearing Plymouth I noticed a billboard advertising the Plymouth waterfront that included a picture of a screwpile lighthouse.  I didn't know there was a lighthouse here and decided to find it.  We soon found the waterfront and the lighthouse, the Roanoke River Lighthouse replica. On the way we had to pass near a Civil War reenactment which involved some pretty loud cannon fire on the river.  Since Andrew didn't know this lighthouse existed he was still very excited.  The town of Plymouth seemed like an old small town with a lot of history.  We visited the lighthouse for a few minutes and then headed home.