Pirates!

We decided to do something a little different today...we got up and drove out to Cape Lookout instead of going down to the beach. There's an awesome lighthouse there and we wanted to search for some special seashells. We went there two years ago, but it was pouring rain and we didn't get to see much. We forgot to take a bucket with us to collect shells today, but thankfully we passed a Dollar Store on the way, so stopped and picked one up. It was a pretty long drive to get there, then we had to take a ferry boat from where we parked our car out to the island where the lighthouse was. The boat there was a big ferry boat and there were lots of people on it. The boat ride was pretty awesome - it was a smooth ride, but apparently the water was really shallow, so they had to pile as much weight in the front of the boat as possible. Everyone had to pile their coolers, fishing gear, and bags in the front and they made as many adults sit in the front as possible (so the engine wouldn't hit when we got to the shallow part). Our captain did a great job and we didn't even hit the bottom :)

Along the way, we got to see the Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks. Daddy had told me about the horses, so I was excited to see them. He got some pictures on his camera, so maybe we'll be able to post some in a little while. The horses are pretty cool - they live entirely on the island which is about 9 miles long and are fully self sufficient. Humans do test the horses for diseases and remove the diseased ones from the population, but otherwise there is no interaction with people and the horses survive on their own. The boat even slowed down so we could get a closer look.

When we got to the island with the lighthouse, the boat docked and we were able to get off. We walked up the boardwalk and stopped for a bathroom break and to put some sunscreen on. Then we walked over to the ocean side of the island which is covered in beautiful shells and bright blue water. It was extremely hot today, so we didn't walk *too* far, but I did get a ton of beautiful shells - a lot were even purple, mom's favorite color! Even though I didn't have my bathing suit on, mom and dad let me walk along the edge of the water and get my feet wet. My shoes and skirt both ended up a little wet, but it was so warm out it didn't take too long to dry. Mom got a little too hot after a while, so she went to sit down on a bench while daddy and I played in the sand and water.

After we met back up with mom, we walked over to the lighthouse before heading back to the ferry boat. We stopped to read all of the educational signs along the way and I was full of questions for mom and dad. The lighthouse that's there isn't even the original lighthouse! The first one they built was too short and wasn't tall enough for ships to see, so they ended up taking it down and building the one that's standing now. We also got to view the lighthouse keeper's house, which is now a museum. The park ranger even let me choose a special shell from his private collection! I picked a nice big beautiful shell - we'll have to take a picture tomorrow :)



We made it back to the ferry boat pretty early, but they had room on an earlier boat for us, so we got on and headed back to the car. We were all pretty hot and hungry by that time. I told mom and dad I wasn't tired, but what do you think?



We drove to Beaufort for the afternoon and stopped for lunch once we got there. We ate at the Front Street Grill, which had phenomenal food! We sat inside, but got to see lots of boats driving by. We saw all sorts of boats - ferries, sail boats, fishing boats, big yachts, and even a PIRATE SHIP! I think that was my favorite. Mom and dad said that maybe some year we can take a cruise on one of those boats.

After lunch, we walked through the town of Beaufort. Not far from the restaurant, we saw a new store - it was FULL of special olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Yum! We went in and sampled a lot of them. Daddy's favorite was the Blackberry Ginger vinegar and mommy liked the Cranberry Pear vinegar. There were too many good ones to choose from that we ended up buying a wide variety :) Guess we'll have lots of salad dressings and marinades in our future!

Next we stopped at the Maritime Museum. They had a treasure map for me to follow, so I had fun doing that. It had pictures of things that could be found throughout the museum and I had to circle them as I found them. I did a great job of reading what I needed to find and then looking around until I found it. One of the things was the ships wheel!



This museum also has all of the artifacts that have been recovered from Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge. They even have a replica of the shipwreck and videos describing the process of recovering the artifacts.

Here's me and Blackbeard :)



And another pirate...



Because we had talked so much about pirates, we decided to stop at the gift shop on the way out to see if we could find a book about Pirates. We found a really neat one that talks about the history of pirates, the ships, the routes they took, and their flags! We got to read some of it tonight and I'm excited to read more tomorrow!

We walked around the town a little more and ducked into a few shops. We all got new beach shoes and mom got a hat (she's starting to get a little sunburned, despite the sunscreen...) and I got a shirt that says "Girls can be pirates too." Then my favorite part of Beaufort...we got to stop for FUDGE on the way out! Mom and dad said that since I had behaved SO well the last two days that we could stop for a treat. We each picked out a flavor: Chocolate Peanut Butter for me, Peanut Butter for daddy, and Maple Walnut for mommy. After the fudge shop, we stopped at our favorite little wine bar. Daddy had a Dark and Stormy, mommy had a rootbeer (she even let me try some), and I had a mango gelato. Fantastic way to end the trip to Beaufort!



Though we still weren't hungry (since we ate a late lunch), we decided to pick up a pizza from a place that was recommended by the dive shop. We figured we could heat it up later if we weren't hungry right away. On the way out, we had to stop because the drawbridge was open! In the many times that we've been there, we've never had to stop for the bridge, but it was pretty cool to see it open and see the big boats pass by.

While we were stopped for the bridge, we talked some more about pirates. Mom and dad said I didn't have to worry about pirates around here anymore. Daddy told me that the Coast Guard keeps our coast safe (we've also been talking a lot about the Coast Guard because their helicopters fly over the beach almost daily). My response to that: "Daddy, if a pirate ship tries to come close to the coast, the Coast Guard will go to them and say Nuh Uh!" They laughed, but it was pretty cute.

We picked up the pizza and surprisingly all ate a pretty decent dinner when we got back to the condo. The folks at the dive shop who recommended the pizza place (Luigi's) were right and it was excellent pizza. After dinner, daddy gave me two choices:
1. I could have a small piece of fudge and finish Ivy and Bean, or
2. I could go down to the pool for a few minutes.

I thought long and hard about it, but decided I wanted the fudge (are you surprised???)It was delicious and I'm glad we were able to finish the book. After I got my jammies on and got my teeth brushed, daddy had a surprise for me. He showed me part of one of his dive videos where I got to see him diving (his dive buddy was holding his camera) and I saw daddy pick up a starfish! And guess what he brought back for me...



We're leaving it outside tonight to air out a little (it was pretty stinky). I can't wait to go look at it again in the morning :) After that, mom even read a few chapters of the Pirate book to me before I climbed into bed. I decided to sleep in the big bed again tonight - last night was MUCH better. I only woke up twice, but at least slept until 8, which mom said felt like the middle of the day to her!

We have a few days left - can't wait to see what the next few days have in store! The weather is supposed to be beautiful - looks like we picked a really good week to be here :) We're even missing the terrible heatwave at home (it's hot here too, but at least there is lots of water to cool down in). Till tomorrow...