2017-07-13

Surviving the Outer Banks: Day Five

     Good morning, readers. Valeri here.


     Wow am I tired.
     I'm not sure whether it's due to our Washington, D.C., trip, the kayaking we did this morning or if it's just the heat getting to me, but I am ready for a week of nothing but sleep.


     As I mentioned, one of the culprits of this exhaustion is kayaking, which was this morning. By the time we got there at 9 a.m., it was already close to 90 degrees. Yikes. At this point I was a little worried because the description of the kayaking tour mentioned it was good for beginners since the trees shielded you from having to deal with wind ... and we were going to need that wind to help cool off. Turns out the description was wrong and we actually got a few good gusts during the trip.
     Aside from worrying about dying of heat stroke, my other fear was flipping my kayak or just falling due to my inadvertent clumsiness. Matthew told me more than once that he'd be ready with the GoPro. He was 90% sure I would be in the water at some point ... what great support from my lovely husband.:) Well, the joke's on him - I didn't fall in once.





Looking pretty awesome in our kayaks.


     So the kayaking tour was about two hours long and I believe it was around 2 miles long. It was a piece of cake in the beginning ... even somewhat relaxing; I can't say the same about the second leg. My arms were screaming at me by a little over halfway through the tour. It shouldn't have been a surprise to me really; I can barely do more than five push ups in a row, so paddling for two hours without my arms turning into spaghetti was wishful thinking.
     Not only did the tour consist of physical torture, but our tour guide (Caroline) gave information about plants and animals in the area, but also about how Kill Devil Hills got its name. I'll let you look up the background story to why this area is named Kill Devil Hills since it's too much to tell here, but I'll just say it was related to prohibition. It's an interesting story and while you're at it, make sure to look into "The Bridge that Leads Nowhere."


Us in front of "The Bridge that Leads Nowhere"


     Okay, after two hours of paddling and taking in the sun, we headed back to the house for some downtime. We had originally planned to rent some bicycles today to ride around the OBX, but the heat made us rethink that plan.


My new favorite of us.
During our downtime, we relaxed in the hammock


     After relaxing for a couple hours, we decided to get some frozen custard and then meet the Hiltons at the beach. We went to Kill Devil's Frozen Custard and it wasn't as great as we would've liked. It was practically melted by the time they handed it to us, but our moods shifted once our toes were in the surf.


Guys, I'm seriously surprised he got one photo of me with my eyes open ... that sun was torture.


     I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but I could walk in the surf for hours and never tire of it. I still don't have a desire to live in this type of climate - I'd much prefer the mountains - but even on extremely hot days, walking in the surf is relaxing.


    Tonight was another family dinner night, so David and Jody ordered pizza from a local place. It was delicious and as always, it's nice to just sit and relax with family. Jody and I made our way up to the crow's nest around sunset to see the view and also enjoy the breeze the crow's nest provides.


    After catching up with Mom about her and Dad's day, which included a road trip to the southern most point of the OBX (something we will experience Sunday) and a ferry ride, I found myself sitting in the living room feeling like I was forgetting something.
    *lightbulb*
    It's 10:30 p.m. and I still have to write a blog. So here you find me ... trying to recount the day with a little bit of color. However, as my cousin Beth said to me today, "No offense, Matthew's posts are my favorite" and I have to agree with her. Which is something we can all look forward to tomorrow.:)


    Until then ...


"At the beach, life is different ... time doesn't move hour to hour,
but mood to moment."
-Anonymous





    
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