ahhh

we returned from a wonderful vacation late last night at the outerbanks, nc. specifically we were in corolla at a house called cabello (there were pictures of horses everywhere.)

this was the 5th summer we made the trip. the first summer was right after the silent prince was born and my dad had decided to take a sabbatical that ended with a family vacation. occasionally other people come along, but the core group that goes is: hubby, our two kids, me, my parents, my uncle (dad's brother) and with the exception of one summer my brother and his wife.

every summer has been wonderful, this one was no exception... in fact it was one of the best.

we began by stopping at hubby's sister and brother-in-law's home in delaware. it's about half-way and a great place to stop (she makes great drinks). after a very long drive we finally made it to delaware and stopped for gas and called aunt kimmy (hubby's sister) to let her know where we were. poor thing... her central air unit had died during the day and crabby bill (her hubby) was valiantly trying to put a new one in. meanwhile she was desperately trying to make the house silent prince-proof.

the moment we arrived she insisted we head to the pool in their complex. of course i hadn't packed the swim stuff in the overnight bag, but i was able to dig out bathing suits and towels for us to go swimming for about an hour. by the time we got back they had turned the air on (the house didn't actually cool off until about 4am, but at least it they were able to get the new one running.)

she served up some gin and tonics and spaghetti with meatballs for dinner and we had a lovely, although hot evening together then hit the road the next day.

the highlight of the drive for me was the wawa.

except for the years i was in college and a short time that i lived in the south with the pobble, i have never lived more than 5 minutes away from a wawa. there are no wawas here only dunkin donuts, subways, cumberland farms, and 7-11s, none of which measures up to the wawa.

wawas are 24 hour convenience stores that have delis and make hoagies (everywhere else they are called subs or grinders) and have amazing coffee. you can get just about anything at a wawa.

like... an english toffee cappachino and a tuna salad hoagie and a bag of lays potato chips. (which doesn't sound good all together, but really is).

yumm

the ride to the obx from de was fine until we hit the traffic going onto the obx. there is one road in and only two lanes, one for each direction. what should have been an hour ride turned into 2 1/2. my family is always the last to arrive at the vacation house, but at least that means that things were settled by the time we got there.

the new addition to the group this week was linda, who has known me since i was a fetus and she would sit and drink tea with my pregnant mom. it was great to have her there. we've been inviting her every year since the second year, but she was caring for her elderly parents and worried to travel so far away from them for a whole week. this was the first time she was able to come and her comment was, "i'm glad i didn't know what i was missing all those years or i would have been really upset that i couldn't make it before now."

here are some of the highlights from the week:

watching the sunset from the dining room table

going out to dinner with hubby, my brother and his wife. we wound up at our 3rd choice and it was unbelievable. i had a raspberry martini that was to-die-for.

skinny dipping in the freezing cold pool with my mom and linda one night

the silent prince and the princess kitty acting like fish in the pool

the silent prince seeing the ocean as if it was the most amazing thing in the world (as hubby put it... "why have you kept this from me all these years, mommy and daddy!")

sunday morning devotions on the deck instead of trying to find a church to attend, i started crying as we prayed, the good kind of crying, the kind i've needed to do for weeks now.

playing pool with my uncle and making 3 amazing shots in a row (we chalked it up to the mike's hard lemonade)

shopping with my sis-in-law, linda, and the princess kitty and finding the earrings i wanted.

laughing at hubby, who is undoubtedly the funniest person i know

taking the kids out for dinner and ice cream

sitting on the deck off of my bedroom and watching the egrets and other wildlife in the lake between our house and the sound. (the last night someone set of fireworks in the distance.)

i never want to leave that last night. i find it almost painful to pack and prepare for the early morning departure. we've taken to stopping on the mainland for breakfast. we wound up at mel's diner (kiss my grits and all). speaking of grits... i had cheese grits with my french toast and sausage... yumm.

the trip home was as awful as the week was wonderful. what could have been a 10 hour trip turned into a 16+ hour trip. we did stop along the way for more wawa hoagies and to say a quick hello to aunt kimmy and crabby bill (really, that's the name of his boat) and we stopped off at the christiana mall for dinner with friends we haven't seen in awhile. but getting home at 2am was for the birds... and they would have to be owls i suppose.

it was terribly difficult to wake up and go to church this morning, thank God someone else was preaching (as i told them in the pews... who knows what would have come out of my mouth if it had been me.) but now i have had a nap and it's time to wake hubby from his.

there is quite a bit of unpacking to do and settling back in, but i start tomorrow with a visit to the chiropractor (yes!) and take it fairly easy as i plan the rest of the week.

until later...

God's peace y'all