North Carolina Trip

 Derek and I decided to use our annual Delta companion pass which generally doubles as our anniversary trip to travel to North Carolina this year.  We have so many friends who live in North Carolina, so I told all of them we were coming and gave each of them a day to show us around and then we spent one day on our own at the Outer Banks.  This trip was humorously complicated by the fact that I somehow managed to pack no underwear so I literally only had the pair of garments I wore out.  I did laundry at every house we stopped at and made the best of it!  We started with Lily Darais.  Unfortunately, Abe was out of town for work (in Utah of all places)!  We flew in and drove to her new house in Raleigh.  She took us to dinner at a place called NoFo- we sat outside enjoying the lovely evening and ate fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits of course.  Then, she drove us around downtown Raleigh and we came back to her house and went on a lovely evening walk around her neighborhood.  She lives in the cutest little neighborhood just a few miles from downtown Raleigh (but you would never know because of all the ginormous trees)!  I loved everything about our evening stroll except for the fact that we came across a COPPERHEAD snake.  I was scared I would run into another one the rest of our time in North Carolina.  The next morning, we checked out the Raleigh museum of art sculpture garden with Lily then said our goodbyes and headed to meet my college roommate Ashely Valgardson.  

Ashely opted to give us tours of Duke University and UNC.  We started with Duke and began by walking through Duke gardens.

  I could not get over how gorgeous the magnolia trees were with blossoms the size of your head.  

Then, we checked out Duke Chapel which with architecturally incredible.  

We walked down to the crypts where all the past Duke presidents and their wives are buried.  Duke campus is seriously unreal with gothic architecture and gargoyles everywhere.   We toured the basketball museum.  

Then, we got some delicious Carolina BBQ for lunch at a place called the Q shack.  I tried Brunswick stew and Cheerwine soda.

 Then, we were off to UNC which is a much bigger campus all in red brick and tar heel blue.  We toured their basketball museum too which was incredible and included basketball signed by and acceptance letters to Michael Jordan.  

We picked up some UNC gear for the kids as souvenirs.  It was so hot and humid this day we were all drenched in sweat by the end of it.  We ended our time by going back to Ashley's house and got to spend a quick minute with Josh and the kids- they fed us dinner and then we headed off to Fuquay-Varina to spend time with the Scotts.

The next day the Scotts took us hiking on a gorgeous hike called Raven Rock. 

 Afterwards it was determined we all deserved ice cream from The Scoop.  We cleaned up, and then had dinner at Mi Cancun.  They made fresh guacamole right at our table.  We tried to see Yates Mill, but it decided to downpour just then so we just drove by and peaked at it out the car window.  Then, we spent the rest of the evening visiting on the Scott's screened porch (one of my very favorite things about North Carolinian houses), playing games, and eating way too many of Ryker's chocolate chip cookies.  

Sunday morning, we got up early and drove to the Outer Banks.  We drove through Bojangles for breakfast.  

First stop was Kitty Hawk- the Wright Brother's 1st Flight National Historic Monument.  That was pretty cool to see. 

 I made Derek take me to lunch at Tortugas Lie- a place featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  

They were featured for their jerk chicken and pineapple-habanero chutney- Derek ordered this and it was really yummy.  

We also had conch (sea snail) fitters.  

I made drive me up the banks through Duck and Corolla until the road ended requiring a 4 wheel drive vehicle to drive the sand in search of wild horses.  We went to Whalehead in historic Corolla and found the lighthouse there.  

Diner was at Basnight's Lone Cedar Seafood restaurant- a nice fish house on the water where you can bring the day's catch and they will prepare the fish for you. 

 Derek ordered swordfish and I had crab cakes.  Then, we found the Bodie Island Lighthouse just outside of Nags Head just as it was getting dark and I took the most beautiful picture.  

We got up the next morning and walked the beach.  

We saw lots of crabs scurrying across the sand.  We put our feet in the Atlantic.  We hit up Duck Donuts- they cook up your donuts right when you order them so they come out hot.  

Then, we traveled to Roanoke Island to learn about the lost colony.  This was the first English colony in the new world that just vanished.  They have this incredible playhouse right on the water where the perform a theatrical performance about the Lost Colony- it has been running consecutively for 80 years and it the longest consecutively running outdoor play in the US.  I took some pictures of Crepe Myrtle trees because I love their cute windy trunks. 

 For lunch, we ate at Poor Richard's Sandwich stop right on the water in historic Manteo.  

They had a yummy cucumber salad and pickles and sandwiches. 

 Then, it was off to the airport to fly home to the kids who stayed home with Tanner and Karlee this trip.  They did a fabulous job tag teaming all the kid driving.