Vacation Day 6 (Thursday)

All the ladies had a lazy morning while the men went fishing!  I may add some pictures of that after I get them from Uncle Bob.

Around 11AM we headed out to see the lighthouses in the area.  We headed down the scenic route to see Cape Hatteras light house.  On the way we stopped at a couple of other sites.

This was the first light house called the Bodie Island Lighthouse.  They had a neat information desk where we learned that most of the catch that our guys had that morning were skates. We also learned that many people catch them and use the meat as artifical scallops.  We thought they were sting rays because they look very similar.  We decided not to climb this lighthouse since we were headed to a bigger one, but the girls did enjoy their gift shop purchases.

Do you see the trail mix snack cups they all bought?  We were stopping for lunch later, but they didn't want to wait.  Okay, it is your money. (After they had eaten all the M&M's out of it they agreed that maybe $4 was overpriced.)  Hannah was sketching the lighthouse while Lydia and Mary snacked.

Sarah was working on the Junior Ranger worksheet.  I think if we would have given them time, they would have all done it, but it takes a while and we weren't going back the next day for the ceremony.

 While at Bodie, a ranger told us to stop at the wayside a Pea Island to see the smoke stack of a Union ship from the Civil War era.  

After doing some research, I believe this is what we saw.

Oriental

A Federal transport during the Civil War, the steamship Oriental has been grounded in her present position since 1862. Local rumor has it that some of the area's largest fish make their home in the Oriental's rusty remains. You can see the exposed boiler and smokestack in the ocean surf off Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, opposite the Self-Guided Nature Trail parking lot.

Here is another interesting shipwreck during that war near Cape Hatteras.  It has been relocated though.

Did You Know?

The U.S.S. Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras during a storm in December 1862.  The wreck's location was a mystery until 1973 when a research vessel found the ship 16 miles off the cape in 230 feet of water.

In 1975, the Monitor  was named the nation’s first National Marine Sanctuary.

Just to the right of this picture is the road and the Pea Island N.W. Refuge.  

Sarah down in one of the breaks in the sand dune.

Hannah in the same break and you can see the shipwreck of the Oriental was not far off the shore.

Next stop was lunch.  We knew we needed some fuel before climbing to the top of the lighthouse.

 

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, completed in 1870, is the tallest brick lighthouse in North America.  http://www.nps.gov/caha/historyculture/cape-hatteras-light-station.htm  If you would like to read more about the lighthouse being moved you can find it at this website.

The girls waiting for our turn to go up. 

We were at the top and way down in the middle of the largest green section, actually closer to the red brick path, is Uncle Bob taking a picture of us.  We were able to holler down to those on the ground and be heard easily.  It was not as easy for us to hear them holler back up though.  That would be an interesting study.

Uncle Bob had just finished taking our picture and was starting to walk off when I finally found him with my zoom! :)  

Here are the girls at the top.  We only had 5 minutes before the Ranger had to shoo us off to make room for other visitors.  That was disappointing because the views were really great up there.  However I was pretty busy consoling Sarah, who was feeling a bit sick, and keeping my eyes on Lydia the climber.

Here we are back at the bottom.  One of the girls suggested they pretend to be exhausted from the climb.  Hannah didn't want to so she is smiling.  They look the way I felt.  They really didn't get tired because their mom kept stopping at each landing of the twelve flights of stairs. :)

After a delicious spaghetti dinner we were ready for some more relaxing around the house.  Here is Lydia trying to cover Cheyenne with the bubbles in the hot tub.

This was probably the best I can do for an evening picture of the beach. I just loved watching the waves.  I could have done only that for hours!  Hannah and I both wished the swing had been on the top deck because the bushes obscured the view from the second deck.  

Now all the big girls were taking a turn.  They decided to turn off the jets so they could wear their goggles! Hannah was fussing at me to not take her picture with the shower cap on.  :)  I think she looks adorable and was very smart to wear it!

Time for S'mores!  After everyone was dressed and warm we headed out to the fire pit Alpheus had prepared on the beach.  Yes, my husband is the best!  There were skewers in the kitchen of the beach house which we were able to use.  

Here are Sarah and Lydia roasting marshmallows.  If you look closely you can see that each skewer has a double-pronged end.  This allowed us to do two marshmallows at once.  That was pretty neat.  

Then we sat talking and singing hymns and listening to the lapping of the waves. (Sarah, Cheyenne, and Sarah's new baby otter.) 

This was the night before Lydia was sick in the morning.  I should have known something was wrong when she wanted to cuddle on my lap for so long! :)
(Me holding Lydia, Aunt Debbie, and Sarah)

Daddy was playing music on his cell phone here.  Mary was enjoying a short nap.

Once the fire died out we all came back in the house for Mexican train or movies.  

Yep, I should have known!  She was going to sit on the steps until the girls finished their board game and she fell asleep.

It was another great day with some precious people!

With All My Heart~