July 10, 2006

Vacation Re-Cap

This was a much needed vacation this year with all the stress I have been under due to the job stuff that had been going on this year. We take a weeks vacation somewhere every year except last year because we had just gotten the puppies and Mr. Weenie felt that we shouldn't leave them so soon. So it's been 2 years since we had been on vacation. Vacation is the time in which I wind down and leave the stress that has been building up during the previous year behind me, this year I had 2 years to de-stress from.

Flight to and from was smooth sailing, except for the bratty kid sitting behind me going that kept pushing their feet into my back, the whole.freaking.time.

I have to give a shout-out to the bed and breakfast that we stayed at. The Cypress House Inn. The stay was great, the Inn-keepers showed great southern hospitality, the food awesome. The Inn-keeper was a former Paratrooper too, need I say more. If you are ever in the area a stay there is a must.

We spent a lot of our time at the beach, as there really isn't a lot to site-see on the Outer Banks. On Sunday we actually played in the Ocean and had a blast. I haven't played in the ocean since I was a teenager. We body surfed and splashed around, it was great!

Monday the heat index reached 115 degrees. I loved it!

There was an awesome thunderstorm Monday night which we watched from the porch.

The Wright Brothers National Park was due west of where we stayed. The memorial was visible from the backyard.

If ever in the area a visit to the Wright Brothers Park is mandatory. It was very interesting. Did you know from their first flight only 66 years later we landed on the moon? Did you also know that during WWII for testing of the newly built planes they used female test pilots because the male test pilots were away at war.

One of the days a fighter jet went screaming overhead (it was very low). We were told that when fighter jets are in the area they get permission to do a fly-over of the Wright Brothers Memorial and they dip their wings in respect for the Wright Brothers. The Inn-keepers said it happens a lot as there is a Navy/Marine station at Langley and an Air Force station at Cherry Point.

We visited a few lighthouses, was able to go up in only one (well actually Mr. Weenie went up, I am, how you say, afraid of heights). Mr. Weenie climbed the Currituck Lighthouse at the northern end of the Outer Banks. We also saw the Bodie Island Lighthouse (about mid-way) and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (southern end). Did you know the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was moved in 2003 as it was very close to the ocean due to erosion. They moved the lighthouse 2900 feet.

We also visited Roanoke Island, the site of the "Lost Colony". If you ever go I would skip it, wasn't anything but a pile of unmarked dirt. At least we didn't pay to see the dirt.

We ate plenty of seafood, but it wasn't cheap. All the other places we have visited that are known for fresh seafood it was cheaper then what we could get it at home for, a lot cheaper. Not at the Outer Banks, even though most restaurants actually have traps and catch it themselves daily. It was just as expensive as it was a home. Ok, it was better tasting, but still.

Here is what I ate: Crab, crab, crab, crab soup, crab, crab. Mr. Weenie: Shrimp, Shrimp, Shrimp, Crap soup, Shrimp, Shrimp.

The fireworks on Tuesday were pretty disappointing.

There were some old hippies staying at the B&B while we were there and one morning we were talking and they were bitching about a lot of jobs being sent overseas and Americans should buy American products, yadda, yadda, yadda. Too bad the stupid old hippies were hypocrites since they drove a Toyota Prius. I had to give Mr. Weenie "the look" warning him not to say anything.

Some Canadians were also there for a couple days and we were talking with them at breakfast and Mr. Weenie comes out with these 2 gems:

"So you guys have a lot of terrorist up in Canada"
"You guys are sending a lot of hazardous waste to Michigan, what's up with that."

Ya, Mr. Weenie talks before thinking sometimes.

After a week at the beach I don't know why I was so worried about wearing the swimsuit I bought for myself in public (swim skirt and tankini top). To start with I guess it wasn't polite to start screaming about calling the coast guard to save the beached whale, that women didn't like me much after that. The white trash was abundant, as was their fat asses and belly rolls sticking out of their string bikinis. *shudder*. I maybe scared for life from those views. I mean really, the amount of women walking around in bikinis with fat hanging all over the place was revolting to say the least. Oh and of course there had to be one Speedo wearing, old fat guy walking around.

3 people drowned while we were on vacation, we actually got to see one search and recovery in action. The Coast Guard chopper was flying around, they had a boat and Jet Ski’s searching the water and even divers doing a grid search pattern.

We got back Friday afternoon and immediately headed to the boarders to pick up the puppies. They were very happy to see us and wouldn't leave our sides all weekend.

In all it was a great vacation, much needed. I am now planning for next year’s vacation, have some ideas but I need to narrow it down to one by January. And then I get out my spreadsheets and start planning the vacation which doesn't commence until July.

Posted by Quality Weenie at July 10, 2006 09:22 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Sounds like it was a great time. We haven't had a vacation in about 4 years. With so much stuff happening in that time, culminating with the move, a vacation just hasn't been possible.

So far this year, I've taken a couple of weekend trips. But that's about it. I don't know if we'll get anything else going or not schedules have been difficult.

As for the swimsuit thing - considering the crap I've seen girls and women wear on a regular basis - I'm not surprised to hear their swimming attire isn't any better. Hope your eyes recover. *grin*

Posted by: Teresa at July 10, 2006 10:58 AM

Wow, best post I've read in a while! So glad your holiday was a great one. :)

Interesting links too. I think it's cool that the military aircraft dip they're wings to honor the Wright Brothers and they're huge contribution to aviation.

Mr. Weeenie and I do the same thing with the "not thnking before spewing" thing... It can be as embarressing for the spewer as for the other person!

Nice doggies too! ;)

I like the way this site looks and it's layout too, very nice work! Load's real fast on my crappy dialup too...

Posted by: John at July 10, 2006 05:09 PM