So, to the beach, we went! We enjoyed playing at the beach and snacked and then went in for the day for a shower and a late lunch. That is pretty much how ALL of our days went in Duck (and, oh, how we wished we could've stayed longer!). The weather was perfect...upper 80s/90s with a nice breeze when you need it! The boys LOVED the selection of seashells and the tiny clear crabs they found just under the sand. Their favorite was putting them all in a bucket with sand and water, then dumping them out and watching them burrow themselves back under the sand again. LOL.
We also celebrated my now-5yo birthday in Duck, NC! We went to play miniature golf at one of the many pirate-themed mini-golf courses farther south on the Outer Banks. I believe we ended up in Nags Head. We let him decide our day. So, beach in the morning, lunch, cupcakes (of course!) and then mini-golf, then playing with new Legos until dinner.
I do not think I will get a vacation rental without a washer and dryer IN the unit, especially when we are at the beach. Trekking up and down (mostly my poor husband) three flights of stairs to do laundry is NOT fun (especially in a stinky laundry room). Lesson learned. AND, it was not ideal to have a one-bedroom with a sleeper sofa (even though it was comfortable). We definitely preferred two bedrooms. BUT, our rental was the nicest of all the ones we stayed on this trip. Lovely, clean, modern and pretty recent renovations throughout made us feel like we were in a nice hotel (with a kitchen!). :)
By Sunday, we were still debating staying one extra day in Duck. BUT, we really liked the idea of breaking up our trip by stopping in Raleigh (hotwire again!) on our way to Asheville. So, on Tuesday morning, when we left Duck, we stopped at the Wright Monument and Museum and climbed the hill that the Wright Brothers used to test their flying machines-first a glider, then with a motorized engine. There is a great view from up there (but, my pregnant self had to lean on my husband as we got closer to the top...and, it was HOT!). We learned a bit, got some books about the Wright Brothers and continued on our journey!
We got into Raleigh at 4ish, settled into our downtown hotel (a decent Sheraton), and found Mellow Mushroom (gluten free pizza!) for dinner (it was good...tasty, fresh ingredients!). We had met a family on the beach that recommended the Museum of Natural Sciences, in Raleigh. The appeal? "museum", "science" and "free admission"! So, the next morning, we found a gluten free coffee shop/ bakery to walk to and then walked to the museum! Do you know what? It is the coolest museum we have EVER been to. Our expectations were not very high; but, they were far-exceeded! My boys enjoyed doing their own lab experiments, sat in on an "animal encounter" (where they learned about and got to touch animals that hatch from eggs-that are not birds), and walked through a butterfly conservatory. There was much MORE to see and do that we did not have time for; but, we hope/plan to come back some day! Yay for Raleigh! THEN, we went to the Farmers Market outside our hotel, got some yummy local bbq for my husband and some strawberry (agua frescas) for my boys, ordered some turned-out-to-be-super-yummy take out (no-bun burgers, veggies, chicken, salad and sweet potato fries for us) and hit the road to Asheville!
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