Monthly Archives: July 2012

Baby Coco’s Arrival

This is the story of baby Coco’s arrival. Quite an adventure for the Hibbets family.

As many of our friends, family, and co-workers already know, we got a wonderful surprise during the early morning of July 27. After a long day of work, Merri Beth started having contractions while we were preparing dinner—but she didn’t think they were contractions. We ate dinner as a family and I got some late-night work done while MB was catching up on some True Blood, trying to fight the pain. I went to bed shortly after midnight and was awakened by MB just after two in the morning. Our lives were about to change. Continue reading

Life in Board Shorts Day Eight – Pea Island

Pea IslandThis was our last full day on the Outer Banks for the week of Fourth of July. I can’t believe our week on the beach flew by this fast. We had a blast. For our last day, we decided to take a trip South to Pea Island. After a long night seeing Southern Culture on the Skids, we were up fairly early and heading for a full day on Hatteras Island. Continue reading

Life in Board Shorts Day Seven – SCOTS

After a great recovery day, today was going to be a scorcher! We had an outline for our day, but no firm plans other than a few hours of work this afternoon and a concert tonight. We wanted to get to the beach early, then get off the sand before it got into the high 90’s. We were heading to Port ‘O Call this evening to see Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS).

We grabbed a quick breakfast and headed over to Raleigh Avenue for a few hours in the sun. We kept it pretty minimal today. Zander was skim boarding, Merri Beth and I were in our beach chairs. The sun was shining and the wind was light out of the West. The water was beautiful. We were on the beach for a few hours, then headed back to the beach house. Continue reading

Life in Board Shorts Day Six – FOJ Recovery

We had an awesome Fourth of July on the Outer Banks. It’s got to be my favorite holiday. When else can you hang out on the beach all day, enjoy a few beers, then see some awesome fireworks after a long day in the sun and surf? Memorial Day and Labor Day come close, but FOJ is where it’s at.

On day six of our vacation on the beach, we were planning on relaxing at the pool for a few hours. But just as we were getting ready to leave the house, I noticed some smoke coming from the Sound. At first, I thought it was a storm, but upon further inspection, it was smoke from a marsh fire near Collington. Continue reading

Life in Board Shorts Day Five – Fourth of July

View from the beach chairOops, we slept in today. Not typical for us. We were out a little later than expected last night at Elizabeth’s Cafe. We’re usually pretty eager to get on the beach early on the Fourth of July. Merri Beth, Zander, and I managed to get to the beach by 11:00 am—not too bad considering our lack of alarm clock.

We packed up the Jeep, lunch included, and headed out. At first, I was thinking Nags Head would be the spot. But as we drove down the beach road, the beach accesses were packed. We turned around and headed back to Kill Devil Hills for the day. We found a great spot that just had a few cars at it. Within the next two hours, it was full. We got lucky. Continue reading

Marsh Fire Smoking Out Outer Banks

The family was getting ready to head to the pool for the day and while letting the dogs out around 10:30 am, I noticed large billows of smoke. At first, I thought it was a storm, but then it looked like a bomb had exploded in the air. The smoke was coming from the Sound so we hopped in the Jeep and headed to Bay Drive for further inspection.

According to WAVY-TV 10, “A marsh fire burning in Colington Harbor on the Outer Banks of North Carolina was reportedly sparked by fireworks.” Continue reading

Life in Board Shorts Day Four – Wine in Duck and Geeking Out

Elizabeth's CafeWe geeked out today. There’s no question about it. After my morning run, I booted up the laptop to find a mini disaster that took up most of my morning. Merri Beth decided to log in for a half-day of work. Meanwhile, Zander kept himself occupied with a variety of games and activities. It felt like we wasted a great beach day staying inside, velcroed to the Internet, but it ended up being much better than that. Continue reading

Life in Board Shorts Day Three – Snorkeling and Sand Forts

Great beach viewWow! A great day on the Outer Banks. The ocean was fully cooperating and the weather was almost perfect. My day started off with a 5.7 mile run from the house to the Wright Brothers Memorial. I was up around 6:00 am and hitting the pavement before the sun took it’s full toll on the other runners and bikers out on Bay Drive. I had a great run considering the Summer conditions. A beautiful run with some great views. Continue reading

Life in Board Shorts Day Two – A Day at the Pool

Surf Check with ZanderIt was HOT today. No question about it. We enjoyed a full day at the beach yesterday, but not today. Being on the Outer Banks helped us forget about the heat for a while. We slept in today, and enjoyed every minute of it.

After some breakfast, Zander and I biked over to check the surf and the beach conditions at First Street. By 9:00 am, it was already steamy. There was some small surf, but nothing worth getting the board out for. We had big plans to hang out at the pool for the day. Continue reading