We’re on day five of our week on the Outer Banks. On Wednesday, July 3 the weather finally cooperated with us to get to the beach for an extended amount of time. First, the family enjoyed a bike ride in Kill Devil Hills.
Merri Beth recently added a child seat on her bike and we brought our bikes with us from Raleigh. I added the “Alley Cat” bike extender to my bike for Zander. MB had Coco, while I had Zander and we were off on the bikes. Continue reading
Not only was it Taco Tuesday on day four of our OBX beach week, but it was “Work From OBX” day. On Tuesday, July 2, Merri Beth and I were working remote and getting stuff done. Red Hat is great that way. I have the ability to work remote and still operate pretty smoothly with my team. My mom had today off and needed to run some errands. Zander tagged along with her. Continue reading
On July 1, we headed south to the island and village of Ocracoke. I was up very early on the first day of July, running 4 miles at 6:00 am. My run was partly in the rain, which was refreshing. After my early morning run, I packed up the Jeep and started getting ready for our day trip to Ocracoke. Continue reading
On Sunday, June 30 we continued to dodge the spotty, crazy weather here in North Carolina. I don’t remember ever having this much rain to start off the summer. We tried to get to the beach early today, before the rain came through. Lucky for me, I scored a few waves during low tide. Continue reading
Surf check at First Street
We arrived on the Outer Banks on Friday, June 28, after a three hour drive from Raleigh. We unpacked the Jeep, settled in, and watched a nasty round of evening storms pass through.
On Saturday morning, we were eager to hit the beach, but the weather was not cooperating. When I woke up at 6:30am, it was raining, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. As the rest of the family got their day started, Zander and I went up to NY Bagel to grab some breakfast for everyone. After that, we started making plans for the day, trying to anticipate what the weather would do and plan around it. Continue reading
Our Thanksgiving break started off hectic—is there any other way? For me, it started off on a chilly morning running the hills of Wakefield (North Raleigh). I was running the Skinny Turkey half marathon. It was my third half marathon of November after running the City of Oaks and the Outer Banks.
The race started at 7:30 am and it was a 30 minute drive from the house to Wakefield High School, where the race started and finished. I was awake early, around 6:00 am, leaving the house by 6:45 am. I decided to run in long sleeves because it was below 40° and a bit breezy. The course was hilly but manageable. I was expecting a decent time and was happy with the 1 hour 44 minute and 14 second finish. Continue reading
It’s the time of year when I keep one eye on the tropics for potential surf-generating storms. I’ll glance at the Atlantic Ocean swell models a few times a week and see if it’s time wax up the surfboard for a coastal get-away. This week was no different, except there are two reasons to further investigate: Tropical Storm Isaac and Tropical Depression Joyce.
Wave height forecast from TS Isaac via MagicSeaWeed.com
Towards the end of last week, I was seeing some favorable conditions in the forecast. At first, it looked like Joyce was going to deliver this coming Tuesday, but more recent swell models have changed. However, on Friday, the forecast was looking good for the weekend. It looked like long-period swell would be arriving in North Carolina starting on Saturday. I was zeroing in on Topsail Island. Continue reading
This 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
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
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