Tag Archives: beach

St. Martin Day Two: Beaches and Airplanes

smx_day2_14Our second full day in St. Martin started off bright and early. I was up at 6:00 am (Atlantic Time) and I went for a short run. Barefoot. On the beach. Born to run baby! After that, Zander and I went out for a swim in the Caribbean in front of our place.

After breakfast, we loaded up the car and headed out for the day. Our first stop was Pic Paradis, the tallest spot on the island with some great views. But I think we missed a turn somewhere on the single-lane road, lush with tropical foliage on both sides and only a few places to pull over and let other cars pass. Continue reading

St. Martin Day One: Paradise in December

SXM_024:30 am was an early start to our day, but it was worth it. Our flight to Charlotte (CLT) left Raleigh at 7:10 am, or at least it was supposed to. We were up, showered, and already packed by 5:15am, then it was time to start our long day of travel to St. Martin. We were at RDU International Airport before 6:00 am, checked-in and through security. Our flight had a slight delay taking off, but we made it to CLT within ten minutes of our scheduled time. Continue reading

Farmdog Surf Camp: Day 4

IMAG1309I was up early today to enjoy this cool, October-like weather on the OBX. I decided to get in a 5.8 mile sunrise run to the Wright Brothers Memorial and back. The air was brisk and void of humidity, which meant I could actually breathe while running. I headed down Bay Drive, then over to First Street and along the trail leading to the Wright Brothers National Park. As I turned the corner from the airport, I had to stop and take some pictures. As I ran up the monument trail, I had to take more. Continue reading

Farmdog Surf Camp: Day 3

IMAG1300Surf camp day three in one word: Cancelled. My second choice of words: Bummer. I got the call from Aaron at 8:30 am, surf camp was cancelled today due to rough and unsafe surf conditions. I had a suspicion that this would happen with the storms that came through the night before.

We had a cold front move through the area on Tuesday evening with some nasty storms. The winds switched North East and cooled things down by at least 10 degrees. With the change in weather, there was a building North East swell with a stiff current. Continue reading

Farmdog Surf Camp: Day 1

IMAG1277This is it, day one of surf camp. Zander was excited—until we actually got in the car and started heading to Nags Head about 20 minutes before camp started. His nerves got the best of him and I had to walk him off the ledge.

We did a quick surf check across the street from Farmdog’s and everything got better. It was about knee to waist high, clean, and it looked like a perfect day to learn how to surf. Continue reading

OBX Sandbars and Board Shorts Day Nine: Totally Tan

obx_foj13_d9_02This was it, our last day on the Outer Banks for FOJ. It was Sunday, July 7 and we had a blend of home-sickness but couldn’t pass up another beach opportunity. We had a great Saturday, enjoying all day on the beach. While we wanted to do the same today, it wasn’t in the cards. Instead, a condensed version of what we’ve been doing most of the week was in store. Continue reading

OBX Sandbars and Board Shorts Day Five: Bikes and Beach

obx_foj13_d5_02We’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