Our Summer Trip: Murfreesboro, Tennessee

On Saturday morning, we left the OBX at 3am and headed for our old stomping grounds, Murfreesboro, Tennessee! Before we checked into our favorite hotel, the Embassy Suites- we drove by our old house. What a sight that was! The landscaping was totally overgrown. You couldn't even see the back row of rhododendrons we had planted. The little green shrubs in front of those that are supposed to be trimmed regularly were taller than the back row of landscaping and looked like trees! I still miss that house, that town,  our neighbors and friends, Publix, etc.

We checked into the hotel- and ironically we were given the same exact room that we stayed in last year when we were there! We got cleaned up and then met our neighbors for dinner at O'Charleys. 

Brooke the photographer took this picture- not bad!

We really wanted to see my friend Tracy and Brooke's friend Connor- but it just didn't work out. Two other people we wanted to see happened to be out of town the day we were there :-(

Our neighbors came back to our hotel and we hung out together like old times! Miss them!

Picture courtesy of Brooke

Every time I am in Tennessee it just feels like home! 

The last leg of the trip always feels never ending. We rolled the windows down a couple time, because Avery just loves the breeze hitting her face!

Back to business as usual this week! We are unpacked and laundry is complete. I went grocery shopping Monday morning with the morning- a fully packed shopping cart!

What a great trip we had! It does feel good to be back home though and getting settled back into a routine. Brooke will be a 1st grader in two weeks- crazy!!

Our Summer Vacation: The Outer Banks, North Carolina (continued)

Tuesday morning our family had reservations for horseback riding on the beach in Cape Hatteras. It was a bit of a drive, but definitely worth it.

On our drive back to the vacation rental we drove through Rodanthe. We drove by the "Inn at Rodanthe," as it was named in the movie based on Nicholas Sparks novel "Nights in Rodanthe." This inn was the focal point of the story and it was depicted as a unique seaside inn overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. In real life, built in the 1980's, this Inn was threatened by the coastal storms and was in danger of falling into the ocean. A family bought the home in 2009 and had it moved in 2010 thirty minutes up the Highway. The exterior of the home featured the famous blue shutters from the movie and the interior is decorated to emulate the scenes filmed in the movie. 

JoBob's General Store was also in the movie- this is where the residents of Rodanthe bought storm supplies. The store is now closed, but the exterior looks the same as it did in the movie. 

Later that night we had family pictures on the beach which we rescheduled from the day before.

Despite being over tired and run down, our kids still insist on waking up early each day. So we always would be up, eating breakfast, dressed, etc. before everyone else in the house. We decided to spend the morning on Wednesday at Jockey's Ridge Park climbing the sand dunes. 

Jockey's Ridge has the tallest active sand dune system in the Eastern United States. 

We had a lot of fun climbing the huge sand dunes. It felt like we were in a desert! 

We buried Jade knee deep

After we got back from the sand dunes the kids played in the pool and Jeff and I snuck out to go parasailing!

Parasailing was a lot of fun and really peaceful! Jeff and I definitely enjoyed ourselves. When we got back to the house we took the kids to the beach again.

On Thursday, we went to see Bodie lighthouse and the Wright Brothers Museum.

After the lighthouse we grabbed some lunch at Sonic.

The Wright Brothers Museum was a lot of fun and informational. While we were outside a United States Army helicopter landed right there and let everyone who was there sit inside the helicopter. 

Replica of the house/workshop where the Wright brothers lived in and where they stored their plane:

After, we took the kids for some ice cream and then spent more time at the beach. 

Time for Dinner! Thursday night the whole family went for dinner at Mako Mikes and Jeff ordered shark!

On Friday we went back to the beach for the final time, did laundry, packed up our car and got to bed early for our long drive. We had so much fun on our vacation to the OBX! The kids especially loved playing at the beach and collecting sea shells and in the pool.