Wake up!

We moved from Santa Barbara to the Bay Area almost three years ago exactly. We had no idea when we arrived in the small, seaside town, that our time there would be so short. We lived in Santa Barbara for about 6 months before we headed north. Until last weekend, we hadn’t even looked back. But all last week I had Santa Barbara on my mind, and I wanted to take a little walk down memory lane. And, just as I had remembered, it was beautiful.

I love hot summers. Hot summers mean shorts, staying out late into the evening, thunderstorms, popsicles, and swimming. As far as I can tell, the Bay area does not excel in the hot summer department. The Outer Banks, however, is an expert at producing the summer heat and temperate waters that I love so much. It’s been about four years since my last trip to OBX and over a year since my last trip to the east coast altogether, so this vacation was patiently awaited and long overdue.

There is something truly special about returning to a place that you have known throughout your life. Even though the Outer Banks doesn’t change much, the experience is different every time. This time was a rediscovery of the beauty that I took for granted all the time I lived on the east coast. It takes being away to gain a new sense of awareness about a familiar place.

Jockey’s Ridge, which we have visited on every vacation that I can remember, was a very different place with storm clouds drifting overhead and a tilt-shift lens in hand.

I was just playing around when I captured this sad looking image. Poor Rigo all alone and the family together in the background. Maybe they shunned him for not striking a pose in the previous picture.

This trip was highlighted with some exceptionally good food.

But the basis of the vacation was the same as always: good company.

I have always loved a good afternoon thunderstorm.

We don’t always go island hopping, but this time we traveled to Wanchese (I used to think it was “Juan Cheese”) on the island of Manteo to have dinner and see the fishing boats.

Mini boats?! Nope, just an awesome lens. Sorry to shatter your dreams.

It’s so hard to leave on the last day. At least we got a colorful family photo out of it. Until next time, my sandy, fair-weathered friend…

When I was a kid we went camping every year. To be clear, it was a not totally roughing it. We always camped at a state park where bathrooms, showers, and even swimming pools were part of the accommodations. But we slept in tents, prepared our own meals, and sat around a fire in the evening. To me, that’s camping. Last weekend, I was introduced to a pleasant variation on camping, known on Yelp as “glamping” (“glam” + “camping”). I have to tell you that it’s a lovely and comfortable development to the traditional family activity. I must also thank Rodrigo’s office for introducing us to the upper echelon of the great outdoors.

Like any good trip, this one began on the road. We traveled about 1.5 hours south and made a few stops along the way.

Rigo and I recently both bought new shoes – we didn’t plan on them being so similar.

This is Rodrigo unlocking our tent. Although this luxury may have been overrated, as a friend later found out the embarrassing way that his key could unlock tents that were not his own.

And on the other side of the door we found a cozy little bungalow with a double bed and an electric blanket. So wonderful!

In the evening, we ventured out with the co-workers to watch the sunset over the ocean. It was decided that the most direct route would be to follow the sun, and we disregarded the camp map as we headed off into the golden hour. Here, everyone is tramping through the prickly field that the sun directed us through. We also had to climb over a barbwire fence to get to the beach. But I think the sun route was definitely more scenic than the map route would have been.

The path to the sunset.

And when the sun went down, we ate at the camp restaurant and then sat around a pre-lit fire and roasted marshmallows.