A Slight Detour

There comes a time in every project when one’s best option is to follow the old military adage and “un-ass the area.”  Having reached that point with the home renovations, being without bathrooms for over a month (a single toilet behind an old sheet does NOT count as a bathroom, especially if you have to go elsewhere to shower or brush your teeth in a paper cup!) it was time to do something different.

And that was just at the kid’s house.  Similarly, those of us who live across town were looking for our summer hiatus.  Normally that happens in June.  This year, though, summerschool, football and Eagle Projects meant that there was a one week window of opportunity to get away as a family.  Given that the twins have now topped two decades and Caleb is in his last year of high school, those chances are undoubtedly going to be harder to come by in the future, so we snagged it.

 

Hello, Corolla/Carova Beach, North Carolina.

For those not in the know, Carova Beach is a 12-15 mile strip of beach beyond the end of the pavement at the northern end of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It’s hard to get there, no matter what.  You have to have a 4 wheel drive vehicle and are encouraged to carry a shovel, a board and a tide chart with you, lest you end up paying the deductible on your rental car’s insurance policy.  You actually drive on the beach that last part of the way to get to your vacation home.

 

The hardest part, though, is simply getting from Hickory to the Outer Banks.  It’s between 8 and 9 hours to drive there, which is a long time, any way you look at it.  Especially if the dog is insistent that he sit on your lap and either nap or look out the window.  

So ten of us packed the bare essentials we need to travel and live for a week, which is roughly equivalent to that which Hannibal used to cross the Alps and invade Italy from Carthage, except we did it without the elephants.  In addition to the core family, our extras include Lawson and Griffin, who’ve been peripheral members for a while but haven’t been on a long trip with us before.

 

Anyone who’s read the earlier trip blogs knows that travel with the Clan is not for the faint of heart.  Robby and Brian will fly into Virginia Beach on Saturday and then drive down to meet us so we’ll be 12 for the week.

 

And once again, the adventure begins (plus EB/LJ & RR/BR).