2017 Summer Vacation: Just Roll With It

Fishing with Dad

Sometimes the best laid plans just don't work.  Such was the case for the 2017 summer vacation.  The initial vision was to leave the hot Washington weather behind for the coolness of Maine, where the Fagellas would frolic among the blueberry bushes and enjoy cheap, fresh lobster every night.  All the family had to do was get there.  Alas...that was the challenge.

First, getting a rental place turned out to be harder than anticipated (note to self - start earlier next year).  Joe persevered and previously booked place magically became available. Second, getting there was going to involved driving.  A lot of driving - 12 hours or so.  No problem - the family will stop at Aunt Lucy's  for a couple of days.  Anna was still having a hard time with car rides, so this was looking more and more problematic.  Then there was the dog.  All of the usual dog sitters were booked or out of town.  The dog is also key to making the car rides more manageable for Anna.  All of these things combined were causing Theresa a lot of stress (not to mention the timing of getting off work).  Finally, the whole trip took care of itself when the property owner called to say they had double booked the place.  This was a sign.  The Maine trip was off.  On to Plan B.

Anna & Storm on the Duck Boardwalk

Plan B was the Outer Banks. Fortunately there was a last minute deal on a place, so we snatched it up.  Storm was also going on the trip.  Problem solved.  Instead of north, the Fagellas headed south.  It has probably been 5 years since the last Outer Banks vacation.  This time, the bikes also came along, which made getting around much easier.   The weather was nice with temperatures around 80 degrees (although it was REALLY humid).  There was some form of rain each day but one; however, we still managed to enjoy the beach each day.  Joe got some surf casting in.  Anna was able to boogie board a lot (in between the jelly fish....and a couple of days there was a lot of jelly fish).  Joe got into the boogie boarding action and demonstrated that he still has it.  There was lots of seafood to enjoy and reading to catch up on.

One of the must do place is getting breakfast at Duck Doughnuts.  Lines form early.  Why is this such a big deal?  Well, they custom make your doughnut order.  The doughnuts are hot and they put the toppings you want on them.  Theresa and Anna decided to go the second day and biked about a mile to get them.  The line was huge and storm clouds were starting to gather.  Unfortunately they ended up in line behind two families with large orders that clearly had never been to this place before and had no idea what they were doing.  This took forever - especially when they decided they needed souvenir t shirts and mugs.  After ordering, Theresa sent Anna back to the house before it started raining.  Just as she got the doughnut order, the thunder cracked and a major downpour ensued.  Theresa waited until the worst of it passed and then hopped on her bike to deliver doughnuts to the rest of the family.  Did you know the outer banks floods when it rains really hard?  Let's just say Theresa had to wade her bike through some areas before making it back.  Only the doughnuts remained dry.  That was the only doughnut morning.

There was more rain to dodge throughout the week.  On Saturday, it was a total washout so we loaded up the car and came home a day early.  Despite a few weather challenges here and there and considering the last minute trip, it turned out to be a nice week. 

As for the next vacation......who knows but there will definitely be some plans made in advance!

Mom & Anna at Corolla