Vacation 2011 ~ Outer Banks Here We Come

After our Pit Stop in Tennessee we were on our way to the Outer Banks, NC.  Mom and Dad had promised we wouldn't drive all day, but you know how humans kinda get all caught up in things and in a hurry.  Well,  Dad doesn't like to spend all of our time driving in the EmmaMobile and we made it to Greensboro,  NC where they had planned on staying at the Motel 6 but it was only about 12:00 noon/1:00'ish.  So, what do you think Dad decided to do?  Yep, drive the rest of the way to Nags Head, NC.  He told us this way we only had to spend one day driving and not two.  This would allow us to spend all of tomorrow exploring and having fun.  I guess I'm o.k. with that.

Somewhere between TN and NC

Tunnel somewhere near Cumberland Gap area or exit

Bella, tunnel

Why does it take soooo long to get there?

Hmmm, what's that I smell?

Are we there yet?

A few days before we left Mom finally found a motel the Ocean House Motel willing to allow all three of us very well behaved, lovable and awesome doggies stay at their establishment.  Yeah!  We only needed a motel for one night and then we had a beach house reserved for a few days.

We drove and drove and drove and drove.  It was getting dark and we still hadn't made it to the bridges yet that cross the ocean and connect the main land to the Outer Banks.  We didn't realize how much sooner the sun sets on the East Coast.  It gets dark by 5:30 p.m.  We didn't get to the see the ocean as we entered or how cool the giant bridges are that cross it because it was dark, but Dad did get the pleasure of driving on foreign roads that were under construction, at night without any lines painted back onto them.  I think Mom left some dents in the door handle.  From what I could tell she had bulging pug eyes trying to keep track of the edge of the road because it was swampy on each side of the road and deep ditches.  Who leaves roads like that anyway?

We made it alive and in one piece....Thank you God!

We finally found our motel and upon our approach noticed it was all dark, vacant and a sign that read "Closed for Season"  What??????????????????????  Oh my gosh, my heart fluttered.  Where are we going to spend the night?  I can't spend another moment in this cramped vehicle.  I need my Emma rest.  Mom saw a light on in the office area and a man moving about.  She got out and went up to the door.  You could see his perplexed expression "lady can't you read"?  He was kind enough to open the door and talk to her.  Then they went inside the office.  Mom explained to him she had been emailing with a lady there that said she would allow all three of us doggies to stay at the motel but we weren't for sure exactly which dates we would need them.  She had a copy of the e-mail with her.  (Always be prepared)  He said the owner didn't have any reservations and had decided to close up for the season a couple days after that email correspondence.  Mom explained she had tried multiple hotels in the area and none of them but this one had been willing to allow us to stay the night.  He said we could stay next door at the John Yancey Inn it is owned by the same owner.  He called next door to the John Yancey Inn and spoke with the same lady we had been emailing - Sherri and asked her to set us up with a room.  We went down the road just a few buildings away and Sherri got us a PAWSOME oceanfront room, non-smoking, 2 beds.  It was unbelievably great!  Clean, nice linens, refrigerator, microwave, coffee pot, iron, ironing board and a large picture window and back door that opens up to the ocean.  Amazing!

Thank you, Sherri !!  We would have been homeless without your kindness and please if you ever read this thank the kind man that was in the office that night and opened the door for us and helped lead us to you.

It was already dark, but the moon was up and almost full, there was a sky full of stars.  The waves rolling onto the shore shined like silver in the moonlight.  Again, thank you God!!

We unpacked the van and went for a moonlight walk on the beach.  As soon as you open the back door you are greeted by a small sand dune and that is all that is between you and the ocean.  It was pretty loud.  I didn't realize water could make that much noise.  It was so wonderful to get out of the EmmaMobile and stretch our legs and leave our pretty paw prints all up and down the beach.  The ocean mist on our noses, sand between our toes, twinkling stars filling the night sky and a big bright glowing moon.  It was absolutely beautiful and breath taking.  It is also Swee Pea's very first vacation and very first visit to the ocean.  I told her it was awesome but I didn't realize it was going to be this awesome.

 All the spots you see in the pictures is ocean mist and sand.  It's amazing how sand gets into and on everything.


We even had the entire building to ourselves.  We were the only doggies with their peoples staying in this particular building. That is so cool.  We didn't have to worry about other guests being loud or bothering us.

 
I can't wait to show Pea the ocean in the daylight.  There is so much to see and sniff.  I think she'll have a lot of fun.  I can't wait.  Mom set the beepy clock so we could get up early and watch the sunrise.  Mom and Dad are not morning people so this will be a real treat for all of us.  Come to think of it I prefer to sleep in too but I will make an exception for a beautiful event.

Bright and early we rolled out of our oh so comfy beds to view the sunrise and see Pea's expression and see what she thinks of this new destination.  Sweet Pea welcome to Kill Devil Hills, NC

It was hilarious!  The first time we went to the beach a couple years ago in South Carolina there wasn't any sea foam like there is now.  Today there was a lot of sea foam left behind every time the water rolled in.  Sweet Pea found it very intriguing.  First she carefully investigated and sniffed this peculiar white frothy substance, then she poked it with her nose and carefully touched it with a paw.  I believe there was a point where she may even have tried to taste it.  Jester Pea her nickname is well suited.  

Awww, shucks.  I just realized there aren't any pictures of Bella and the sea foam.  It's really difficult for Mom to get pictures and hold two leashes.  I would have loved to help her with the camera but a very long, long time ago someone removed by dew claws so I don't have any way to hold the camera and push the button. Sorry Mom I would if I could.  I wish I had pictures to share because Bella was a pure joy to watch.  The waves would leave behind the sea foam and after the water receded back the foam was left to blow around on the sand.  Bella thought it was something for chasing.  She wanted to run up and poke her nose into every clump of sea foam we passed.  If the wind blew it by her or in front of her she wanted to take off after it.  It was like her and nature were playing their own little game.  I believe she may even tried to taste it too.

After a good romp on the beach it was time to head back to our room and get packed up to check out and do some sight seeing and maybe some shopping before checking in to our house rental.  Of course, one of the things we always look for are dog bakeries and pet stores.  We do try to avoid any pet stores that are selling pets.

We found a very nice Holistic Pet Shop with attached training center and daycare.  How cool is that.  The surprising thing is it was located in a strip mall or whatever you may call those long sections of attached stores or grouping of stores.  Bella told Dad to look over there she spotted something really cool...it was a nice fenced in area where two rottweilers were playing with this huge giant sized ball which the clerk later said was a ball for horses.  I am for sure Bella is adding that to our wishlist.  The one rottie was running into the ball and pushing it all over the yard and it would bounce into the fence and around and around they went.

Inside the Holistic Pet Shop there were all kinds of toys, treats, food, and pet products.  They had the standard holistic foods and treats I hadn't seen before like Grandma Lucy's with freeze dried meatballs in  cute little jars with fabric covered tops in flavors like cheeseburgers/chicken parmesan/pot roast/philly cheese steak/beef n vegetables/chicken stew, Plato which Mom has been searching for their salmon strips for Pea's really reliable recall training and thought she was going to have to buy the multi pack from Amazon for about $40.00 and she was able to get one package here for around $9.00, Bravo freeze dried treats with choices like hot dogs, lobster, duck, etc...  This is where Mom got us a huge long braided fleece rope with attached tennis ball so we would have something we could all play with at the rental house.  Here are some pictures and I must warn you some our vacation pictures, okay a lot of them may be blurry because us doggies want to go, go, go and don't always stand really still when Mom and Dad are trying to get a pictures.  Ooops.

The staff was very friendly (unlike a store we will mention in later travels).  They even had kitties in the store up for adoption.  I like to see pet stores helping rescues and shelters instead of selling puppy/kitty mill pets and adding to the over population problem.  I can't really comment on the training and daycare facility as we did not interact or use this but I was pleasantly impressed with the store and the variety.  We were also happy to see they were NOT "closed for the season" like so many other shops and restaurants.  I've never seen a national chain restaurant close for the season.  We have learned a valuable lesson.  When planning a vacation see if the area you are going to closes or is seasonal.  Although, we were told the there are many people that call the Outer Banks home year round.  Thank you Holistic Pet Shop for being open to fulfill our doggie shopping.  Yes, I did venture in to help Mom shop but unfortunately that is another missed photo opportunity.  I'm not sure why she only took pictures of the outside.  There was a picture perfect moment when I sniffed kitty noses.  They were cute and their was a little feisty one playfully swatting at my nose.  I was careful to avoid those prickly kitten claws.

We drove up to Corolla and discovered there is absolutely no way to see the Wild Horses without a 4x4 vehicle.  Bummer!  Mom and Dad talked about going on a Jeep Tour and they did find two that are dog friendly - Rick's Jeep Adventures and Corolla Wild Horse Adventures the only limit they have is there has to be a seat for each body.  They said a doggie could even ride in the back cargo area behind the rear seat too.  Dad didn't think I could get up into a Jeep because they sit kinda high and these beach Jeeps are outfitted for the sand dunes so they probably sit even higher.  The back passenger doors are narrow and don't allow a wide opening for a Great Dane to hop through.  We have a ramp at home but didn't have enough room to bring it along.  We opted to do easier dog friendly adventures.  I'm glad we did because I don't think a 2 hour drive along the beach would have been much fun.  I would prefer to walk along the beach with the sand between my toes and the wind blowing my ears.

If anyone is visiting the Outer Banks we suggest you don't even bother going up to Corolla or the Currituck area because there aren't any public beach accesses for those that do not live there.  We highly recommend the Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head public beach access they are easy to find and have parking spaces along the roadside.  Just be careful crossing the street to the beach.  For it being the "off" season there was a lot of traffic.  I do have to say we were able to walk the beaches without encountering many people especially during the day. Yeah!!!!!

Along the roadside here and there you may spot a winged horse.  They are decoratively painted and we did not see any two alike.

Aren't these pretty.  There were so many of them we didn't get pictures of even half.  I wonder how many there are in all?

Beside the first brown up horse with the pumpkins all around it was the entrance to what we thought might be a tiny park to stretch our legs since we had been unsuccessful in finding public beach access up in the northern area.  Imagine our surprise when we found an expansive boardwalk over the sound with a great view.  It was so beautiful.  It was a very nice walk.  Hey, Frankie check out picture 4.  It's a big stick that made me think of you :)

After the park were still looking for a public beach access and we found one in Kitty Hawk.  A couple blocks from the restaurant High Cotton.  We had the whole beach to ourselves until we were heading back and some idiot had their dog off leash.  What don't people get about the words "leash law"  It was clearly stated in all the literature and websites about the Outer Banks.  The beaches allow dogs but they must be on leash.  There was one I think that did allow dogs off leash during certain times but they had to be under voice control if necessary.  So we took an early access out and walked along the road back to the access we parked at.  We got a very, very long walk and had a wonderful time enjoying all the sights and smells.  We were having so much fun we even posed nicely for our photo shoot.

 Daddy even found a starfish and let us sniff us before he helped it back into the ocean.  It was still soft so hopefully it hadn't been out of water too long.

 

 

Oh Wow, it's time to go check into our house rental.  I can't wait.  The pictures showed it's nestled in a quiet area on 1/2 acre without any neighbors close by.  I'm so excited.  We found it at Vacation Home Rentals it's rental # 47637.

When we arrived it was larger than we expected with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, living room, kitchen, laundry, wrap around deck, pool, lots and lots of yard.  As Dad unloaded the EmmaMobile Mom went in to take pictures.  There was so much to sniff...where do we begin?  We found these carpeted step things inside.  Why are steps inside.  That crazy Pea trotted right up them and was sniffing around up there.  What's up there?  Mom caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye up above and it was Pea strolling across the upper level making herself right at home.  Can we go up there?  We politely waited for Mom and then it took some coaching for me to go up. 

Our most favorite part about the house.....the deck!  It was like being outside but you don't get dirty.  You can walk out bare pawed or with just  your socks on.  The greatest part is it is entirely enclosed and there aren't any gates or stairways you have to worry about being open or doggies escaping through.  Awesome design idea!  We want to thank Phil for allowing us the opportunity to stay at his home.  We tried very hard to take good care of things while it was in our care.  We can not thank you enough for allowing all three of us doggies to spend a few nights here with our beloved humans.  We hope good things come right back around to you for your awesome kindness.

We are settled in with a warm, secure comfy place to call home for a few days.  I wonder what adventures await us................Stay tuned to find out.

To Be Continued.......

Emma