About Schmidt: OBX

We took a vacation to North Carolina's Outer Banks at the end of July. It was our first "real" vacation since Marla was born, and it was exactly what we all needed. It was a perfect mixture of relaxation and fun activities. Marla had a blast, the weather was fabulous, and I got my ocean beach fix. I highly recommend the OBX to anyone, especially anyone with young children.

I miss it so much.

We rented a condo in Duck, NC. Duck is one of the northernmost towns in the Outer Banks. Our condo complex was right on the beach, which made it easy to hit the beach every day, sometimes two or three times a day.

Here's our living room. Marla is watching the Elmo DVD that we brought for her. Speaking of which, Jeff and I both nearly poked our own eyes out by the end of the week, having watched that DVD at least 20 times. I really hope this child develops a taste for other TV characters soon.

We ate most breakfasts and lunches in the condo, and usually ate dinner out at a restaurant. Marla practiced big kid stuff such as sitting in a chair to eat...

And sleeping in a real bed! We did push chairs up against the bed to prevent her from falling out (although she still did fall out one night). She loved sleeping in a big bed, but is clearly not ready for one yet.

We did a little non-beach sightseeing each day, including touring the Wright Brothers Memorial, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the Currituck County Lighthouse, and Jockey Ridge State Park.

Here's Jeff and Marla walking along the Wright Brothers' first flight track.

Wright Brothers Memorial

Our favorite part of the vacation was the beach, naturally. Marla loved the water and playing in the sand. She had no fear of the ocean whatsoever, and since the Atlantic current is pretty strong, the experience was both exciting and scary. Keeping her from getting swept out to sea was a constant battle. But at least we got a good workout.