Riding the ferry and Fort Macon

It is tradition to go to the beach at least once while we are in North Carolina.  We have gone every summer since Elena was 6 months old.  We make the one hour drive to Atlantic Beach which is its own adventure.  To get to the beach we have to take a ferry.  I love that this ferry is free unlike our ferry ride to Eagle Camp.  And, before going to the beach we tour Fort Macon.  This is maybe the third year we have done this.  The day is filled with fun and history!

Ferry ride ... Samuel, Elena, Leah, Maya, Hanna, Emma, and Jonah

I love this sign and it is so true.  The fort is not for the faint of heart.  I am constantly saying "stay in the middle....don't get to close to the edge!"

Fort Macon was built in the 1800's and attacked by Union Soldiers during the Civil War.  After a short battle, the Confederate Soldiers surrendered.  The fort was also used some during WWI and WWII.  The fort is a dream for little children to experience.

Behind all those doors is running space through rooms and connecting hallways.

Cannon replicas

The never ending connecting doorways

The view from inside the fort to the entrance

One of the outside barrier walls

Sitting on the stairs which lead to an underground tunnel

An after lunch photo...I take no credit for Elena's outfit!

Finally, it was time for the beach.  Stay tuned for more on that later....

Kayaking

We took out the kayak's for the first time this week.  It has been crazy windy the past couple of days which made the creek a little rough.  It was not too rough for kayaking, but it made the kids a little nervous to kayak independently.  After an early afternoon storm we decided to try kayaking despite some wind.  The kids did great.

Jonah, Emma, and Maya kayaked alone.  Samuel and Elena went with me or Drew.  Hanna went out with my cousin Meghan.

Pappy and Emma...she was nervous initially to kayak alone.

Me and Jonah and Drew and Samuel

Drew pulled Jonah along with his boat for a while.

All by himself

Me and Elena

Meghan and Hanna

Emma and Maya

Something tells me that we will be kayaking again this week!  The kids had a blast!!

Pirate Cruise....ARGH!!!!

On Friday most of us went on a pirate cruise in the Neuse River.  I say most of us because Emma, Maya, and Kelsey were missing from our group.  They had headed back to Maryland for Maya's divisional swim meet.  Anyway, the cruise was for 90 minutes and full of pirate adventures.

When we arrived on the boat the kids were given a head scarf to wear.  Their faces were painted with scars and/or beards.  Then their arms were given "tattoos".  After that the kids learned how to fight like pirates with nerf swords.  This was totally hilarious to watch.  The little girls were a little shy during the fight.  Samuel, Hanna, and Jonah had no problems participating in the battle.

After this they learned how to fight other pirate ships using the water guns.  Every child had a turn using the water gun and they loved this.  Everyone got a little wet which was great because it was hot. Of course, there was much practicing of 'ARGH!'.  

When all the pirate skills were mastered, an enemy ship appeared and the battle to return the treasure began.  The battle lasted for approximately 30 minutes.  Each of the kids on the boat took turns manning the guns.  There was lots of shouting "return our treasure....give us back our treasure"!  The little girls were so loud.  They were heard all over the boat and it was hilarious!  The bigger kids loved every minute as well.  Everyone was quite animated and fun to watch.  

Finally our ship won and the treasure was retrieved.  Each child on board received three gold coins which Hanna thought was chocolate and Leah thought it was real.  Everyone had a great time!  It was so much fun to watch the kids play along with the fun!!!

Pirate faces and fun faces....Jonah, Hanna, Samuel, Elena, and Leah!

Tryon Palace---Summer Bucket List

Today we all ventured into New Bern, which is about 30 minutes away.  It is the cutest city situated on several rivers so it is just beautiful.  

Our purpose was to tour the Tryon Palace.  This also met a bucket list item to see and learn about something historical this summer.  This definitely met that goal!

The Palace was home to Royal Governor William Tryon.  It was built between 1767 and 1770. Unfortunately, it burnt to the ground in 1798.  It was just an empty space until it was reconstructed using the original plans in the 1950's.  The rooms are filled with genuine and beautiful artifacts.  There was no picture taking inside.

In such a fancy place, the big rule was no touching.  The kids were great and managed to remember something fun from the day.  The only bummer was the heat.  Today was hot so we did not tour all the out buildings or tour the grounds very thoroughly.  Still, we had a great time!

All the kids sitting in the carriage hall in the stable building.

After we finished at the Palace we took the Pepsi Tour experience.  Pepsi was originally made in New Bern.  There is a cute little store which sells fountain Pepsi.  The kids love visiting there too because Pepsi can be purchased in the glass bottles.

The Pepsi experience took us back in time to 1835 where we could work, play, and live in a simulated town.  My boys loved the ship exhibit.  The girls like the store exhibit better.  

After that history lesson we gave the kids a treat.  It was well deserved after a day of really good behavior and hot weather!  So, Pepsi and ice cream it was!

These goofs got sherbert, but it was the second day I have seen mom eating ice cream.  I am pretty sure that has never happened before in her life!

Finally, I made the kids take a picture with me.  The view is of the Neuse River.

Tomorrow we are going back to the pool and maybe will do some boating.  I am thankful for our fun day!