Outer Banks 1999

18 August 1999 - I stayed at Grandma K's house Tuesday night. This morning she drove to the airport in Appleton. I was going to fly down to Kill Devil Hills, NC, to see my sis play in the first-ever girl world series for softball. I flew from Appleton to make my connection in Chicago. I slept most of the way to Norfolk. It was in the 70s back home, and wonderful 80s-90s in Norfolk where Mom and Dad picked me up. It took about 2 hours to drive to Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks. We were staying in a Ramada right on the beach. I got settled, then Mom, Dad and I went swimming in the ocean. It was nice and cool, but not cold. I tried body boarding. Cassie's game was at 4:30, so we went over to the park. It was pretty warm by the field (in the low 100s). They played well, but they just couldn't get their bats working. Cassie went back with her host family, while we went back to the hotel. Then we went out to dinner at Kelly's. That was a pretty classy place. Dad bought Mom a cow at the gift shop. I tried a little of the seafood Mom and Dad ordered. When we got back to the hotel, I played cards with Jill J, Jessie W, Gilbie and some other young'uns. Because I got up at 4 today, I left early to go to bed. There was supposedly a big storm, but I was dead to the world.

19 Aug - I got up earlyish to try to see the dolphins swim by in the ocean. Alas, I was too late. I stood outside on the deck stairs with mom, Dad and some of the other softball parents. Dad took a swim in the ocean while Mom and I got ready to pick up Cassie. Before we went up to Currituck, we visited the Wright Bros Memorial. We looked around the museum then climbed up the hill to see the monument. There was a good view, but it was quite hazy. We drove up the coast to the Currituck lighthouse. The Wirtzs drove in almost behind us. We went to climb up the lighthouse for $5. Mary and Jessie didn't want to, and Dad wanted to go up with Jeff, so Cassie, Mom and I began the 214-step climb. I don't exactly "love" heights, or climbing stairs you can see through. Cassie and Mom stopped on the third flight, but I kept going. Slow and steady, but my heart was pounding by the time I got to the top. I forced myself to look over the edge and took a couple of pictures. Cassie and Mom finally made it up, then we turned around, went back down, and visited the gift shop. We drove back towards KDH, but we stopped in Duck so I could buy a kite.. I got a parafoil for $30. I also got a magnet with a picture of the Duck coast that just says "Duck." I just through that was the funniest name for a town. We had to get Cassie back for the game so we dropped her off, then went back for the game at 6:30. It was a hard-fought game and if it weren't for some mistakes, they would have won it. Instead, they lost 1-5 to Benton, MO. Cassie had a couple of nice catches in the outfield. Since it was a double elimination tournament, the WRYSA girls were out. They were pretty sad afterwards. Cassie wanted to go back to her host family's, because they were having a party. Mom, Dad and I went back to the hotel, watched Sunset Boulevard and made baked potatoes. I joined all the adults on the patio for a bit before I went in.

20 Aug - Again, I got up early to see the dolphis, but they never showed. Grrr! Gilbie was now with us, because she would be driving home with us. I went with Dad and Gilbie to see Cassie's host house. She was right - it was huge and really nice. We went back to get Mom. We went swimming and body boarding for a nice, long time. Then we got in the van and drove down the coast to see the Hatteras lighthouse that they had moved. We then drove back up to the Bodie Island lighthouse. Then we went to Manteo on Roanoke Island to see one of the ships that brought the first colonists to the New World. There was also a museum. We toured the ship where some men acted as settlers. Then we checked out the settlement. The best part of going there was the museum. They had a bunch of hands-on activities and dress-up clothes. Cass, Gilbie and I were settlers, native Americans, pirates and civil war soldiers. It was a lot of fun! We went back to the hotel, and Cassie, Gilbie and I headed for the ocean. For some reason, the water smelled really bad. We got out and ate the pizza Mom got for dinner. Then Cassie, Gilbie, Jessie and Beth R played cards for a little bit. Early to bed...

21 Aug - It was storming when we got up at 4. We got on the road just before 6. We drove all the way through the mountains to Indianapolis, where we stopped for the night. We pulled in at about 8. Then Mom, Cass, Gilbie and I went to the mall to go jeans shopping. We got a pair each. Picked up some food at the food court, then made our way back. On our way back on the highway, we saw a big accident. There was a car flipped on its hood. We drove the rest of the way to the hotel and ate dinner. We had another early night.

22 Aug - We wanted to be on the road around 6, so we got up, ate breakfast, then we were on our way. It was a pretty short day and we were home by 2. Then we unloaded the car and I drove Gilbie back to her home in Vesper. Short though it was and somewhat disappointing, this was one of the best family vacations we've ever taken.

{transcribed 2/6/2020}