I’m still back tracking to get you guys caught up on everything that happened during my ‘blog break.’ Today I wanted to share a special day that I got to spend with my oldest (and 120 of her closest third grade friends).
It’s a tradition at my daughters’ school for the third graders to take a trip to the NC Outer Banks and visit the Wright Brothers Memorial, Jockey’s Ridge and Bodie Island Lighthouse. (Normally they visit the aquarium but it was closed for renovation so Bodie Island Lighthouse was added in its place.)
I volunteered to be a chaperone. My own Mother did the same with me when I was in Third Grade at the same school.
We reported to the school before the crack of dawn and boarded our assigned charter bus.
Sister was too excited to sleep so she did a little reading. She’s reading the Babysitter’s Club books and loves them! They were a favorite of mine back in the day as well!
After one bathroom/snack stop, we arrived at the Wright Brother’s Memorial three hours later just in time to hear the Park Ranger’s 10am presentation on the Wright Brothers.
After the presentation we explored the same field where the first flight took place so many years ago. There is also a camp on site where the Brothers lived when they were visiting that you can look into.
We then began the long climb up to the memorial.
We finally made it to the top!
You can see the Atlantic ocean from the top of the Memorial!
We left the Wright Brother’s Memorial and headed to Jockey’s Ridge. Jockey’s Ridge is the largest living sand dune in the Eastern United States.
Unfortunately it began to rain around the time we arrived. However, that didn’t stop our group! We climbed Jockey’s Ridge in the rain. Luckily I had a friend who shared an umbrella with me that allowed most of my hair to stay dry. Everything from the shoulders down was soaked though.
The kids loved running up and down the dunes rain and all!
The rain slacked up by the time we arrived at Bodie Island Lighthouse. This was a last minute addition to the trip when the aquarium renovations weren’t complete in time for the trip.
A park ranger talked with our group about the history of the lighthouse and its purpose. My group was more interested in going in the gift shop than about anything else.
While there wasn’t time for all the kids to climb the lighthouse (it also was an additional $7 or $8) each student got to walk into the base of the lighthouse and see the inside.
I had a great day spending time with my girl! I don’t get to spend a lot of one on one time with her so it was nice to give her my undivided attention.
The sun came out right as we were about to make the three hour drive back home. All in all it was a great (and exhausting) day with my girl!