This August we vacationed in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. This was our first family vacation with the kids and grandkids. Brian and I have had many trips away, but never with the extended family. Reflecting on being retired for one year, it was a busy, fun and fast year!

As grandparents, it was such a treat for us to be able to vacation with our children and grandchildren. As they grow, our time with them is so precious. It is interesting to watch how they play and interact with their siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Each child has their own very district personality but they all get along so well.

Aside from being with our family, I wanted to venture out for some landscape and oceanscape photographs. There were three lighthouses not far from where we were staying, Currituck Beach Lighthouse, Bodie Island Lighthouse and Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Sadly, Cape Hatteras Light was under construction, wrapped in scaffolding and we were not able to see any of its glory. Cape Hatteras Lighhouse will reopen in 2026 for pedestrian traffic, with any luck we will be able to plan a visit once it is reopened.

My first photograph was the sunrise photo featured above. The house we were staying in was one block from the beach. Brian and I woke early one morning and ventured down to the beach anxiously awaiting the sunrise. I must say, it did not disappoint! The image below shows the sun, not quite up yet, but some beautiful colors were beginning to form.

On Wednesday, we were able to take a small road trip to visit Bodie Island Light (pictured below) and Cape Hatteras, as I mentioned above, Cape Hatteras was closed, but we drove to the beach near Cape Hatteras, which had very few people, and was quite beautiful. I thought the wooden marker on the beach was interesting, not to mention, the contrast between the sky and sand colors.

As we were walking back to the car, we happened upon some surfers heading toward the beach. I took a few shots, I thought the formation of the surfers and their boards were interesting (pictured below).

After leaving Cape Hatteras, on our drive back, we discovered Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Never before have I seen sand dunes as high as the dunes at Pea Island. It was absolutely breathtaking. Both Brian and I were in amazement as we climbed the steep dune to reach the beach. The beach at Pea Island was calming and exciting at the same time.

The day before we were set to leave, Brian and I visited the Currituck Beach Lighthouse located in the Outer Banks, NC. Having visited many lighthouses in the past, in various states, Currituck Light is still as beautiful as I remembered it. The lighthouse is surrounded by a beautiful park area, but since we didn’t have much time left in NC, we didn’t take a tour through the park, we simply walked around for some photographs, which are pictured below.

As I close this blog post, I hope you have enjoyed some of North Carolina. It is a beautiful place to visit if you are ever given the opportunity, I highly recommend spending some time there.

As always, thank you for following along, until next time . . .