OBX 6 - Avon Pier and Relaxation

Dad, Zeb and Austin wanted to do a little fishing while we are on vacation, so we headed out to the Avon Pier this morning.  It's just a few miles up the shore from our house.  The pier is really warped and leans from side to side.  I was really nervous to have Hadley out on it due to it's condition, but we made the best of it and had a great time hanging out!   

Before we came out on the pier, we did a little shopping in the gift shop.  Juli and Hadley got the same bracelet and glow worm.  Hadley is wearing the bracelet in the picture below, which I think is so sweet!

An airplane flew over us, so she looked up to check it out...

You can see in the picture below that the pier leans like crazy.  I know that they wouldn't have it open if it posed any real danger, but still, when you're a mom of a little one...crazy nervous!

Zeb, Dad and Austin getting the bait on their lines...

Lex, Juli, Gabe and Karen spent a little more time in the gift shop...here they come!

Another airplane.  "Oh!" I LOVE her face! 

We weren't on the pier very long before these guys pulled out a small shark.  Awesome!

Hadley and Uncle Zeb taking a little break...

A few minutes later the fishermen caught yet another awesome fish.  I'm not exactly sure what it was, but it looked like a small stingray.

Check out Uncle Zeb's awesome catch!  Those other fishermen can't hold a candle in the wind to his fishing skills.

...and it didn't stop there.  It was a struggle, but Austin managed to reel this one in!

Dad couldn't let the boys show him up!

We all got hungry, so we bought water, dibs and chips in the gift shop and then enjoyed them on the bench while the boys continued to fish.

If you look closely in the picture below, you will see a package of Doritos behind Gabe.  Those belonged to the fishermen, but Hadley helped herself while I had my back turned for one minute.  Thankfully they were good sports and told me that chips were made to be eaten.  Hadley never ceases to surprise me! 

The guy in the picture below was super nice.  He told Gabe to get in this picture and tell people he caught the fish.  He told him "people will be talking about your big catch for years!"  This same guy saw my dad's Vietnam Veteran hat, shook his hand and said that he would like to thank him for his service.  What a respectful young man.  It meant a lot to my dad.   

Austin, Hadley and I were tired, so we headed back to the house.  Shortly after we left, Lex caught her own little fish and Dad caught a puffer fish. 

On our way back to the house, we decided to stop at the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.  We can see it from our deck at night!  We didn't go up in it because Hadley was sleeping.  Austin stayed in the car with her while I got out to explore...

I wish I knew more history on this lighthouse, but I don't.  The houses below are where the lighthouse keepers lived with their families. 

...and here's sleeping beauty!

This never works at home, but we managed to carry her in the house and lay her back down to sleep in bed.  How sweet is that little peanut?

Dad brought home this very large "blue fish" and had me believing that he caught it himself.  Normally I wouldn't have bought into the story, but right before we left the pier I watched a man catch one with the same regular pole and line that my dad was fishing with.  After a few minutes, he fessed up that the fishermen at the pier caught it and asked if he wanted it because they had already caught enough.  Good one Dad!

The girls played on the deck while waiting for dinner to be prepared.  They're playing with the airplanes that Karen bought for them at the pier. 

Austin helped...er watched Dad fillet the fish for dinner.

It took forever to get dinner ready tonight.  Hadley was getting really impatient so I took her down to the pool to explore for a little bit.  She rode her love, the lobster...

...and she wanted to wear her lifejacket for a little bit.

...and then she had enough, and retreated to the lounge chair for a bit.  She cracks me up with her arms resting behind her head.  She definitely keeps me laughing!

The girls loved playing and pretending that they were going to bed on the loungers in the living room to get out of putting their pajamas on.  I love the second picture below where Hadley is pretending to sleep by closing her eyes.  Silly girls!   

We were all exhausted from yet another day spent in the sun of the Outer Banks.  I'm a little sad that tomorrow is our last day here.  We are planning to leave tomorrow night so that we can drive while Hadley sleeps.  After a little lounging on the deck to the sounds of the ocean, we headed to bed. 

Good Night OBX!