Well I figure I should write something up about our week long vacation/wedding extravaganza.
We drove over to Indy to stay with Rosey and take advantage of the free parking at her place on Saturday the 2nd. We had a good time watching the Kentucky Derby and grabbing a bite to eat at Cheeseburger in Paradise before we hit the hay for our early morning flight.
Sunday we arrived at the airport and were given the option to upgrade to First Class. It was kind of a no-brainer since it was only $25 a ticket. I figured what better way to introduce Maranda to the wonder world of flying than to fly First Class. The flights out were uneventful though we had some cool views of the sunrise.
(Click Pictures for the full sizes)
Once we landed in Norfolk, VA we headed down to the Rental Car area and picked up our Mitsubishi Gallant. I was pretty impressed with it. We were starving but decided to head south a bit before we stopped to eat. We wanted to pick a local place rather than a chain we could have anywhere so we were being picky. We got was seemed to be only a few miles out of town and ended up at a place called “Barefoot Bernies” in Kitty Hawk, NC. (Little did we know we were only 20 minutes from the house we were staying in.)
We arrived at the wedding party house in Nags Head, NC a bit early. Chris and Corrin couldn’t pick up the keys until 3ish and we were there around 2. So we hunted down a public beach entrance and went out to enjoy the beach a bit. The view is amazing and even though the water was freezing, we still managed to stick our feet in. After a bit of relaxing on the beach we went back to meet Chris, Corrin, and Bogart. Later in the evening Jeremy, Kenzia, and Jack showed up. Chris and Corrin got the best room in the house, third story facing east. Maranda and I picked the second best, third story, facing west and overlooking the pool area. Jeremy and Kenzia picked a room on the second story.
View from the third story balcony, facing east.
Sunday pics
Monday was a bit more eventful. A few more people showed up. Josh and Cheryl arrived and some of Chris’ family stopped by to see the house. Josh and Cheryl picked the room opposite of Jeremy and Kenzia on the second story. We basically bummed around and just hung out. It was kind of a relax from travel day. Chris and Corrin wanted to go to one fancy dinner and Monday got picked. We went to a really nice place called Owen’s Restaurant. It was amazing. I believe this is the place Maranda tried her first Scallop. (It was a Negative, by the way.) Later in the evening Corrin introduced us to what is called as “Ghost Crabbing.” Basically you go down to the beach late at night with flashlights. Lots of little crabs had emerged from the sea and kind of glowed like ghosts when you shine a flashlight on them. It was really neat to see.
Monday Pics
Tuesday, Cinco De Mayo. This was yet another kind of bum around day. Chris made Omelets and I whipped up some cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Some people got in late Monday night and were settling in to their houses/hotels and wandering by the party house to visit. Josh, Cheryl, Maranda, and I went to a cozy lunch place called “Tortuga’s Lie.” It was excellent. Chris and Corrin wanted to celebrate so we had people over to have tacos and drink copious amounts of Margaritas and Coronas. The tacos turned out great and we all had a blast. By now Jil, Lauren, and Anita had arrived and joined in the fun week.
Wednesday was the first real event day. Jeremy made an awesome quiche for breakfast. We saw what appeared to be a brewery on the way to Nags Head and a few of us decided to go for lunch. Chris, Corrin, Josh, Chery, Maranda, and I all had some great microbrew and food. Maranda even tried a bite of my Oyster Poboy Wrap and didn’t hate it!! The guys were scheduled to get fitted for the tuxes so we all did our best James Bond impression. Chris didn’t really get a bachelor party so we had a poker night in the house. Maranda and I supplied the cuisine of Mom’s Deep-dish Pizza. It was a hit. There was some attempted bribery to get the secret recipe, but I stood strong. It ended up being Josh, Chris, and myself as the last three in the poker game that started with 10. I was short stacked and died after a few fights, and Josh ended up winning. In my defense, I wasn’t paying attention for the first hour of the tourney as I was busy running back and forth between the table and the kitchen while I made the pizza.
Thursday we woke up to French Toast and Sausage provided by Josh and Cheryl. It was very yummy. The morning started out kind of rainy and canceled our plans to play putt-putt. So instead we went to the Wright Brother’s Museum in Kitty Hawk, NC. It was a blast even though we all got wet. We got to see several replicas of the Wright Flyer as well as the actual location of the first flight. It was really neat to see. We had lunch at a place called “Dirty Dicks.” It’s a crab joint and touts a slogan of “I got my crabs from Dirty Dicks.” We all got a kick out of it and had a great time. The food was excellent. Maranda tried Lobster for the first time and wasn’t a fan. (This was no surprise to me.) After noon it cleared up and became nice and sunny. This was perfect for the wedding rehearsal. We went out to the beach and got our instructions and ran through it a few times. It was all very simple. Later in the evening we all met up at a place called Kelly’s for the rehearsal dinner. There were awesome hors d’oeuvres in place of a dinner. Stuffed Mushrooms, scallops, shrimp, salmon, cheeses. It was all very yummy. Afterwards Josh, Chris, and I got a game of Cut Throat in at their Pool Table. Brings back memories.
Thursday Pics
Friday, the reason everyone was there. Chris and Corrin were getting married! Of course the Groom wasn’t allowed to see the Bride so we had to play the Bride police a few times to be sure there were no accidental sightings. We got Chris out of the house in the morning to go drive some go karts. I had been wanting to ride these since I saw them. It wasn’t a boring oval like most tracks. The racing was eventful. Several of us got reprimanded for ‘bumping’ which is against the rules. I ended up going four times. Josh and I each had extra tickets so we did a head-to-head run at the very end. Most of us then went to grab lunch at a place called Mulligan’s. It was really good. My lunch consisted of a dozen raw oysters on the half shell and YES they were great!! I saved a small one the whole time hoping I’d eventually get Maranda to try one. It took the whole lunch for me to convince her and she finally gave in and did it. Much to HER surprise, she didn’t hate them. They aren’t her favorite new food, but she’d be open to eating more.
After lunch we all went back to our respective houses to get ready for the wedding. The girls all got ready upstairs and the guys downstairs. The women were stunning and the guys were pretty snazzy in our tuxes. They were topped off nicely with brown sandals…this was a beach wedding after all. The wedding itself went very well. The sun was hidden by the clouds creating a perfectly diffuse light situation. This was great for photography as well as the eyes of everyone at the wedding. The temperature was perfect as well. The ceremony was beautiful. There were a couple wind gusts on the beach that blew some papers around but nothing the Pastor couldn’t handle. Maranda was on camera duty and got some excellent shots while I stood. I think she’s going to be an awesome assistant. She’s got a good eye for composition!
The reception was at Mallards Marsh which was about 20 minutes south of Nags Head. There was a nice big dance floor which was used pretty heavily. The food was amazing and the drinks were free. Maranda and I enjoyed the Champagne Sangria. Neither of us had had it before.
Saturday was a nice wind down day. Maranda and I weren’t leaving until early Sunday morning so we got to do the last four things we wanted to do. The Bodie Island Lighthouse, Putt-Putt, Souvenir shopping, and relaxing at the beach. All were fun. Maranda beat me at Putt-Putt by one stroke. She started off with a hole-in-one and I stayed behind til the end. Later in the evening three couples remaining in the Wedding Party house. Hope (Corrin’s Sister) recommended we go to a place called “Awful Arthur’s” for seafood. We decided to stop by and pick up some take out. I had a large portion of Crab legs and a BBQ sandwich. There was also a big box of shrimp that they gave us by mistake that I helped demolish. Maranda tried crab legs for the first time and liked them. She found out she still doesn’t like non-breaded shrimp. We spent the evening packing up and cleaning up the place a bit. I took the opportunity to gather up all of the alcohol we’d drank as a group over the week. Pretty impressive. 14 bottles of wine, 3 bottles of champagne, 1.6 handles of tequila, and countless bottles of beer.
All in all it was a great escape. I’m going to remember this area a few years from now when I want to get away. There was lots to do and it really was a beautiful area to stay in. I’ve posted links to most of my pictures. Below is a link to my whole gallery and a few friends’ galleries too.
