North Carolina Aquarium photos

June, Part 2: North Carolina's Outer Banks

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Vacation photo time! Jonas was pretty happy about his first Outer Banks extended family vacation. :)

baby boy at beach house

We started the week with our annual dinner with the whole extended family.

fish and shrimp dinner in the Outer Banks

Fun times!

extended family vacation group photo

We enjoyed lots of cousin time at the beach…

family snapshots on the beach in Duck, NC
dusk at the beach in Duck, NC

…and the pool. :)

little kids swimming in pool on vacation

We managed to sneak away for an anniversary date at our favorite restaurant in Duck. (Thanks, Memaw & Popaw!)

Roadside Grill in Duck, NC

There’s something special about going to the same place year after year (9 years for me but 30+ for Alex’s family)… but I still like to have at least one new experience every year, and we definitely made that happen this year! We had a wonderful visit to the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island with Memaw, Popaw, and some sweet cousins.

family visit to North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

Jonas slept through most of our visit, but Afton had a great time getting her hands on some stingrays and a baby alligator!

little girl with rays, alligator at North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

She had specifically told me she wanted to see “purple jellyfish,” so it was pretty cool that the jellyfish tanks were lit up in purple and blue.

little girl with jellyfish exhibit at North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

The definite highlight, though, was seeing the scuba divers in the shark tank!

sharks and scuba diver at North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

We also hit a new spot on the way out of town: Bodie Island Lighthouse! The Outer Banks area is kind of famous for its lighthouses, but I had only ever seen one of them (this one) and was glad to visit another.

sign at Bodie Island lighthouse

Only one member of our family really wanted to walk to the top, and she didn’t meet the height requirement, so we were all off the hook. ;)

spiral staircase at Bodie Island lighthouse

I had fun capturing the lighthouse from all kinds of angles while we strolled around the lovely grounds.

various angles of Bodie Island lighthouse - Outer Banks, NC

See you next year, OBX! :)

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