outer banks, nc 7.29-8.4.06

we just did another kemet-majeed vacation,
this time in outer banks, nc.
the outer banks, or obx,
is basically an island of the coast of n.c.
that has several small towns in it including
where i had to stay up so ishaq could stay up driving
the most famous to me,
kitty hawk,
where the wright brothers did their first flight.

we stayed in a big beautiful house
called second nature
just a 2 minute car ride from the beach
in the southern shores neighborhood.
it had 5 bed rooms,
3 full baths,
an outside shower
(necessary after the beach,
but also a lot of fun)
a deck on the roof,
game room,
a pool,
and access to a canal
(with kayaks, too).

pity i wasn’t able to enjoy it to the fullest.
this first trimester ain’t no joke.
i tried to avoid the kitchen at all times
– the smells pushed my gag button –
but when i had to cook,
i cooked sitting down
or cooked without tasting the food and threw up immediately afterward.

i did make it to the beach 3 or 4 times.
– i had to finagling swim gear from
a body glove long sleeve swim shirt,
and sweat-resistant short-sleeve top and pants from walmart,
and a thin scarf –
something about the salt water, air, and sand
made everything disappear…
until i got back in the car.
we all got a few shades darker
– alia was on a serious mission to get a tan,
including sunning on the roof deck
with the suntan lotion and all.

most times
the children played well together,
even rahmah,
but it was there that ishaq finally agreed with me
that 3 is enough. [smile]

i couldn’t go parasailing like i wanted:
pregnancy liability.
ishaq did the wave-runner thing and took a wind-sailing lesson.
as a family we went on some kind of power boat
to watch dolphins in the bay
and actually got to see some! a lot!
the dude driving the power boat
did tricks and had us jumping up and down in our seats and what not.
if there was a time to get sick
it should’ve been then, but i did well.
sanaa had her hands up the whole ride like it was a roller coaster.
rahmah got tired of getting hit in the face with waves.
if rahmah hadn’t started crying
the driver probably would have done even more stuff.
he told us that he would have done a 360,
but folks from the slow-moving pontoons got jealous
and told on him.
i should have worn by swim suit outfit cause we all got soaked.

we took the children go-carting.
they had three tracks:
a kiddie track (you had to be like 51″ tall),
a family track (with 2-seater carts),
and a slick track.
even rahmah got to ride with her daddy.
though the carts weren’t as powerful,
and he had to hold his daughter so she wasn’t
flopping around
he was as competitive as ever.

i took one picture.
one.
of the pool.
it was like the last day of our trip,
i’d finally gotten around to charging the camera battery,
but it was too hot to continue.
apparently there was a heat wave up and down the east coast.

we left friday night,
and after a long 4 hours
where i had to stay up so ishaq could stay up driving,
and a ticket
– it makes no sense that the speed limit on 295 N is 45 mph
(we were only going 60) –
we made it home, alHamdullilah.