Outer Banks 2015, Part 1

Last week, we headed out on a photography trip combined with family vacation to the Virginia Beach and Outer Banks.

This was Bethany's first trip to Virginia Beach and we were treated to an absolutely spectacular sunrise that easily lasted close to 30 minutes.

Here is the photographer working hard to capture this awesome sunrise

We basically camped to be there for sunrise so here are the early birds for sunrise.

Bethany was not exactly sure what she thought about sand at first. She kept trying to lift her legs up off the sand.

These two just love the beach, no matter what! Bethany decided she liked the beach more as the day went on. She is wearing my swimsuit from when I was a year old in this picture.

These girls love to build sandcastles too.

Most all of us caught a little rest time on the beach since it was an early morning for sunrise.

We had a fun morning on the beach enjoying the water and playing in the sand.

We headed to get some lunch nearby and then walked back onto the beach.

I had never been to Virginia Beach during the summer and we had no idea how crowded it could be!

We knew we were headed to the NC Outer Banks for some photography as well and we decided pretty quickly that we would head onto towards Nags Head.

We arrived in time to get supper at our favorite seafood restaurant there. Bethany got to try her first bites of shrimp and she is a fan!

                                   
Brent got up for sunrise almost every day and then after he got back, we would get some time on the beach during the day. This girls discovered how much fun she could have with a beach chair.

The big girls enjoyed going out into the waves with their dad.

Brent was even lifting Rachel over the tops of the waves!

We went to the Pirate Festival in Kitty Hawk. The big girls got to decorate a kite and learned how a soft roping would have been made to protect the edges of the sails on the ship.

We had one rainy day mid week and enjoy ourselves with a trip to the NC Aquarium at Roanoke Island. Because we usually go when we visit Topsail,we had gotten a yearly pass so this trip to the Aquarium was free. The girls found a frog friend in the Aquarium and Brent ran into this sea creature in the gift shop.

We also got our annual "It looks like the shark is about to eat my head" picture and the "Sisters on a Shark" photo too...

After a full day of clouds and rain, the skies cleared long enough for us to make it to the Currituck Lighthouse for sunset.

We had a great couple of days around Nags Head and Corolla and more fun ahead (lots more pictures too) as we headed down the Outer Banks to Hatteras and Ocracoke. Part 2 of the trip coming up...