The very first post on the Naves’ new blog!  Well, we’ve successfully made it to the Outer Banks (Emerald Isle, North Carolina, to be exact), arriving a little after 4:00PM on Saturday, 2/5/2011. We are just far enough south to have nice, spring-like weather for the most part, but far enough north that the beaches are empty, the neighboring rental houses are empty, and the towns in the area are free from summer vacation traffic snarls.  Unfortunately, the internet service is early 90′s slow, so uploading pictures is quite a trial, but we’ll do our best!

I managed to upload a few pictures here (Click the ‘i’ in the upper-right corner for more info about a picture):  

obx_20110205

The Naves' Winter Vacation to the Outer Banks

[img title="Over the Sound and Through the Fog..." alt="After a 5 hour drive, we took a very windy bridge over Bogue Sound onto Emerald Island, which is covered in thick fog." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3771.jpg"][img title="Quite a Staircase" alt="This house is an enormous 3 story wonder, just look at the stairs!" src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3772.jpg"][img title="Out to the Ocean" alt="The ocean is a short walk away, starting from the walkway in this picture." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3775.jpg"][img title="An Up-lift-ing Experience" alt="Uh, sorry. Yes, Dominic is in an elevator that goes from the first floor entry to the second floor. Quite fancy for us carpetbaggers, but apparently a common Southern comfort (at least in rental houses)." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3787.jpg"][img title="The Kitchen, the Kitchen" alt="Our living room at home could fit in the kitchen. And that table has room for all of us, and more." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3789.jpg"][img title="Heading Down" alt="The man-made walkway to the beach ends at a sandy path through some small sand dunes. It's really too cold and wet to be making the trek down to the ocean, but it's just too exciting to miss!" src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3800.jpg"][img title="That's the End" alt="Not of the pictures, but of the path to the beach, of course!" src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3801.jpg"][img title="Noone to the Left..." alt="" src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3803.jpg"][img title="... and Noone to the Right" alt="'Nuff said." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3804.jpg"][img title="A View from Afar" alt="Pictures can be deceiving---it's really a 2 minute walk to the beach." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3805.jpg"][img title="Cold, Hard Sand" alt="After a chilly, rainy day, the sand is cold and as hard as a rock (well, a soft rock). The kids still manage to get sand in their shoes, however." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3807.jpg"][img title="Makin' Waves" alt="Well, *we* weren't making them, but they were there, all the same. And yes, they are as big as they look compared to the kids." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3809.jpg"][img title="Lonesome Gabe" alt="One kid. One bucket. The possibilities are endless." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3810.jpg"][img title="Windy, Very Windy" alt="It isn't very clear in the picture despite the blowing hair, but the wind is really whipping down the beach. (It's COLD!)" src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3812.jpg"][img title="Mama Mia!" alt="We got four of these 20" monstrosities, and boy were they good!" src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3816.jpg"][img title="Dinner Time" alt="That pizza is about to meet its match..." src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3817.jpg"][img title="Look Ma, Two Hands!" alt="That is one HUMONGOUS slice of the pizza---but Matthew can handle it!" src="http://www.thenaves.org/wp-content/flagallery/obx_20110205/thumbs/thumbs_100_3819.jpg"]