Atlantic Beach

Elton decided to be spontaneous today at about 12:30- decided we should drive to Atlantic Beach and surprise Dad and Chris. I am NOT a spontaneous person- I like to plan things out... But I cooperated and packed a suitcase, our intention was to get a room and spend the night- tomorrow we (not 100% sure I was going to participate) were going on a fishing charter. We've done the half day tours with Captain Stacy's before and they are so much fun! However, seeings as I'm having a baby in a month, it may not be the wisest thing to be 20 miles from shore! We had also planned on going to the newly remodeled aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. Captain Stacy's was not having 1/2 day charters tomorrow, and the cheapest rooms we could find that were half way decent were $125/night :0(- ridiculous prices for the off season, but most of the cheaper hotels were closed for the season. Upon arriving at the Oceana pier we found Dad and Chris exhausted and sunburnt. In fact Chris was asleep on a bench- Elton shook him and said "Hey boy you're in my seat, hey I said get up!" Typical Chris would have gotten up swinging, but poor thing he was like "huh? whats going on???" Too much sun and too little sleep! We hung out on the pier for a while, but the wind was blowing and the fishing was bad. In fact they hadn't been catching anything but sharks. We played on the beach for a couple hours and had a ball- the kids had a great time- especially Brianna. We had to admire every shell on the beach!
We decided just to come home. I think Dad was VERY relieved that Chris was ready to go home- he would have just sucked it up and suffered... Katherine & Chris rode home with Grandpa. They're spending the night and going to the lake tomorrow. Elton, Bri, & I stopped at The Channel Marker (restaurant) on the way home. Elton loves seafood, but I hate it and he rarely gets to eat it. He LOVED his oysters and flounder, and Bri was scarfing down her spaghetti! I had a stuffed baked potato and some french onion soup au gratin. It was decent- certainly nothing to write home about. I'd have been happier with Taco Bell, but they enjoyed it, and the atmosphere was nice, we ate outside, overlooking the sound. It was dark by then, but the lights across the sound were beautiful. I tried to stay awake on the way home and keep Elton company (it was almost midnight when we got home) but that of course was futile, I think I only napped about 1/2 an hour though, then Tracy called and the phone woke me up. Now its 1:30 am and I am wide awake- thanks to my "power nap" ;0) I wish the beach trip would have worked out the way we wanted, but we still had a really good time. I am so happy to be sleeping in my own bed though! ;0)