Vacation recap

Day 1 was such a breather. Got in touch with our friends down at milepost 21.5 and planned to have a filipino dinner night on Monday. Day 2-7 was a little bit of this a little bit of that bit no little bit of bodyboarding! What do you do? You become a major tourist and a shopper. This break was complete with massages, pedicures (Lotus), wave watching, bird watching with Tanya (DVO), hanging out with some good ol friends, boutique-ing, working out (3/7 days), DS playing (thanks to Joyce who challenged our brain ages) and movie watching.

The last day of vacation

All in all we had a GREAT time, but on the last day we checked the beach and the red flag was there to greet us again. So, the entire time we did not get to swim in the ocean or get to have good times on the boards (and we were prepared!). Joyce and Paul left on Friday morning to head to Richmond for Paul's tournament weigh in. (Pics from the NAGA tournament coming soon) Michael and I went to Corolla & Duck for the day. I really like the Currituck Lighthouse. It was made of a million bricks. And now on the retail note... If you're ever in Duck make sure you visit, now my fave in Duck, Confetti Clothing in the Scarborough Faire shopping center.

In good company

When you're in good company you can have fun on a windy, soggy, no swim beach vacay. Here we are enjoying the 45 MPH winds on the top of the hill at the Wright Bros. Memorial.

Finding more to do at Nags Head

With the extreme winds and no beach left we are venturing out and finding other things to do while we're here. We highly recommend the kayak tour with Duck Village Outfitters. We don't recommend going on really windy days because you might blow away once you reach the sound and bay. Remember to ask for Tanya! The sand dunes and Wright Memorial are kinda cool too.

Great views on the beach. Wait, what beach?

Joyce and I decided to get some more time in on the beach. We took a nap after our Mexican meal...so I guess we had siesta. We took a comforter and some towels and shnoozed. Since the wind was blowing so much and the waves were about a story high we could only lay on the incline because there wasn't much of a beach left. Here's what else we saw on the beach during "no swimming" time. I think they were going to break the law.

NO Swimming!?!?

We wanted to hit the beach first thing yesterday morning but...

WE SAW RED FLAGS ON THE BEACH! (we chose not to break the law)

So, we sat on the beach anyway, turned on the iHome, watched the big ass waves, and got attacked by sea foam. Then we headed up to Louie's pool. The pool was freezing and Paul jumped in. All in all, we have some of these things to look forward to doing while here while it rains for the rest of the week: kayaking, seeing the mustangs, spa-ing, eating, sand duning, and inshore fishing!

Beach Bound tomorrow

The Ivey's are beach bound tomorrow! We'll be on our way to Nags Head, NC for vacation. Every year since we've been married we've celebrated our anniversary by taking a trip. Our honeymoon was to Kauai (05). Then we went to NYC (06), Nags Head (07) for L&R's wedding, and then this year back to Nags Head (08).

So, I checked the weather report and lucky us, we'll have wind and rain. The wind will be good because the waves will be good because last year they sucked all but one day. Michael is ready and drilled a hole into his board and got his wrist strap on. This time I won't be worried that the surf will take away a large amount of money in one swoosh. Last year he had no strap. We'll be posting this week because we couldn't resist getting the house with wireless. We (Joyce, Paul, Mike and I) cannot live without our computers on vacay- I know it's sad. However, Louie and Rick can...they know how to vacation more than we do.

Time flies!

Time flies when you're havin fun! Here is a pic that I dug up from 2004 while I was searching for a few things this weekend. This was one of our engagement photos taken in my hometown. These were actually at St. Mary's College down on the water. (Photography courtesy of Jaime Canter)

How do you pronounce "Palin"?

GOP ( I like calling it that, there's something stupid about it) VP nominee Sarah Palin knows the right way to pronounce her name. News anchors kinda know. So, I heard it two ways this morning: "Pay-lin" and "Paw-lin". Sarah, if you're reading this, you mind throwing a correction my way?

Gina's going country!

Today is the day I've been waiting for since July! Jessica's new country album came out today, mmm, love it! (stop throwing your tomatoes) Anyone that knows me well knows that country is not on my ipod or in the Ivey combined household CD collection. Well, maybe a little Shania Twain has snuck her way up in there or Union Station and Allison Kraus. It doesn't really go beyond that. A lot of country fans have told me, "Don't listen to that Jessica Simpson stuff" or "That's fake country!". But anyone that knows me well knows that I am a tad of Jessica fan. Well, maybe not a tad. Yes, I own Jessica Simpson bags, sunglasses and shoes. I had to support my girl this time around on the country thing. And, I am Dolly Parton fan and she is an inspiration for my girl, Jess (they even did a song together on the album). I am recommending it. And hey, its only $9.98 at Target right now. It evens comes with a poster * a Target exclusive. Mm, gotta love the Target exclusive.

Whet Your Whistle Stop Tour (click here)

I googled my name this morning. You've done that too? Anyway, I saw that the Greater Richmond Chamber gave me a little name recognition for my volunteer work on one of their events. Click on the title to check it out!

The Grand Ol Party and some Grand Ol Delusions (click here)