Fabulous (too-short) vacation

So, we took a quick trip to the Outer Banks the weekend to visit PopPop and Mammaw. It was so great that we decided we are going next year at the same time -- only this time, for a week or so.

I was manic about avoiding traffic so I insisted we leave the house early Friday morning. We ended up leaving an hour later than I wanted -- 8 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. -- but it turned out fine because THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC! We couldn't believe our good fortune. We zipped down to Richmond in something like 90 minutes, grabbed a quick to-go breakfast at Panera Bread, then ended up in the Outer Banks around 2 or so. Stopped for lunch and Carolina bbq, then discovered a children's playseum near Nags Head that enchanted Rachel (after we all indulged in homemade ice cream with dipped cones). I had gotten home from work quite late Thursday night, between staying late and the train schedule, so I stretched out on an uncomfortable bench near the playseum and conked out for about a half-hour.

We had talked about stopping at the beach, but it was cloudy and getting late, so we headed over to PopPop and Mammaw's, then went for dinner at an Italian restaurant. I was so full from lunch and ice cream that I just ordered an appetizer and shared Drew's entree.

The restaurant was so close to PopPop and Mammaw's that Rachel and I decided to walk back together. We stopped in on a Manteo High football game, where Rachel danced to the band as we watched way back at the fenceline. Then we picked some honeysuckle bouquets growing wild along the road. For a minute or two, I didn't recognize where we were. "Call them!" Rachel insisted, and I almost did, but then I told her, very calmly, that the best way, when you're lost, is to be calm and try to figure things out. "We'll walk just past the next driveway, and if we don't see the road, I'll call," I promised. The next road was Arbor Drive, where PopPop and Mammaw live, and then I told Rachel that if she's ever lost at night to not panic and follow the North Star. "That's how the slaves found their way to freedom," I said, and then started telling her about Harriet Tubman -- "I've heard of her!" Rachel exclaimed -- and how she led people to Canada by establishing a network of safe houses, and that the North Star was their guiding light, and that "North Star" can also refer to someone you love, as in, "he's my North Star" -- my guiding light.

Heh, heh, heh. She thought she was just going to get a nice walk home. Instead, she got a lesson.

Oh, and after we put her to bed. Drew and I watched the first two episodes of "House of Cards" (the American version), and It.Blew.Our.Minds. Drew promised to order the first two seasons from Amazon because we are HOOKED.