Anna's Baaaacccckkkk Part 2

Thurs, Jul 10

Today is a sailing day!

Joe was able to go along with us.  The girls provided continuous entertainment - except when they were asleep.

It started out quite breezy, but later in the afternoon, the winds laid down a little and we were able to get some nice sailing in.  We stopped on the back side of Shackleford for a while and some swimming.

Yesterday, we removed the staysail and it provided a lot more room on the foredeck - for the girls to hangout.

I got my feet wet!

Me too! The water felt really good.

Papa Joe joined the girls diving off the bow.

It's not diving- it's jumping off backwards and notice how Papa Joe watches us and kinda goes ooh! As hr id jumping off.

I made sure to plug my nose, because salt water up your nose is not fun.

Anna is learning all aspects of sailing.

This is when Papa is making fun of me for having trouble bringing in the main sail in. Notice the depth. I'm not supposed to tell this story but lets just say it goes down about 2.1 feet in the next few seconds. ;) Don't worry Papa Joe and I saved the day.

Ana Claire hangs on!

Fri, Jul 11

This afternoon, Ana Claire, Anna and Papa take off for a fffffuuuuunnn ride in the Asitshdbe (the powerboat) to Cape Lookout.  We've been wanting to do this all week, but the winds have been to strong for a comfortable ride to the Cape.  Today was perfect!

We always have to visit the display panel that features Anna's Great Great Grandfather, John Quicley,who was a Keeper at the Lighthouse.

At the top of the Lighthouse

 We got the panorama idea from some tourists. I guess they aren't so bad sometimes.

 The view from the top was SO pretty! You could even see some old houses in the distance where people used to live-very cool.

 Going down and down and down 216 steps.

Wake Boarding at the Cape

I had so much fun wake boarding!

 Papa took me out into the ocean trying to head back home. I definitely got some air even if these pictures don't show it. Those waves were CRAZY! 

Ana Claire wants to make tubing an Olympic sport.  She rode the tube 15 miles from the Cape to the dock - a world record!! (Or at least a record for the day)

That kind of ride is not one for the weak tuber. Evan and I completed it last year and near killed our backs with the infamous tube rash so it was a big deal AC could do it. 

Yeah there is one thing I need to clarify about this picture- my legs are NOT that skinny in real life. Due to the angle of the picture, they appear to be like 1/2 to 1/3 of the size that they actually are. I know I'm small, but I am definitely not that small.

Anyways, during my 15 mile ride, I encountered many ocean waves, some larger than others. Some of them were REALLY big though. Imagine this: You are by yourself on a partially deflated two person tube, riding the ocean waves. Suddenly, you see a huge wave crash into the boat, and then you realize it's coming straight at you, in addition to a series of huge waves coming in from the left! For a second I was convinced that I was going to fall off, and was thankful that I had on a life jacket, however, with a strong grip on the handles, I survived all of the big waves. Yay! It made record as the longest and most exciting tube ride yet!