Our Babymoon

The rest of our trip to Baltimore and the Outer Banks was okay... nothing too exciting, but it was nice to get away for a couple of days. Now it's back to the grind (at least for me). M is off this week as well, and right now out apple-picking with his mom (she's staying with us for a couple of days). Lucky them.

We visited the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Manteo in hopes of seeing some animals, but had no such luck. The first time we took the drive there, it was in the mid-morning. We didn't have any maps with us and didn't know where to go, but eventually we found some park rangers to ask, and they told us that the best time to go would be in the early morning or at dusk, since that's when the animals tend to come out. The next day, we decided to make another trip there before sundown (and it's not exactly a quick drive, being about 40 minutes away from Kitty Hawk, the town we were staying at). We drove about 20 miles on a bumpy, unpaved, rock-filled road going at 15 miles an hour, only to be disappointed once again. No bears and no alligators (despite the name of the refuge). The only thing we took away with us was a dirty car. But at least we gave it a try. We'll have to save our wildlife sighting for a trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa one of these years.

No trip is complete without a game of miniature golf, so M and I had our friendly competition at the Mutiny Bay Adventure Golf in Nags Head (only it was way overpriced and didn't have too much adventure in it). As expected, the better player won - despite being seven months pregnant with all sorts of body aches; I was in a kind mood so I did not take full advantage of my bragging rights :). Afterwards, we stopped by the Dairy Queen for some ice cream and challenged each other to an arcade game of Ms. Pac Man (surprisingly, it was still only 25 cents a game!). Again, the better player won... hehehe. And I usually suck at stuff like this too! Maybe it's the baby giving me luck.

We made the long drive home Thursday morning. It took us about 7.5 hours in total, not to mention close to $20 in tolls. I'd probably be more inclined to go again if I was more of a beach person, but since I'm not, this one trip during the non-peak season was enough. At least it's one more location to check off on my list of domestic travels.