OBX "school-cation" {flying kites and carving...sand?}

**sunday afternoon, 10/18**

Kayaking complete, lunch served, chill time accounted for; it was time to get down to the business of checking out the largest sand dune system on the East Coast.  As soon as Daniel had learned we were going to be spending time at the Outer Banks he wanted to use his birthday money from Aunt CiCi on a new kite to fly at Jockey's Ridge.

So we stopped at Kitty Hawk Kites on our way back up from Hatteras Saturday for him to find just what his heart desired.  A nylon version of a Lockheed Martin F35 Lightning II fit the bill.

And why have just one kite?  

Ian decided to get a second kite and therefore spread the kite flying joy around a little more.

And a stunt kite at that...

It took a bit of extra assistance getting into the air, but ended up providing a good bit of entertainment for the afternoon.

 And on top of kites, there was a new sport to all of us.

Sandboarding!

Yeah, until watching season 26 of the Amazing Race, I had never heard of it either.  

But it exists. 

But let me promise you that my boys heard it loud and clear.  And they were 100% locked in on giving it a try when they heard Jockey's Ridge would be on our OBX agenda.

REI says you should give it a go in Sandboarding:  The Strangest Sport You Definitely Need to Try.  AND this article ~ 11 Best Places TO GO Sandboarding in 2020 ~  gives Jockey's Ridge a shout out as a good place for beginners...

Who were we to ague with all that?

Verdict??? ~ I'll have to admit...it was pretty fun!

We all were getting in on the action...sitting of course.

And then there was the first daredevil to try standing.  No surprises on which of the crew started the trend now is there?

Not to be outdone, we all gave it a shot.

Yeah, even us quadragenarians...

...and we were pretty good at it if I must say so myself!

Of course we all had a few wipeouts...some more spectacular than others.

Stumbles, spills and somersault tables aside, we all had an amazing time and may or may not now be obsessed with sand boarding.  Some folks dream of carving snow out west, my crew now wants to carve some sand out west or even in South America.  Grounds for planning the next family vacay around?  Sounds fun to me...after sall, one of the best locations in the US is said to be in Utah which would get me back to Canyonlands and Capitol Reef.  And another renowned location is in Peru...maybe teamed up with Machu Picchu?

Eventually the breeze started picking up as stomachs and water bottles ran low.  

And so we hiked back out of Jockey's Ridge State Park, a little sand in our shoes and memories in our minds...