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If you read my last post, you know that we had some great meals and a fabulous beach day while we vacationed on Ocracoke Island. I left out two of our best adventures because they honestly just deserved their own post! On Saturday morning we got up, packed a bag and gave Farris O'Neal a visit at the boat dock. We had a reservation for a half-day boat rental to do a little bit of fishing and a whole lot of sun soaking! Farris was super helpful in showing us how to get where we wanted to go and how to care for the boat. He even let us borrow a few clam rakes and a fishing rod. I love this sweet family run business and can't wait to book them again on our next visit to Ocracoke!
It felt like a summer day out on the boat and the kids were wearing bathing suits the entire time. We hit up our favorite Ocracoke Island Coffee and Eduardo's before we boarded the boat so we had tacos and coffee to fuel this day! Read: Eloise and Penny ate all the tacos!
Baby Marigold and I were basically attached the entire time as she cut her first tooth while we were on the water but she was easily comforted by the hum of the motor and nursing! Still trying to figure out how we got the sweetest little quarantine baby ever! I basically say on the front seat the entire time and that left Jason to drive the boat and help the little ones fish. We were met with thousands of birds in the sound on our way out and could see fish jumping out of the water but didn't get a single bite. If you're following along on Instagram, you know that we are ROOKIE fishermen... so we weren't too disappointed but the girls were determined to catch as least one because they consider themselves pros!
If we had a little bit more time we would have docked the boat at Portsmouth Island because it holds a pretty special place in my heart but maybe we will plan that adventure for the spring! We loved seeing this historically rich place from the water.
Ocracoke Island is gorgeous from the water but the best view was our big kid on the boat. Time with teenagers is so fleeting and I loved having this time with Joey.
Once we docked the boat we were all super hungry and seeking some shade after a full morning in the sun. We hit up Howard's Pub for a late lunch and then headed to Springer's Point. We told the kids the legends about Blackbeard spending time at Springer's Point Preserve and they were intrigued. A sunset walk through the preserve was the perfect cap to our day. We enjoyed finding hermit crabs and let our wild and wonderful labradoodle, Jetty, play around in the water while we watched the sunset. Ocracoke is such a magical, peaceful place! I cannot recommend it enough!