A day at Manteo

Yesterday we took the kids and spent an entire day on Roanoke Island. This is where the original English colony in the United States was located, where Virginia Dare, the first white child born in the United States was born, and where the colonists disappeared without a trace...a mystery that still remains. My husband and I never come to the Outer Banks without visiting Manteo. It's one of our favorite little corners of the earth. We took the kids to visit the Elizabeth II, a replica of the ship the colonists traveled on. HT was all about this. He couldn't wait. Unfortunately, when we got on, there was a tourist "pirate ship" putting on a display in the water as well. They threw someone overboard (obviously all part of the act) and that was all HT needed to see. He announced he didn't want to get on the pirate ship, and he wanted off this ship. He looked around a little, but mostly was happier on the dock where he could keep an eye on the pirate ship. The kids were also able to see a black smithing demonstration, and JR was the recipient of the nail the black smith made. We took the kids to a theater show in the afternoon which was loved by all! We also visited an interactive children's museum about the colony and of course had a good lunch and an even better dinner. The restaurant we found for dinner was by far the nicest restaurant the kids had ever eaten at. JC was a bit annoyed when her applesauce arrived and the rest of her food didn't. We explained that the food arrived in courses, and this was "round 1". They were all very pleased that we carried the meal all the way through to "round 3"...dessert. We arrived home last evening in time for another beautiful sunset over the sound. It was a wonderful day!