Southern Style: Family Visit

This week we had an island full of family visiting the Outer Banks. Keith's brother Scott, his wife Suzanne, and their girls Lydia, Abigail, and Courtenay came for a week of vacation. Suzanne's sister Deb, her husband Kirk, and their kids Kate, Jack, and Caroline were also here. Each of the families had their own house rented for the week, but of course we did a lot of things together.

One highlight was parasailing. We had 6 that were interested in giving it a try. The day was just perfect with light winds and a clear sky. The visibility was fantastic. Here are some of the pictures of our outing.

Keith and I were the first to go up

The view was beautiful. Silver Lake (where Southern Style is docked in Ocracoke is visible in the background.

Coming back down

Nieces Courtenay and Abigail were next on the launch pad. Have a fun ride girls.

Up and way

Floating above the sound with Ocracoke and lighthouse in the background

And then it was the cousin's turn. Caroline on the left and Kate on the right.

Courtenay was unphased by their flight high above the Pamlico Sound.

Here are the cousins being dipped into the water

What a fun day

Clamming was another activity we introduced to the group. They did quite well. Here is the gang on Hog Shoal after digging for their dinner. Many of them had never had fresh clams before and certainly not clams they caught themselves.

We did pretty good getting 288 clams. Everyone tried them and even those that had never really had clams seemed to like them. Cousin Jack was really into them. The girls set up on the porch of the rental and enjoyed some of their freshly caught clams just after steaming.

Left to right Courtenay, Caroline, Abby, Kate and Lydia.

There was some beach time, of course. Everyone went to Portsmouth and searched for some shells to take home for keep sakes. We did pretty good. There were enough Scotch bonnets for everyone to have one. They also had time to relax in the shallow water just off the island's inlet.

Just some of the Scotch bonnets from Portsmouth.

Here are all of us chillin' in the shallows. Our guests were really easy to entertain. They didn't even require beach chairs.

Our friend's center console, Lab Cab, was very nice to have during this time. It was just perfect for evening cruises. Everyone said how relaxing it was to cruise around the sound to watch the sunset.

All of the nieces and their cousins in the bow of Lab Cab.

(Left to right Jack Abby, Courtenay, Kate, Caroline, Lydia)

Even the Mackey's doggie, Brie came along for the ride. Although I think she was exhausted by the time sunset came around.

Sunset in Silver Lake Harbor during our sunset cruise.

Luckily the weather was cooperative and the family had some beach time on Ocracoke. The young adults got a big charge out of driving the Jeep on the beach.

Lydia, Courtenay, and Abby in the Jeep on the beach.

One full day was spent introducing everyone to off shore fishing. Six of the girls had a charter with one of the fishing fleet boats from here in Ocracoke. The Cap'N B is a great boat. Marty the captain and Nick the first mate are absolute pros and all around nice guys. They took Suzanne, Lydia, Abby, Courtenay, Caroline, and Kate out for the day. Since they can only take 6 on Cap'N B, we also took Southern Style out with Deb, Kirk, Jack, Keith, and I.

Leaving Ocracoke at "O Dark 30" the girls on Cap'N B picture taken from Southern Style

Sun just coming up around the morning clouds as Cap'N B heads to the Gulf Stream

It was a pretty day, however, Southern Style got skunked for the first time. That was a hard pill to swallow as we have always caught something every time we have taken Southern Style to the "Stream". Luckily the girls on Cap'N B did well.

The girls with their catch from the day.

From top to bottom their fish are a King Mackerel, a Mahi Mahi, and a citation Wahoo.

As I have described before, a citation is given when someone catches a fish of a type and size notable for the area. In North Carolina wahoo over 40 pounds are considered citations; and their wahoo was 51 pounds. Courtenay reeled it in so she got the credit for the citation. That will be an exciting certificate for her wall.

Courtenay posing with her citation wahoo

Kate also had a very nice bull Mahi that weighted in at 15 lbs

They all got a kick out of watching the fish get cleaned and cut up. Brandon who is the professional fish cleaner for the Ocracoke fleet does a fantastic job and is fast too.

Brandon cleaning their catch. Watch and learn guys.

The King Mackerel that was caught went into our smoker. Everyone got to take some smoked fish home with them.

The last night with everyone here we met at our friend's Russ and Michelle's house for a cookout. Russ got a beef tenderloin he grilled and we also grilled some of the Mahi Mahi and Wahoo for all to try. All the meats along with home made sides made for quite a spread. After dinner all of us went to a local restaurant, Dajio, to hear Russ and his band play.

Russ with some of the family during one of the band's breaks. They are such groupies.

Abby selfie with Uncle Keith and her dad, Scot at the bar. Sister Lydia photo bombing at the far left.

It was a wonderful week with family. We so hope everyone had a great time learning some about what this quirky little island called Ocracoke is like. Keith and I certainly enjoyed showing them around and being able to visit. Our nieces and their cousins are all grown up, and it gets harder and harder to get everyone together. We wish all of them the best in the upcoming school year. And to their parents we hope they were able to relax and unwind. Do not work too hard now that summer vacation has come to an end.

The Mackeys leaving on the Swan Quarter ferry. Bye guys, we miss you already.