Outer Banks - Back to School Trip

 

Before the school year kicked off, we took a last summer trip to the outer banks.   Apparently it was not enough the kids spent all summer at the lake and the pool, but really needed a vacation during the summer.   D picked the Outer Banks.  On our way we stopped by Halifax, NC and learned quite a bit about some NC and Revolutionary War history we didn't know before.  It was almost the 250 anniversary for Halifax Resolve.

After a lengthy drive, we arrived to a new hotel on the beach.   While in the Outer Banks we stayed in Kill Devil Hills and enjoyed some beach and pool fun.  We ventured out each day to an OBX attraction.  We saw some lighthouses, visited the Wright Brothers national park, the sand dunes and visited Manteo with it's reproduction of both one of the first colonies in America and one of the ships that would have been used to make the journey.   D is very interested in the Roanoke Colony and had to visit all the sites.   

We had great weather until the last day and the largest Hurricane of 2025 blew into Kill Devil Hills.   We left a few hours before that happened.

Montreal

 

Since we had too attend the F1 race for three out of the five days we were in the city, we tried to fit in as much as we could to see Montreal.  Montreal is a very European feeling city, including a great subway, a lot of French influences in culture and architecture.  During the warm summer, it has a vibrant street life with parks and festivals.  We also were able to check off another Olympic summer games spot!

Our trip started with a long layover in LaGuardia where we went to one of the flagship airport lounges and one of the nicest we've been to - Lauren got a free facial as the massage timeslots were already booked.  LaGuardia itself is also dramatically nicer than the last time we were there and it's like a different place.

Our time in Montreal was great, the weather was perfect, and we enjoyed the city a lot.  

We saw the beautiful riverfront and old-town, the historic Olympic venue now turned into stadiums and a science center, art museums, a French EDM festival, and some of the most authentic European inspired architecture this side of the Atlantic.  The city ends on the river and the river front is a wonderful pedestrian area full of shops and restaurants. 

Lauren did have to stop by the city's Cathedral and Art Museum.  The Art Museum is housed over four buildings, linked by underground and has a few impressive items.   It is quite different than other art museums in its lay-out, woven floor-by-floor routing and housed some different exhibits.  The city 

also has a piece of the Berlin wall at one of its metro stops, which is a great example of the city's quirky, artsy but also refined and upscale vibe.

We did not know enough French to survive, but being F1 weekend, we heard dozens of languages all over the city.  We have now been to the three major Canadian cities and will probably not venture back until we can ride the train across the country.

Canadian Grand Prix

 

For Christmas Lauren got me tickets to the Canadian Grand Prix, including access to one of the tents - low-tier, we're not in the class to afford high-end anything at these Formula 1 events!  But low-tier F1 is not exactly slumming it...

Montreal was a cool city and although the public transport was busy, it was only a minor inconvenience to get out to the track which is on an island in the river and surrounds the Casino - all pretty neat stuff. 

The weather for the race was a little warm but honestly terrific - the year before it was a torrential rain the entire weekend so we were glad for the pretty weather when we were there.  

The race itself was pretty interesting, with an unexpected winner, but there wasn't a ton of action on track for us to see for some of it.  The lower category races were pretty interesting though, especially the F1 Academy races.  

Disney Dream and Cozumel

 

  Our time on the Disney Dream was wonderful, everyone had an incredible trip.  There were a few things we weren't able to do, like see some of the live shows, because by the end of the night the whole crew was usually too tired to go back out.  We were able to go to the sit-down dinner most nights and it was such a treat!  The characters were all over the ship at different times and there were a lot of things for everyone to do from teens clubs to Mickey dance parties.  

  During the cruise we got off the boat at two stops, first at Cozumel where we booked our own day at a beach club that was so much fun.  They had beautiful water, slides, a splash pad, and a floating obstacle course.  We spent the whole day and were sad to leave but excited to get back to the boat - and to buy some ice cream at the port on our way back.  Read a bit more about it on my yelp review

  Later we stopped at Disney's island; Castaway Cay.  As with everything Disney it was well thought out but busy.  They had a ton of things to do but mostly we just enjoyed relaxing on the very pretty beach and in the water for a bit.  The weather was pretty hot so when it was time to start heading back to the ship, we were ready for it despite the great day.  

  The 5-day cruise was about the perfect length, any longer and I think we would have all been exhausted.  The shorter 3-day cruise would also be fine for us to return to, but we're glad we had 5 days to see everything and get the full experience.