Beach selfies and climbing 268 steps to the top of the Hatteras Lighthouse with children
In preparation for our upcoming trip to Europe, Laura recommended that I get a selfie stick, so that we could take pictures of ourselves without actually having to socialize with people from another country. I decided to test out the selfie stick at the beach.
Having a selfie stick doesn’t mean I’m a narcissist, right?
Nope. I’m a narcissist.Having taken plenty of pictures of me by the pool, me on the deck, and me on the porch, we headed back to the beach, just in time for the perfect combination of storms and shark-infested waters.
Sharknado ahoy!!!
Later, the storms subsided. Since Brooke had to go home early, we decided to take the traditional group shot.
Hey! We are all happy to be taking this picture!…Or maybe not so happy.
To change up the beach activities, I offered to take McKenna and Tabby on a walk to the Hatteras Lighthouse, which was about 1.7 miles away, a distance we covered only with many, many breaks. This was break number 379, a break that was apparently necessitated by the fact that McKenna had finished the M&M’s purchased on the previous break.
Once we reached the lighthouse, the two girls convinced me that they REALLY wanted to go to the top of the lighthouse. Spoiler alert – this was a lie.
Taking these two up a narrow spiral staircase with over 200 stairs. What could go wrong?In spite of the numerous warnings I provided about the steepness of the stairs and the height of the lighthouse, Tabby realized that she was afraid of heights… when she reached step 7. Fortunately, McKenna was inexplicably unafraid of the narrow stairs. Given her fear of the six-foot-high monkey bars at the playground, which are so dizzyingly high that McKenna has informed be that she will only be ready to attempt them when she turns six, this was the last thing I expected. The shame of being left behind by McKenna was enough to inspire Tabby to climb the stairs.
Not pictured – Tabby glued to the interior wall of the lighthouse.I’m pretty sure Tabby’s grip left an imprint on those bars.Bench for the elderly or for traumatized five-year-olds.To five year olds, this walk home constituted something like a death march.
Having completed the grueling return trip, it was time for a quick infusion of sugar.
2 responses to “Beach selfies and climbing 268 steps to the top of the Hatteras Lighthouse with children”
[…] First on our list of things to see at Ocracoke was the lighthouse. The original Ocracoke lighthouse was the oldest of all of the Outer Banks lighthouses; maybe that’s why the inside was closed to the public. Mercifully, we wouldn’t be able to climb the stairs of this lighthouse with children the way I did at the Hatteras lighthouse. […]
[…] The new island was near the lighthouse, which, conveniently, was where we could buy a permit to drive along the beach near Cape Point. Before going out to the point, in an effort to wear down the pent up energy of several of the children, Mark took them to the top of the Hatteras Lighthouse, climbing its 268 steps. […]
2 responses to “Beach selfies and climbing 268 steps to the top of the Hatteras Lighthouse with children”
[…] First on our list of things to see at Ocracoke was the lighthouse. The original Ocracoke lighthouse was the oldest of all of the Outer Banks lighthouses; maybe that’s why the inside was closed to the public. Mercifully, we wouldn’t be able to climb the stairs of this lighthouse with children the way I did at the Hatteras lighthouse. […]
[…] The new island was near the lighthouse, which, conveniently, was where we could buy a permit to drive along the beach near Cape Point. Before going out to the point, in an effort to wear down the pent up energy of several of the children, Mark took them to the top of the Hatteras Lighthouse, climbing its 268 steps. […]