Since it first became an official holiday in 1914, Mother's Day has really focused on two themes—mothers and family. The Outer Banks seems to represent the best part of both of those.
That was on full display today along the beach. Families of every sort were enjoying an absolutely beautiful spring day—the temperature was in the low 80s, the breeze from the south around 10-12 mph, the sun was bright without a cloud in front of it . . . even the Atlantic Ocean, it seems, cooperated and kept the temperature in the surf tolerable.
(That can be a rare occurrence—springtime water temperatures are typically in the 50s.)
It is wonderful to be on the beach and hear kids laughing—ok, squealing—in delight. Fathers, in an image that seems to be a picture from time immemorial, walk into the surf holding the had of a two or three-year-old.
it was interesting; looking north along the beach in Kitty Hawk to Pelican's Perch—that's the pink house that's the last home still standing east of the Beach Road in that area—there were kids playing on the beach, dads with their children and a long row of mothers sitting in beach chairs and towels relaxing.
A fitting way to spend Mother's Day.