Complete 30 Year Guest Stories
The Klein Family - Virginia
Our vacations span from the early 1990s to just last year. During that time my kids have grown, and now come as adults with husbands and girlfriends. One son is now an Army Ranger, 1st LT, with the 82nd airborne in Iraq. My daughter is now a married woman who teaches 4th graders. We have always found that the weather, the water, the beach, and family created magic every time we come to the Outer Banks. For over 20 years we have come there at least once a year. Every time Twiddy provided the places where we could come and find the magic again. Thank you for this...it has defined an important part of our family.
The Flynn Family - Texas, Minnesota and the United Kingdom
Sixteen years ago, with five grown children with growing families, we needed a place to come together. Our older son heard of the Outer Banks in North Carolina and we rented two homes from the catalogue and that was the beginning of our sixteen year love affair with the “beach”. Twiddy homes, with the linen included, made our trip a lot easier. Their homes are well maintained, lovely residences to accommodate our then growing number of grandchildren. Last year we included a newly married member and a fiancée.
One week together has formed close bonds among the ten granddaughters and six grandsons, even though they live in Minnesota, Texas and the U.K. Often, phone conversations end with “See you at the beach.” Each year we celebrate birthdays, graduations, and engagements. We have been blessed to find and enjoy such a great place. With the friendly folks at Twiddy, we know our time at the beach will be delightful.
The Gray Family - Ohio
My extended family has been vacationing on OBX for many years, most of them with Twiddy. My husband, myself, and our two children have been there every year since our daughter was born in 1998. Her birthday is June 1st, and she has celebrated every birthday at the beach on the Outer Banks, in a Twiddy home.
My parents have been with us most years, along with my in-laws. My three sisters and their families, and my brother and sister in law and their families have joined us as much as possible. We have also had a cousin and his family from PA vacation with us for the last 4 years.
The largest group we ever had was in 2004 when we rented a total of 6 Twiddy homes and had more than 50 relatives down for the week. What a great lot of fun and chaos!
We definitely plan to vacation with Twiddy in the years to come, as a matter of fact, we have four houses rented for the first week in June, 2008!
The Curtin Family - Pennsylvania
Part of the reason we love the Outer Banks is the ability to bring our dog. He loves the water and running across the beach. At the end of the week, an older gentleman approached me who had spent the summer there in his house. He said "I've been down here all summer and I didn't see another kid, another adult, or another dog have as much fun as that dog of yours." So I guess the moral of the story is "dogs need vacations too."
The Bossu Family - Indiana, Illinois and Ohio
Our vacations on the Outer Banks with Twiddy and Company has been a yearly family reunion for the Bossu family and the highlight of our year for the past 10 years. We all come together from the Midwest cities of Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis to relax and enjoy the Corolla area. This tradition started as a 50-year wedding anniversary gift to our parents. Their grandchildren, 24 strong, have maintained and formed lasting bonds unlikely to have been formed without this fabulous yearly retreat to the Outer Banks. We love the area and love working with the family-oriented Twiddy and Company.
Highlights of our stay include the long walks along the beach towards the fence to catch glimpses of the wild horses; going to the Art Show at the Whalehead Club, and the Bossu Family Beach Olympics, moderated by Uncle Frank. Of course for the older crowd, a highlight is just relaxing in a wood-and-canvas chair underneath a big umbrella, with a good book and an occasional dip in the surf.
We are writing you this note on Thanksgiving weekend, and we can give thanks and consider ourselves blessed that our parents are still looking forward to our 2008 beach vacation, in the year of their 62nd wedding anniversary!
The Holt Family - Virginia
Our family had their first Duck vacation in 1991. We have been every year since, only missing one summer when we went to Disney World. Florida was having a heat wave that year and we certainly missed the cool ocean breezes that holiday.
We have many family stories about our trips to Duck but two of our favorites occurred during the summer that each of the boys were three years old. They are now seventeen and eleven.
At three, Chris was just beginning to understand about life cycles. One night there was a change in the water currents and many small minnows were left stranded on the beach. Chris spent most of the next morning throwing the minnows back into the water, one by one in an effort to save them. He tossed each small fish back into the water, and shouted “Swim fishies, swim.”
Our second son, Matthew, has always been our outgoing, social guy. The summer he was three, he introduced himself to nearly every visitor on our stretch of the beach. In the evenings as people came off the beach and passed our beach house they would wave to Matthew, who was up on the deck, and call out “Hey Matthew.” Duck, North Carolina became our favorite family vacation spot because of the beautiful beaches, the friendly people and the relaxed atmosphere. Who could want more?
The Long Family - Pennsylvania
Our first trip to the Outer Banks was in 1981, after I saw a small ad for Twiddy & Company in a magazine. My three children and I drove down accompanied by my sister and my mother. We thought it would be an opportunity for my mother to spend some time with her grandchildren. We stayed that year almost directly behind the Twiddy office in Duck. (Smolka II cottage, I think.) Our intent was never to make the sometimes long trip an annual tradition, but, in fact, we have gone down very year since then to the present, always with some blending of extended family and friends and incidentally, always with Twiddy. My sister has also gone every year, my daughter has gone all but one year when she was in a college internship, and my mother went along every year until her death. Several years ago, my wife and I added a quieter trip to the sound side to kayak and just relax.
We have had lots of memorable times; in the early years we tried inner tubes in the surf- now we have advanced to a kayak and boards, but always with the same results of being dumped in the waves. In 1983, we were delayed a day because my daughter was a participant in the Pennsylvania Miss T.E.E.N. contest and won- she wore her crown down to the shore. In 1986, we stayed during Hurricane Charley, and my mother proudly wore her Charley T-shirt that was available in stores within days. We have had ponies outside the house in Whalehead, a rip tide rescue in Ocean Sands, spectacular dolphin shows, and lots of great times walking on the beach and fun in the water. One year we had to drag my sister over the dunes to the beach because of a knee injury, and a photo shows the beach buggy we rented to get my mother to the ocean during her last two trips.
Over the years, our children have married and have children of their own. They still enjoy the Outer Banks and five of the grandchildren joined us this past year.
The Matthew Family - Pennsylvania
The Matthew Clan has taken an annual family "Beach Week" since the 60's -- Early years alternated between Lake Michigan and Wildwood NJ. Late 70's and 80's weeks were spent in Cape May NJ.
In 1991 we moved to the Outer Banks - so 2008 is our 18th year. We've celebrated high school and college graduations, "Grandpa and Gram's" 60th wedding anniversary, countless birthday celebrations including both Grandpa's and Gram's 90th birthdays. Some years, our extended family has also vacationed in Corolla, providing even more opportunity for celebration and family festivities.
We've spent endless hours on the beach (swimming, kayaking , boogie boarding, body surfing, walking, talking and watching the stars). We've crabbed in the sound, relaxed in the hot tub, cruised the art festival, tried hang gliding, caught up with the lives of our family, put puzzles together on rainy days and read lots of books. Since 2004 we've missed Grandpa but given how he loved these weeks together we know he still looks in on us! This year we will be celebrating Gram's 92nd birthday by spending two weeks at our very favorite home that we return to each year - Dances with Waves!
The O'shea Family and The Heubeck Family - Maryland
After checking with the children and grandchildren it seems our most memorable moments were the wild ponies wandering through the neighborhood and at one point coming right up to the porch, the dolphins swimming so close to the shore you felt you could touch them, the lightning strike in Corolla Village that burned two houses to the ground and that we watched from our deck and the opportunity for all the cousins to be together for an entire week of getting reacquainted.
The Ashe Family - Massachusetts
We came to the Outer Banks in 1991. We had been there a few times when my husband was with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and was working to make the upper end (where Corolla now is) from the state line to Duck a National Wildlife Refuge.
Our first rental was in 1991 up at Ocean Sands. Then a few years later we discovered “Corolla Light” and were hooked. It’s been a wonderful place for our family (all 19 of us). The children; young, teen, and in college, participate in most all the activities along with their parents and “Gramma.” “Grampa” likes the walks on the beach, reading, and watching his family enjoy this wonderful place in North Carolina.
It’s necessary now to rent two places; the Admiral’s “great” house and a condo near the village pond. With six sons, two daughter-in-laws, and three grandchildren we really have grown.
We’re looking forward to being with y’all once again in 2008. Our grandchildren start counting the days sometime in the Spring. They all agree it’s the best vacation ever! As do we.
Also listed…
Sand Sculpture Contests at Corolla Light
1996 – Turtle – No contest held
1997 – Man & Woman – 2nd place
1998 – Shark – 1st
1999 – Octopus – 1st
2000 – The Wave – 2nd
2001 – Castle & Dragon – 1st
2002 – Double Headed Dragon – 1st
2003 – Sponge Bob – 1st
2004 – X-Treme Kickball – 1st
2005 – Stegosaurus – 1st
2006 – The Last of Captain Hook – 1st
2007 – Crabby @ Corolla – 1st
The Anthony Family - California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia
Let me make an attempt to send along some fond remembrances of our yearly trips (14 consecutive thus far) to the wonderful shores of the Outer Banks...all of which have been booked thru Twiddy & Company.
During my military career, my wife and I had always wished to spend some quiet times near the ocean. After 31 years traveling around the world, and eventually settling in Maryland, we were finally able to fulfill that dream by vacationing 2 weeks each year on the northern part of the Outer Banks. We have recently expanded that to include a week in March concurrent with our anniversary. The Outer Banks is absolutely a marvelous place to stay. We always rent an oceanfront property as we truly enjoy the uninterrupted view from the house to the ocean. I like to think that if we look to the east hard enough, on a clear day we can see Spain.
We are usually joined by our children and their families. Our kids were of college age when we first stated this but are since all married with families. They look forward to joining us each year when they can find time from work. Usually it is for a week or so but this last year, they all came with their families for just about the full two weeks…traveling from California, Colorado, Connecticut and northern Virginia.
Some of the things we have enjoyed about the beach over the years: waking up to spectacular sunrises on the horizon...watching the wild horses nibble the grasses around the house...seeing a herd of deer in the evening while on a bike ride...the dolphins cavorting as they play up and down the shore...the flights of a unending variety of birds skimming the ocean as they trek southward in the fall...thousands of Monarch butterflies clustered in the bushes as they rest on their way south for the winter...long quiet walks on the beach...watching the children and now grandchildren playing in the sand and ocean...basking in the warm sun...collecting shells and finding that rare specimen...watching the sand crabs as they scatter every which way...finding that ever elusive sand dollar (we have over a dozen thus far)...riding horses in the surf...flying kites on a really windy day...staying warm and cozy on those infrequent rainy days...watching the ocean as passing storms whip it into a frenzy...sipping hot chocolate and doing intricate jigsaw puzzles as the wind and rain beats on the windows...marveling at the brilliant rainbows that usually follow...being entranced by the luxurious colors displayed by the sunsets...watching the moon rise over the horizon...nightly walks on a pitch black beach...gazing at the thousands of stars that light up the sky on a clear night..the peace and quiet that night encompasses.
We are in love with the Outer Banks and intend to continue coming there each year until we no longer are physically able on our own ...then we'll get somebody else to insure we get there.
The DiGioia Family - Pennsylvania
We began to vacation on the Outer Banks and were able to get the kind of accommodations that we needed for a big family like ours. We are looking forward to many more years. in the future.
The Harkins and Weiland Families - Pennsylvania and South Carolina
We have been vacationing on the OBX since 1995. I am attaching photos of our children over these years at the beach. The pictures are our twin daughters (now 15) and another couple's children (ages 16 and 13). We began vacationing together when we were next door neighbors in Virginia and both serving in the Air Force. We subsequently moved to Pennsylvania (the Harkins) and South Carolina (the Weilands). We still reunite each summer for a week at the Outer Banks.
Here are some beach memories that my daughter wrote up:
- Eating blueberry muffins on the beach house stairs
- Watching thunderstorms from the covered deck
- Eating pizza on the deck and catching up with each other
- Having water balloon fights in the pool
- Showering in the driveway in the rain
- Hunting for crabs on the beach at night
- Making pancakes and bacon for breakfast
- Curling up to watch movies late at night
- Playing foosball tournaments in the game room
- Having each parent have one night of dinner assigned to them
- Taking baths with all four of us in the jacuzzi
- Listening to bedtime stories
- Making up dances to Britney Spears songs
- Drinking piña coladas and margaritas
- Exchanging presents on the first night in the living room
- Having family game nights in the living room
Since 1994, my family has been traveling to the Outer Banks for a week of vacation every summer. Every year, we drive from Pennsylvania to the Outer Banks to meet old friends and go to the beach. Although we have taken trips to many other destinations, we have found that there is no better place to relax and make memories than the beaches and the towns of the Outer Banks, North Carolina.
Over the thirteen years that we have vacationed at “the beach”, as we have come to refer to it as, we have had so many memorable moments, inside jokes, and funny incidents that we will remember forever.
These are just a few of the many memories we have of our trips to the Outer Banks (from the children):
Every year we dig a hole big enough for us to sit in.
We always have water balloon fights and use floats as forts.
We eat pizza for dinner on the first night every year while we catch up on the past year.
One year, we were at the beach when it started to rain. We packed up our stuff and when we got home, it was pouring rain. We decided to run around and play in the driveway in the rain. It rained so hard that we decided to take showers in the rain. We shampooed our hair with the rainwater.
When we were really little, we all used to do everything together. I remember we would all go in the ocean at the same time, wearing our matching yellow life jackets, and get out together. When we would get home, we would all take a bath in the big jacuzzi together and then enjoy fresh-baked blueberry muffins on the stairs together.
Our favorite thing to do when it thunderstorms at the beach is to sit on our deck where it is covered and watch the lightning over the ocean. Every time it rains, we get comfy clothes on, get a bowl of popcorn or pistachios and sit outside and watch the storm.
The one place that we make most of our beach memories is in the living room of our house. On our first night of vacation, we always sit down in the living room and exchange gifts with each other. On some nights, we have family game nights when we pick a game, such as Pictionary, and split up into teams and play.
Another place that we make a lot of fun memories is in the kitchen. In the morning, it is always a tradition to make pancakes and bacon for breakfast. When we were little, the parents made the breakfast, but now that we are older, it is our turn to cook. Also, when we go to the beach every year, each parent has one night that they have to cook dinner. On my dad’s night, it is always fajitas. We always drink piña coladas and margaritas. For dessert, we always bake brownies or cookies and eat them while we are having family game nights.