Saturday, October 11, 2014

{ The Old Gray House ~ aka The Shell Shop 2014 }

Hello everybody!!  Christina has been nagging the crud-muffins out of me to get this post shared.....she wants to 'move on' to fun fall things, like carving pumpkins and costume parties!  She keeps leaving me little notes stuck here and there around the dorm that count down the days until Halloween.....goodness, that is SO Christina!  Soooo.....I am excited to finally be sharing about our visit to The Old Gray House a couple months ago.  We very much enjoy spending time with and talking with Ms. Mary Parr.  She and her husband own and run The Old Gray House.  Ms. Mary runs the gift shop inside and Mr. Dewey does all the gardening and handles the shells and cool rocks that he sells in the shacks outside.  They have been doing this together since 1988!  Dewey Parr is a grandson of the Gray family and he told us that the Gray family and their descendants have been living on Hatteras Island since the early 1600's!!  Wow!

Now, on with our visit.....as you more than likely read in the last post, we had to stop TWICE to let Christina have her photo taken with her head sticking thru those 'head in a hole' thingies.  I was really getting impatient with her but was really trying to have as much sisterly love as I could muster, even though I could have cared less about those silly painted boards.  So, I was super glad when she agreed to stop after the second one and go to The Old Gray House!  I could not wait!!!!  Here we are upon arrival!  I love this old boat they have out in front.....it's the perfect place for a photo-op!


We decided to go exploring out back before heading into the shop.  This year they added this really cool replica of the Cape Hatteras Light.  Goof-ball Christina suggested a game of "try and keep up with the light beam" which she convinced me to do with her.  It was fun except that I kept tripping on the shells cause my sandals kept falling off my feet!  Ugh!  I got so frustrated cause it let Christina win every single time!  Plus, those pointy things on the shells were totally poking the underside of my foot and it really hurt!  Christina didn't seem to notice my whining though.....she was too giddy, reveling in her multiple victories! 


After putting my sandals back on for what seemed like the 95th time, I looked up and Christina was gone...she literally vanished in a matter of seconds.  I called her name and there was no answer.....but trust me, I didn't get worried.  I figured she was up to something and muttered my thoughts out loud knowing full well she would hear them.  Within seconds, I heard her giggling and she jumped out from behind the lighthouse yelling; "Scared you, scared you......I bet you peed your pantaloons!!"  She didn't scare me of course and I didn't pee myself of course.....but I let her think she did cause that's was sisters do, right?  ;)  And then I had the delayed thought; pantaloons???  Okay now, THAT was totally random - even for my cray-cray sister, Christina!


Next I headed over to this really pretty bird bath.  As I got up close, I was mesmerized by the water.  I loved the way it was soooooo still that you could see yourself reflected in it perfectly.  It was so quiet and peaceful.......for thirty seconds that is, until I heard Christina yelling wildly; "Wheeee!!  Whoop, Whoop, Wheeeeeee!!!"


 I looked behind me and there she was, up in the trees swinging on these beautiful glass balls!  She totally freaked me out!  "Christina, honest-to-Pete, be careful!!!"  I should have known her reply would be that she was fine and that I should come and join her.  Yep, you guessed it, that was exactly what she said, word for word!  Boy, do I know my sister.  "No thanks, sissy!  I'm not crazy enough to get that high up in the air without some sort of safety harness!  Trust me girl, you got all the crazy genes in the family!"  I teased back.


Christina begged and begged me to join her but to no avail.  I mean it, seriously I did get ALL the rational, level-headed genes and there was no way I was climbing a tree and swinging from a glass ball!  Nope, not gonna happen!  She was so lost in her fun that she stayed up there forever.  Finally, I figured a way to get her down.....I challenged her to climb the gnarly old log I climbed last summer (you can see me here) and that got her down lickety-split!  :) 


Christina is much more nimble than I am and she scurried right up the log without even a huff or a puff!  She made it look so dang easy!  Sometimes I wish I was more like my little sis! 


The final stop had to be in front of the shack with all the buoys hanging around!  This is the second year in a row for me to have a photo standing in front of the buoys.  I love all the cool colors, shapes and textures!  Oh buoy, it was fun!  (Hee hee, did you get that????)


As we left to head into the shop and visit with Ms. Mary, I was surprised that Christina hadn't tried to scurry up the rope of buoys hanging right beside me!  You can be sure that I kept that thought completely to myself, lol!  She certainly didn't need me giving her any ideas as she has enough of her own!

So, in closing, if you ever drive down from Kitty Hawk or Nags Head to see the beautiful Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, right before you get to the entrance to the Light, be sure to look for the road on the left, opposite Conner's Grocery store.  You'll see a sign to the "Shell Shop"!  Be sure to stop by to say "hello" to Mary & Dewey Parr......you'll be thankful you did!

  18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:


Christina's outfit is the Easy Breezy outfit 2013 by American Girl® Doll
Cindy's sundress & sandals are from GOTY Kailey's 'Meet' outfit, 2004 by American Girl®
Cindy's knit cover-up was purchased from a consignor who makes 18" doll clothes and sells them at The Old Gray House.          

24 comments:

  1. Awww looks you guys had so much fun! Though crazy as Christina is. xD I'm just glad she didn't hurt herself in all her mad scrambling everywhere. =D
    ~Adaline

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    1. Hi Adaline, Hahaha, I agree, Christina is just sooo cray-cray! But I love her and secretly wish I had a few of her crazy genes! ~Cindy ♥

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  2. It looks like you guys had a lot of fun! I would love a place like that, it looks so cool! :)
    ~<3Ginny~

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    1. Hey Ginny! We had a blast. You should really go sometime if you can! ~Cindy ♥

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  3. This is really cute, and of course, all the pictures turned out wonderful! I love Christina's hair like that with braids! Their outfits are also adorable as usual. :)

    ~ Mint

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    1. Hi there Mint! I agree that Christina's hair is so cute with those small braids. She hats it when I do larger braids and says she much prefers the ones she does cause they are more 'trendy'! ;) But seriously, her hair is the perfect style for those kinda braids. Mine is so layered that it won't all stay in the braid and I look like I just took my head out of a blender, lol! Thanks for your sweet comments!! ~Cindy ♥

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    1. Thanks so much! It boatloads of fun, for sure! ~Cindy ♥

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  5. Wow! That looks like a ton of fun!:) Christina, I love your hairstyle and Cindy, I love your sweater!:)
    -Emma-

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    1. Hi Emma!! BUOY did we have fun, LOL!! Christina says 'you're so sweet' that you like her hairstyle....she always likes to do some sort of braids when we go to the beach. I helped her with the ones in the back cause that's what sisters are for, right? I love my sweater too, Emma. It's so versatile - I can wear it when I get chilly on a summer evening or I can use it to layer with jeans or I can even use it as a beach cover-up! It's awesome! Thanks for your sweet comments! ~Cindy ♥

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  6. Looke like you had a lot of fun! Amazing photos! All the little doll sized things there are super cool! I really love the lighthouse! :)

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    1. Thank you so much! The little lighthouse was definitely the most funest thing we did - now, my feet didn't think so but they got over it, lol!! ~Cindy ♥

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  7. Hahaha! Christina is so silly! She just loves to explore doesn't she? :)
    You're a great big sister, too, Cindy! :)
    ~Jacynn~

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    1. Hi Jaclynn, YES, Christina is a silly girl but with a big heart! And, oh 'buoy' does she love to explore - more than most people I might add! I try to be a good big sister but sometimes Christina does 'push' me to my limit, lol! Still, love her to pieces so it's never really a problem! ~Cindy ♥

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  8. The sounds like a ton of fun!! Silly Christina!

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    1. Yes, yes, yes....a TON of FUN!! :) :) :) Can't believe it will be a whole year til we can go back! ~Cindy ♥

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  9. Hello, Lol i just went their yesterday too! its awesome isnt it cindy? btw i just got Isabelle! She says she'd love to meet you Cindy :)

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    1. Ohhhh, that is so cool! So now you know just how cool of a place The Old Gray House it! Did you meet Ms. Mary? She is so sweet! Tell Isabelle we all said Hi!!!!!!! ~Cindy ♥

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  10. WOW, your site is so pretty! I love your pictures! I was wondering if any of you want to check out my blog! It's a little hard to get there but once you get there just bookmark me or favorite me! Here are the steps you do to get to Skyla's Dolls we have American Girl dolls and old bisque dolls! I'm 14 and homeschooled and LOVE cats, so we might have a lot to talk about. Here are the steps #1 go to Google and type http://skyladolls.blogspot.com/2014/11/blog-post.html or copy and paste and I should be the first one to come up and click me! #2 Then click Home! #3 Then bookmark or favorite me and come back all the time without the hassle! #4 ENJOY!!!! Skyla

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    1. Hello Skyla! Thank you for your kind words! We love blogging about our girls....just wish we had more time to do it! Your blog is super cute! Love your cat named 'Turkey'! Reminds us of a cat I had once....her name as Prissy...and boy was she! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! ~D3 Girls ♥

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  11. Hey, Everyone I'm having a contest on my blog for American Girl and Frozen stuff going on now! Here is the link! http://www.skyladolls.blogspot.com/

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  12. Wow, cool! I hope I am not annoying you commenting on every post. :D

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    1. Not at all! We love our readers to post their comments!! It's you who make it worth doing! ~D3 Girls♥

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