Outer Banks, North Carolina

The Outer WHAT? I had never ever heard of the Outer Banks until a friend of ours was talking about this place he goes twice a year. He had been going down for many years, so there must be something nice about this place. So, of course, I google it. It looks nice, looked like a cute oceanside community. I wasn’t so impressed yet (skeptical girl here) because I grew up not far from Kennebunkport and took the ocean for granted (which I should never have taken it for granted because some people never see the ocean their whole lives)

 

Now I want you to know that this place is a hidden GEM. I’ve been there twice now and I’ll go back again. Let me tell you why…. The Outer Banks consists of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina. The islands are a string of towns on this area that have such unique offerings individually. I’ll go into several towns, but not all of them. They are so cute, very oceany vibe (if that’s a word), the house colors are bright and colorful – kind of reminds me of Key West houses.

 

 

Is it affordable? Yes, I think it is. We saved money by driving down as it’s only about 12 hours from our home. I look at it like the drive is part of the adventure. We took the truck because we wanted to bring our electric bikes (Rad Rovers) with us. If you don’t have the extra time then fly and rent an SUV. We don’t have little ones so the drive is rather quiet, no screaming children (you can tell I’ve been there done that). We usually stop once on the way down for a couple hours to nap. We stop and get a good breakfast in the morning and try to find a place that’s not a chain breakfast place to do more exploring and trying the local cuisine. Other than my husband critiquing my driving it’s not a bad trip. Either way I think you will enjoy this place. The reason I say rent an SUV is because you can drive some of the beaches here and you need an SUV or a truck to do this.

 

 

I stayed in Nags Head and I found it to be close enough, but far enough away from lots of people. If you like your privacy… the beaches aren’t super crazy crowded, but you’re close to restaurants and shopping if that’s what you want. Crowds are NOT my thing. Does that make me anti-social?? or just private? Perhaps a post for another time.

 

 

Things to do in the Outer Banks are numerous. As I said above you can drive your vehicle on the beach in Corolla and many other beaches, now some are by permit only and you need to be sure you check this out before you go. Driving on the beach is really weird to me because we can do that in Kennebunkport. It’s exciting because it sort of feels like you’re doing something you shouldn’t (you know what i’m saying!). If you’re lucky, you’ll see the Wild Spanish Mustangs. The story goes that the horses were coming over to America on Spanish ships and when the ships wrecked, they swam to shore and stayed here for hundreds of years now. They are protected and you’re not allowed to touch them or feed them. You can take Mustang tours and companies will take you out on the beach to find them. We found 5 of them on our own while driving, it was so fun. See the photos below.

 

 

Do you enjoy surf fishing? I can’t tell you how many people we saw fishing. They had what looked like homemade fishing contraptions that went on either the front of a truck or the rear that held fishing poles and coolers. I didn’t see lots of fish being caught, but everyone looked pretty content with their poles in the ocean and a cold beer in their hand with music blaring. Not a bad day if you ask me. There are many shops around that will rent you poles and sell bait.

 

 

The Wright Brothers Museaum is located in Kill Devils Hills and its one of the attractions I suggest you see. The historical value of this monument is very cool. You will see the actual hill that the Wright brothers launched their plane from and see the markers of the flight length they got on their first flights. Just imagine… we can take a plane now and go anywhere in the world and it all started right here. There is a lot of walking to the monument on the hill, so wear comfortable shoes.

 

 

Jocky’s Ridge State Park is in Nags Head and it’s 427 acres of natural sand dunes. You’ll see people flying colorful kites, sand surfing, hang gliding. They do offer hang gliding lessons at Jocky Ridge as well, (sand is a great soft surface to land on). I hear that sunset’s on the top of the sand dunes is amazing (we didn’t make a sunset unfortunately). You’ll be able to wander around the grounds and the dunes, it’s just beautiful in a dry desert type environment. 

 

 

The Elizabethan Gardens are located within the Fort Raleigh National Historic site. It’s 10 acres of beautifully botanical manicured gardens. We went in April and the flowers wern’t in full bloom yet. You can tell the staff put a lot of work into pruning and caring for the plants and shrubs. Weddings can be booked at this venue as well. Imaging how beautiful the photos would be. They have a small butterfly house… it’s cute and they have butterfly attracting bushes all around.

 

 

The Elizabeth II is a replica of a 1500’s sailing ship. This is located on Roanoake Island. I love reading historical fiction and really wanted to see this ship. It always amazes me that colonists traveled across the oceans in such sparce accommodations. See some photos below. Wow, we certainly live and travel very cushy now.

 

 

Traveling from Corolla to the “end” of the barrier islands ends in Ocracoke and it will take you most of the day to explore. I thought it was so cool to see how each town has its own personality. We stopped several times to check out something beautiful along the way. We would stop at random beaches and found them mostly empty.  Sitting on the beach with my Turkish Towel and an adult beverage and sometimes a nap in the sun is glorious!   We love to explore off-the beaten path places, we ask locals where to go etc. One time we were in Manteo and talking with a local about where we should eat. He gives us directions far from where we were – As we were driving there, I even questioned if he sent us on a wild goose chase. Great Gut Deli is what we were looking for….eventually we came upon the spot! It was on the water, by a boat repair business. It didn’t look like much from the outside, but let me tell you….. the sandwiches this place put out will blow your mind. Only 2-3 people worked in the place and there was no waitresses – you go up and order and pick up and go sit on the porch. It is located in Wanchese. This place was hopping with locals and people who were working in the area – this place is a gold mine. Thank you Mr. Local Gentlemen, for referring us to this special place.

 

 

I mentioned earlier that we brought our electric bikes with us.  We would go out to the hard sand area of the beach and ride for miles and miles. Stopping to talk to the fisherman and other “rad rover” people was so fantastic. “Where are you from” always seemed to start the conversation flowing. Down the beach from our rental house was a place called Fish Heads Bar and Grill. We made it a habit to go to Fish Heads several times because we could ride our bikes back and forth….hey don’t judge… I felt like I might have worked off a few of my beers by peddling lol.

 

 

One thing I got talked into by my husband, was taking a ride in a bi-plane open cockpit airplane. We booked with OBX Airport in Manteo. Let me say, I do NOT like heights. Did I do it? Yup I did. It was a windy day but the pilot was very skilled at navigating the wind.  She was amazing and she knew I didn’t like heights so she avoided the “tricks” that she was going to do for fear of me losing my lunch. THANK YOU PILOT LADY!! The husband loved it and was looking all around at the sights. I, on the other hand, was hanging on for dear life and afraid to take any pictures. I’ll admit, I’m glad I did it, I was proud of myself for facing my fear.  Next time he will go by himself and I’ll be on the beach.

 

 

One last thing you need to know about is about the rental market down here. I’ve never seen so many rentals! The houses are beautifully colored, blues, greens, pinks and yellows…. just beautiful. They are all named too. You can use VRBO or Airbnb, or even a private rental company. Most places have linen and towel drop off services, so when you get there you’ll have a bin of clean linens and when you leave you put your dirty linens in the tote and leave it outside. You pretty much can get anything you want down here…. dog friendly, hot tub, on the ocean, smoking or non-smoking. You ask for it and I’m sure you’ll find it. The rentals are very reasonably priced. You can find houses that will sleep 2 to 24.

 

I recommend you check out the Outer Banks, you’ll thank me.

 

See you next time!!

 

Sharon