The Outer Banks

December 1-3, 2018

TL;DR: Bri grew up in Virginia and spent a lot of summers here, so it was fun to finally share it with Jess. And Bri’s Dad came and met us there, which was awesome. Of course, it was the off season so it was pretty dead and not a ton was open, but we still had a great time and can’t wait to come back when it’s warm.

The sights

The beach

We stayed right on the beach at our RV park, which made it easy to get up and take morning walks on the beach, which was really nice. Commence daydreams about beach houses.

Outer Banks Brewing

Nice spot for breakfast and beers. Also man mosas?

Wright Brothers Memorial

This is done really well, with lots of old relics from when the Wright Brothers were here testing and flying planes, including a propellor and other things from the first flight. First three distances were a little underwhelming when you see it laid out, but the fourth one was about 852 feet and pretty substantial. The actual memorial on top of the hill was understated but impressive.

We thought it was super interesting that the brothers had zero connection to the area but came here because it met their needs for flying: soft sand for landing, winds, and remote enough to stay out of the press. They also still have an active (small) private air strip right by the memorial (note to selves: We should fly in one day).

Duck

Walked down the .75-mile boardwalk, which was beautiful and practically deserted because it was the off-season. Went to a little bar called Fishbones where we got $2 drafts and crab dip and watched football.

The Blue Point

This is the old school restaurant where Bri’s parents, Bill and Sara, used to go for “parents night” when they came here with the kids and wanted to get away. It had been totally renovated and updated since Bill had seen it last, over 20 years ago.

Cape Hatteras lighthouse

In 1999, this lighthouse was successfully relocated 2,900 feet from the spot on which it had stood since 1870—and it never tilted more than half a degree the entire time (!).

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum

So we thought this would be more about shipwrecks, but it actually showcased:

The Civil War and the two ironclad ships that fought there
A big display on scuba diving
When the OBX became a fishing destination in the 50s and 60s
A small display of Blackbeard’s ship

There was also an awesome elderly gentleman at the front who was very excited to see us and kept cracking jokes. We were most likely the only people he’d seen all week.

And then this happened…

Saw lots of funny signs and stops once we got near the Outer Banks, namely “I got crabs at Dirty Dick’s.”

Also saw many a confederate sign… cool cool cool.

When you’re in an RV, taking a ferry is pretty relaxing! We worked, read, and even watched a few shows during the Okracoke and Cedar Island ferries (which took about four hours total). Lovely.

As we were driving away from the ferry on Cedar Island, we saw a guy walking along the highway. He was the same guy we had seen the day before, AND the day before that, right where we were staying, and previously more north. He must have been walking day/night. We were quite curious about his story. Pretty old but moving at a damn good pace.