OBX

The Outer Banks (OBX) is a group of islands off the eastern shore of North Carolina.  My hometown friends will find it odd that I need to explain that, but some of my mid-western friends have never heard of them.  I know, shocking.  Then again, my hometown peeps probably have no idea about Macinac Island, so let's not judge.  

Besides the countless trips I took there as a girl, the Outer Banks is also special to us because it is where Rob proposed.  It was on the beach right after we toured the Wright Brothers Memorial, ah the pilot wife life.  So when we were planning our sojourn east, we knew a stop here was a must.

Before we left Virginia, we picked up Cousin Andrew at the airport.  He flew in that morning from Kentucky to spend this leg of the trip with us.  You may remember Andrew from a previous camping trip. He is now 21, a student at University of Kentucky, and an all around great guy.  

Woohoo!

Andrew missed crossing the bridge onto the island.

For this leg, we were camping at the Hatteras KOA in Rodanthe.  So, the island is Hatteras and the town is Rodanthe.  When we arrived we realized just how spoiled we were with the first two campgrounds.  Williamsburg and VA Beach were nice, quiet military campgrounds.  The KOA was... not.  We were really glad we splurged and booked a beachfront campsite.  This kept us out of the noise and general hub-bub.

Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore.

As long as you faced East you could pretend you were alone.

Rob is such a cool Dad. No way would I let them up there.

Beyond the sea of camping humanity, we could see the sunset into the Pamlico Sound.

If you over looked the crowding, the location of this camp ground couldn't be beat.  And they did have a stellar pool with a waterslide and a jumping pad, which the kids loved.  Our first full day here we had a great time flying kites on the beach.

We certainly got our money out of this $5 kite!

Anne's sandcastle.

Teaching Andrew the finer points of Skip-bo.

The next day we drove up to Nags Head and visited the Wright Brothers Memorial.  Then we had lunch at Awful Arthur's (my favorite and the place we ate right after getting engaged).  Our final stop that day was Jockey's Ridge.  This is a state park which boasts the largest sand dunes on the East Coast.  I have fond memories of running and rolling down the dunes when I was a kid.  On our visit, it was just unbearably hot!

Model of the Wright Flyer

Finding this beetle was a highlight of the trip

It was huge!

More oysters!

It's like the desert!

Smiling despite the heat.

Up next, the Hatteras Lighthouse! This amazing structure was first lit in 1870, although it didn't receive its iconic black and white pattern until 1873.  In 1999 it was moved 2,900 feet inland to protect it from erosion.  You can read all about that engineering feet in the old lighthouse keepers quarters, which is now a museum.  It still stands as the tallest brick lighthouse in the Western Hemisphere.   And yes, we climbed all 257 steps!

Ryan had on his serious face.

See the line where the sea meets the sky, it CALLS ME!

After another hot day of sight seeing, we were happy to take a dip in the pool!

After seeing the Hatteras Lighthouse, Rob and I made a big decision.  We were done being in the Outer Banks.  We had seen all the big things on our list and we were quite tired of being at the KOA.  Our original plan was to stay another 2 days, relaxing on the beach, then drive for two days, spending the one travel night in a hotel.  Instead, we found a campground near Charlottesville, VA and planned to stay 2 nights there.  

Final walk on the beach, with the fancy new kite we bought after breaking the cheapies from Target.

Good-bye, OBX.

Continue the Adventure