The Outer Banks

These humid Midwest summer days have me reminiscing from time to time of hours splashing in saltwater, toes in the sand, and lots of sunscreen. Back at the beginning of the month the Waibel family went on vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We left Friday night after VBS and road tripped our way east, full of anticipation for the week ahead.

An hour or so before we left the mainland we hit up a grocery store because food on islands can be pricey. For example, in one gas station they were selling milk for over $4 for half a gallon! Thankfully we found a supermarket that sold it for much less and we were able to satisfy the regular milk consumption.

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Being as we were arriving on a Saturday when many other people are trying to get on the island it was a slow drive across the bridge connecting us to Hatteras. It’s a very narrow island and either side of the road is full of sand dunes so you can’t really see the ocean or sound while driving through the island. We were excited to get out of the car and settle into our VRBO, and finally we pulled into our residence for the week: High Five.

The house was a perfect setup for our size of family with five bedrooms, many bathrooms, and a beautiful kitchen/hang-out area on the top floor with views of both the ocean and the sound. Included on the top story were a hot tub and pool table which made it all the better.

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We spent lots of time at the water whether it was paddle boarding on the sound or catching waves in the Atlantic. Addie and I went running several times by the ocean which was a good mix-up from our normal routes on pavement, especially since we could dive into the water afterwards. The beach was never super packed and the weather was great. It rained a few times but it didn’t ruin any plans which was wonderful.

Some other fun things in our area of the island were a neat putt-putt course and a local bakery. If you ever visit the Outer Banks I highly recommend stopping by Orange Blossom Bakery for an apple ugly. And if my recommendation isn’t enough to convince you just google some reviews on them. If that won’t convince you it’s hopeless. Their apple uglies are exactly that–ugly–but they are the best fritters you’ll find.

For the 4th we drove to a town a few miles north in the evening to watch fireworks on the beach. We got there in time to set up and play some Frisbee and float in the waves. There was also the time we saw a dolphin and assured ourselves while moving towards shore that it wasn’t a shark. Once we were all convinced it was really exciting and we watched it move down the beach. All too conveniently there was an ice cream shop called Cups and Cones within walking distance. It was fantastic; I want to go back.

After fireworks we stayed on the beach to let the traffic die down a little bit and sang patriotic songs. Our strategy only halfway worked because it still took an hour to go about 15 miles.

The next day we visited a lighthouse in the morning. There are quite a few scattered around the general area but we only visited two. It’s always amazing to visit a lighthouse and be reminded of the importance to have warnings and signals of danger.

Following that we took a ferry to Ocracoke Island which was supposed to be home to wild horses. This is what we found:

Hmmm, not what we were expecting. Overall we were glad that we weren’t staying on Ocracoke. It was a neat experience to take the ferry but the island had a different feel than Hatteras and I’m glad that we didn’t have to wait hours to get on a ferry every time we wanted to go somewhere.

That evening we celebrated birthdays. Even though mine was back in May, I got to be a birthday bud with Titus and Dad W. The theme was airplanes and Hannah made Titus a darling airplane shirt. He got other airplane gifts and the cake even had airplanes!

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The following day we ventured north to visit Kitty Hawk. On the way we stopped in Nag’s Head for a delicious fish lunch on the pier complete with entertainment of watching locals catch crabs.

From there we drove a little further to see the Wright Brothers Memorial. Their dedication, perseverance, and brains were amazing to do what they did. Catching air was not a one time experiment and what they contributed to the world is pretty incredible.

On our way “home” we stopped to see a dramatization of a piece of history on Roanoke Island, “The Lost Colony”. Of the outdoor dramatizations I’ve seen this was the most outstanding in special effects and props. They didn’t cut corners and even though I couldn’t entirely follow the plot it was an impressive performance and I know a lot more about Roanoke Island than before I went (cause I didn’t know anything before).

Our last day was spent soaking up the beach and heading to the ocean again in the evening for family pictures.

The final evening at our VRBO there was a storm and I went out on the top deck to get a good view of the sunset over the sound. It was super dramatic with lightening and dark clouds, but oh so gorgeous!

To make it to Sardis, OH, in reasonable time Saturday evening we left Hatteras early in the morning. It’s always kind of sad when vacation is over, but it was a very refreshing week and I’m so thankful for the privilege of sharing life with the Waibels.