The Outer Banks of North Carolina

Sand Dunes of the Outer Banks
see all photos »

Today we were off to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We have never seen so much water and so many bridges. One of them was part bridge and part tunnel. Most are very long and cross huge sounds or bays. It was a fairly gloomy day but by the time we arrived in Kitty Hawk the sun was out. We checked into the Kitty Hawk RV Resort (right across from the beach), immediately unhooked the car and took off toward Hatteras National Seashore. The drive was beautiful – it is an amazing area there is water on both sides of the highway and sand dunes everywhere. There must have been a recent storm because in several places the roads were partially flooded. We drove to Rodanthe which is where the current movie “Nights in Rodanthe” with Richard Gere and Diane Lane was filmed. It is a quaint seaside town with loads of houses – all on stilts. We saw the house where the movie was filmed. On our way back to Kitty Hawk we stopped in Kill Devil Hills and visited the Wright Brother’s Memorial which is run by the National Park Service. It was an interesting experience – first we listened to a talk about the aerodynamics and trials of the brothers then we walked to the field where they actually flew. There is a large hill with a monument marking the site. The museum is very well done. After a quick dinner at home, we headed to the local movie theater and saw Nights in Rodanthe which was even more enjoyable since we had been there earlier.

Looking down the beach at Rodanthe
see all photos »

The Outer Banks Marathon is tomorrow and the place is sold out so we had to leave our spot for someone with reservations. We decided to drive to Greensboro, NC in one day – even though it is about 300 miles. Mike’s sister Sally and her husband Larry live there and we will visit with them for a week or so. Before we left Mike and I walked the beach and collected shells – it was so beautiful. The sun was brilliant and warm. We must have driven 70 miles before we left the water. We crossed several bays and the Inter-costal Waterway on historic Albemarle Highway and then along the Alligator River. The scenery was beautiful. Shortly after leaving the water we hit rain but by the time we got to Greensboro it was beautiful again.