Vacation on N.C. Outer Banks Always worth repeating
By SANDRA BROWN KELLY

It’s probably not possible to have such a bad vacation on the Outer Banks that you will never go again.

You might have a rainy week and have to while away time shooting pool at the Nags Head Pier or browsing the Manteo Bookstore or antique shops in the area. Or, watching sea creatures at the North Carolina Aquarium in Manteo.

Or, it can be so cold and windy – especially if you go during off season (my preference) – that you cannot walk on the beach unless you buy still another coat at the outlet mall in Nags Head. Then, you need to cover your mouth so you don’t eat sand.

And during the height of the season the Nags Head - Kitty Hawk - Kill Devil Hills area can get so crowded you can’t cross the street.

But, who cares about these inconveniences? Not I, for certain. I have vacationed on the Outer Banks since I was introduced to the area in 1960.

That time, my group stayed in fisherman’s cottages near Nags Head and during the night the wind got so strong it blew a blanket of sand onto our blankets in the bedrooms.

Until that time, my experience with beaches had been restricted to Virginia Beach and its then honky-tonk Boardwalk. By comparison, the Nags Head area was harsh and desolate.

But these barrier islands have stayed with me, and I think I will want to go back forever, or as long as I can. The drive from Roanoke to Nags Head hasn’t shortened much in 40 years. But enough of the route remains the same that I can mark progress by a stop for a diaper change when the children were young or a dog watering now for the pets I have at home.

Enough of the Outer Banks remains the same, although three-story plush houses have replaced many beach cottages and 24/7 activity is the norm. In the early days, a visitor would be hard put to find a place to eat during off season. Sam & Omie’s remains, although it’s less of a watering hole for local fisher-folks and more a family stop-off these days.

One wonderful thing about the Banks is how different each area is from the other.

Corolla and Duck, up near the Virginia line, are the quieter members on one side of Nags Head and Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton and Frisco are more peaceful on the other side. In between these are Kitty Hawk, which has the manic kite flying on the Jockey’s Ridge State Park sand dunes; Kill Devil Hills, which boasts the famous Wright Brothers National Memorial where events will be booming through this year leading to the First Flight Centennial on Dec. 17; and Nags Head, which is the commercial center.

At Nags Head, you can take the route to the mainland and Manteo. Manteo is a good overcast day spot and always worth a day of your vacation. You need time to tour the replica of an early ship that brought settlers to America and to see the many arts and craft spots. Former Roanoker, artist Petie Brigham shows her work at Pocosin Arts gallery.

Another day, a full day, is to travel all the way down the Banks to Hatteras, where the land ends. Hatteras can also be a quiet fishing village except during the busiest travel time when everyone lines up to get the next ferry across Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke Island.

A boat carrying British sailors sank nearby and those rescued gave Ocracoke a British heritage and some of its residents speak a form of cockney. You might find a schooner in Ocracoke’s Silver Lake harbor where a musician-sailor takes people for moonlight sails. Surely the hemp store is still open. Read the pirate stories about Blackbeard before you go, or buy one of the many story books available there. Silver Lake was a refuge for pirates.

Ocracoke is the best of places off-season; too crowded for me in-season. I once stayed in an A-frame cottage there that came complete with a lattice-enclosed hot tub room just off the kitchen. An opaque fabric covered the lattice and you could lie in the hot tub and watch salamanders run along the outside walls. It was heaven.

That’s why I keep going back to the Outer Banks. A vacationer can carve out a bit of heaven in a bunch of directions on the Banks. In a full week, you might not travel but a few miles if you’re feeling lazy. A regular day starts with an early morning shelling walk on the beach followed by freshly brewed coffee. Next, try a leisurely breakfast, maybe a nap or some reading. If the sky is really clear, you could drive over to Dare County Airport and take a flight-seeing trip down the Banks. You will get to see actor Andy Griffith’s place.

If it’s cloudy, go to Croatan Bookery for more books. Early evening, you can take in a wildlife program on the red wolf, which is being reintroduced in the area.

Every day, dinner is special. There is no reason to talk about any specific restaurant on the Banks; there are too many good ones there. I do suggest the clam chowder at Nags Head Pier, however. Also, check out Miller’s Restaurant and Kelly’s Restaurant on the bypass in Nags Head (no relation to me); Fisherman’s Wharf and Queen Anne’s Revenge in Wanchese; Clara’s Grill & Steam Bar and Full Moon Café in Manteo; and Windmill Point, where, if your timing is right, you can watch the sun set over Roanoke Sound.

The following websites can help you learn more about the Outer Banks and find cottages or hotel accommodations: www.outebanks. com, or www.outerbanks.org,
Of special interest this summer on the Banks is “Women and Flight,” which runs June 13-July 27 at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

This Smithsonian traveling exhibition features 75 black-and-white photographs of contemporary women pilots by Carolyn J. Russo, photographer at the Nation-al Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. The photographs, accompanied by quotes and biographical sketches, profile 37 women aviators and astronauts. For more information, visit www. nps.gov/wrbr