Outer Banks Fourth Anniversary Trip

For our fourth anniversary Dane and I went to Nag's Head in the Outer Banks for the weekend. I worked Friday night, we stayed up late Friday night watching the Razorbacks win the Cotton Bowl (WPS!!), and then we woke up at 8 am Saturday and headed to Nag's Head. It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive from our house.

The weather was perfect on Saturday. Low 60s, warm, comfortable. We were blessed with a great day to walk on the beach.

 ...but it wasn't quite warm enough for me to go barefoot. ;)

 We went to this great Pier. Jennette's Pier was rebuilt in 2011. It is a beautiful pier that you can pay to fish off of as well as rent for parties, weddings, etc.

Jennette's Pier

Dane picked our Bed and Breakfast and it was an excellent choice. The First Colony Inn was first built in 1932. It has the traditional OBX wood siding as well as a private walkway to the beach. In the summer they have beach chairs available. Breakfast includes eggs, bacon, biscuits, yogurt, croissants, bagels, cereal...

  

I loved the old tiny pieces of tile in the bathroom.

We loved the beautiful cabinet for storage and the TV.

We visited the Bodie Island lighthouse on Saturday. The lighthouse is beautiful, but it is currently waiting for funding for repairs after Hurricane Irene.

This was over by a pond with all kinds of wildlife and photographers taking pictures of the wildlife. I wish I would have taken a picture of the photographers, but we felt like we had to be super quiet..

Dane found a great restaurant - Tortuga's Lie for dinner Saturday night. We sat next to a guy who lived on the island his entire life, in fact his parents and grandparents lived there as well. We had an appetizer that was pieces of fish fried in a delicious sauce. It was definitely the best food we had.

Sunday we drove down the coast to Cape Hatteras. I remember my mom and Gran telling me stories about Cape Hatteras from when my mom was a little girl. It was amazing to be there.

Coast Guard! - Kevin Costner (The Guardian) anyone?!

Beaches at Hatteras were gorgeous as well.

They were the opposite of manicured as it is a National Seashore.

This is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The stripes are diagonal (Bodie's are horizontal) and the light circles every 7.5 seconds. It is in use today even with today's GPS systems, and is visible up to 20 miles. There were two National Park Volunteers that taught us this information ;). 

We did not get to climb the lighthouse as it was closed for the season, but we went into the base .

Houses that the lightkeeper (on the right) and assistants (left) lived in. 

Wildlife. I kept my distance. I have had bad experiences with giant ocean birds.

 

We had lunch at Breakwater restaurant. I had a crab cake sandwich. Yes, I know that crabs come from Maryland and Alaska. Dane had a shrimp sandwich.

Kiteboarding is extremely popular in the area. There is a local company Kitty Hawk Kite Company that supplies the kites. The water is absolutely freezing and the kiteboarders wear wet suits.

We had dinner Sunday night at Kelly's Restaurant in Nag's Head.

First Colony Inn at Night.

One fun thing in OBX is that you can drive on the beach. Who knew?! 

Thanks to my awesome amazing husband for planning such a fun weekend. I had a wonderful time, even better than I imagined. Thank you for all of the meals you have cooked, laundry and cleaning you have done, and overall love and support you have given me while you were on Christmas break. Thanks for taking me to places that I've always wanted to visit. Next on the list: Beaufort, NC.