September Getaway to the Outer Banks, NC

This is a fantastic place to stay, and I highly recommend it. I stayed in one of their waterfront suites, which was wonderful. The only slight drawback was the location of my suite. It was located on the second floor with the common area. I was afraid it would be a bit loud, but thankfully, it was not. The living room lacked privacy when people were out on the deck. If you want a suite, make sure you ask for one on a different floor, but remember, the hotel does not have elevators.

I ate at the Weeping Radish Brewery & Restaurant on Roanoke Island because the German in me couldn't pass it up.

This is really not a good place to eat. I had the Sauerbraten, and it was way too sour. Trust me, I've had good Sauerbraten, and this wasn't it, although I will say that their beer was very tasty. If you're interested in sampling some fine beer, then I suggest visiting their pub.

Also located on Roanoke Island in Manteo is the Full Moon Cafe and Restaurant. You can choose to sit indoors or out on a nice day. The food was good, but a bit too eclectic for my taste.

I figured that this was the time to try some North Carolina BBQ and stopped off at Pigman's Bar-B-Que in Kill Devil Hills. I gave their pulled pork sandwich a try, along with the coleslaw and hush puppies. Ick on everything. I like a bit of smokiness in my pork, but there wasn't any and it was very vinegary. I know that's the signature of North Carolina barbecue, but it's not for me. The coleslaw was too dry and the hush puppies were stale and lukewarm at best. If you're looking for good barbeque, I'd look for someplace else.

Howard's Pub and Raw Bar Restaurant is a fantastic place to eat, and where I finally broke my unlucky restaurant streak. Menu items focus on burgers, steaks, fresh oysters and shellfish, barbecued ribs, grilled fish, Maine lobster, and massive amounts of shrimp. There's more lore associated with this place and a greater sense of community among its devoted fans than any other restaurant on Ocracoke island. Set inside an imposing but weather-beaten building that's the first major business you'll see after heading south from the Hatteras Ferry landing, it occupies the site of what flourished briefly in the 1850s as a pub (Howard's) before sinking into the sands of this reputedly haunted island. This place is a must!

Corolla Outback ATV Adventures is an awesome way to see Corolla Beach, not to mention the wild horses. It costs $109/ATV, whether there is one or two people riding the ATV. They're easy to use, and the tours are guided and last about 2.5 to 3 hours. You'll learn about the fragile ecosystem, hear folklore, and visit the wild horse sanctuary.

For as long as sailors have plied the waters of the North Carolina coast, Cape Hatteras has been on the map. It's a place where land and sea come together in a shifting maze of sandbars and shoals made worse by notoriously bad weather. It's a place known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, and for good reason. More than 600 ships have gone down near the cape, many within sight of land and with all hands aboard. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, known as America's Lighthouse, is the tallest brick beacon in the US, standing 208 feet. The lighthouse is open for climbing from Good Friday through Columbus Day.

Many may not realize this, but the lighthouse was relocated almost a half-mile to the southwest in 1999. To complete the move, workers carefully excavated around the base of the tower, slowly replacing the granite foundation with a series of steel beams. Next, the tower was slowly lifted off the ground with hydraulic jacks and placed on a group of rails similar to railroad tracks. The lighthouse was then pushed along the rails with another set of hydraulic jacks. Once the lighthouse had reached its destination, the tower was carefully lowered onto a prepared 3-feet-thick concrete pad. The tower's journey along the 2,900-foot relocation route took 23 days.