Of course we did the tourist things, like going to the lighthouses. We went to Corolla, Bodie, and Hatteras. We didn't have time to go to Ocracoke but heard it is worth the trip. The beaches are a lot of fun to…Read More

Of course we did the tourist things, like going to the lighthouses. We went to Corolla, Bodie, and Hatteras. We didn't have time to go to Ocracoke but heard it is worth the trip. The beaches are a lot of fun to walk. The water was way too cold while we were there. We did get to experience a nor’easter, which provided fascinating water-watching (especially since we weren't staying right on the water!). Hang-gliding at Jockey Ridge is an experience I'll never forget. The Wright Brothers memorial took several hours. We saw all the outdoor things on a nice day and returned on a rainy day for the museum (your pass, $3 per person, is good for 1 week.) For a rainy day, another fun activity was going resale shopping. There are quite a few places on the island and Roanoke Island. A good place to go for sunset pictures is the parking lot of Christmas Mouse in Duck. The aquarium was a good stop, even without kids. Admission was $6.50 per adult. The guys golfed a couple times. The course at Nags Head is Scottish style and allowed for plenty of excuses. The Duck course was of a more typical style.

There is so much to do within an hour’s drive of Kitty Hawk, a person could easily come more than once and still not see it all.

Our weather ran the gamut from the mid-50s to upper 70s during our week in Kitty Hawk. During that time, we went kayaking on the sound, took a jet-boat trip, and spent a lot of time at the Elizabethan Gardens on Roanoke Island.…Read More

Our weather ran the gamut from the mid-50s to upper 70s during our week in Kitty Hawk. During that time, we went kayaking on the sound, took a jet-boat trip, and spent a lot of time at the Elizabethan Gardens on Roanoke Island. The Wright Brothers site, all of the wonderful lighthouses, the Whalehead Club, and the North Carolina Aquarium pretty much rounded out the trip, with shopping trips to the outlet mall and various specialty stores in between.

The food was excellent at all the restaurants we tried. I would especially recommend Barefoot Bernies - we got two pieces of carrot cake to take back to our condo, and it turned out that they cut slices that fed us for 4 straight evenings!! We also ate at Dirty Dicks, Mako Mikes, and Five Guys. The other evenings, we purchased fresh shrimp and salad from the local Seamark grocery store (they will cook any of their seafood for you and have it ready to pick up!) and ate in.

I would highly recommend Barrier Island Station for its location and facilities. I really liked the fact a Wal-Mart and Seamark were just down the road from us - we didn't even need to get on the main highway since the drive had access to their parking lot. We checked in without any waiting (we arrived at 4:15pm and check-in is at 4pm). Check-out was just as easy, since all we had to do was clean up the dishes, dump the trash, and drop the keys in the box at the main gate. The staff was great, and we had no problems during our visit.

We flew in to Norfolk, VA, and drove a rental car down to the resort. It is a solid 2-hour drive, so make sure you leave in plenty of time to get back to the airport if you go this route. The directions provided by the resort were accurate, and we had no problems locating it.

There were only two issues during our vacation, one of which was our fault. We decided to take a walk on the nature trail our first evening and didn't find out until about a half-mile into it that TICK season was in full force! Our shoes and socks were covered in ticks, and us without any Deet.

The beach the resort will direct you to is NOT the nicest beach on the Outer Banks. As a matter of fact, it is extremely steep, full of gravel instead of sand, and covered in dried and broken bamboo from the residences on either side. We only spent 5 minutes trying to get down to the shore and gave up. There are many other public beaches available. I particularly liked the beach across from the Currituck lighthouse.

While visiting the Outer Banks, if you find you forgot something, before you buy it at the local Wal-Mart, you might rent it at Ocean Atlantic Rentals with four locations on the Outer Banks. We rented a kayak for $35 a day and the teens…Read More

While visiting the Outer Banks, if you find you forgot something, before you buy it at the local Wal-Mart, you might rent it at Ocean Atlantic Rentals with four locations on the Outer Banks. We rented a kayak for $35 a day and the teens (and adults) loved it. They rent bikes, beach chairs, fishing rods and just about anything you might not have room to pack but need at the beach. Check them out at or call at 252-441-7823 in Nags Head.Close

Every tourist area near a beach seems to have lots of miniature golf attractions, and the Outer Banks was no exception. Each one had a different theme, and most featured one or more waterfalls—nice to cool off in the spray on those hot afternoons or…Read More

Every tourist area near a beach seems to have lots of miniature golf attractions, and the Outer Banks was no exception. Each one had a different theme, and most featured one or more waterfalls—nice to cool off in the spray on those hot afternoons or evenings. Once the dinner hour was over, many families had the same idea, and lines snaked a long way from the ticket entrance. We did manage to get in one game at Jurassic Putt, which, of course, had large papier-mâché dinosaurs of varying sizes, a cave or two, a prehistoric soundtrack, and the ubiquitous waterfall. Each 18 round of miniature golf cost $7 per person at Jurassic Putt.Close