Thursday, February 17, 2005
Your turn to tell a story....
I saw a post this week on Traveltalk.online that inspired a thought. How about everyone out there telling us all how you first came to learn about the Outer Banks, and about your first time here. This could be fun! Looking forward to any responses. Memories from way back, impressions of your first trip here, what keeps you coming back for more. Your turn! Add a comment.
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17 comments:
started comming to the outer banks (south nags head) 20 yrs ago. most homes we rented are now gone. 12 yrs ago decided to try the northern outer banks, back when it was relatively quiet. purchased a home 7 yrs ago which is now for sale. seems to be not big enough (only 6 bedrooms) to do any good in the rental market...any offers???
Email me and let me know where your home is and maybe I do know someone who could be interested. I'm always in the market for a good real estate investment myself!
BEEN VACATIONING IN NAGS HEAD FOR TWENTY FOUR YEARS (STAYED THE WHOLE TIME IN A BEACH FRONT COTTAGE AT THE SANDSPUR)-nAGS HEAD IS MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WHOLE WORLD-I DO REMEMBER WHEN THERE WERE NO MALLS-mANTEO HAD THE ONLY MOVIE THEATER-AND a RESTAURANT by gEOREGE WHERE THE WAITERS WORE SAFARI HATS-FINALLY BOUGHT A PLACE IN SOUTH NAGS HEAD THIS NOVEMBER.CAUGHT MY FIRST STRIPED BASS IN THE SURF OVER CHRISTMAS WEEK AND I HOPE MY HOUSE IS STILL THERE AFTER THIS WINTERS NOREASTERS. WILL BE RETURNING ON MARCH 9.HIP HIP HURRAY.
Discovered the OBX 33 years ago. I’ve seen a lot of changes…some good…some not so good. Its still the place I go to mentally when my mind wanders. Its still the place I go physically when I need to clear my head. Many things have changed in my life in that time, ended one marriage and started a new one, but the OBX is a constant. I proposed to my new wife on the beach at Oregon Inlet. My daughters spent a lot of time there as they grew up. Its where I taught them to fish. Its where I taught my son-in-laws to fish. Its where I taught my new wife to fish. Its where I am now teaching my grandchildren to fish. Its where I see old friends when we get together annually to fish. Its where I commune with nature. Reflecting on the past years I can still see my daughters’ first bluefish blitz, the looks on my grandchildrens face the first time they saw the ocean, my wife’s first bluefish blitz and her first striper. I remember great weeks of fishing and poor weeks of fishing but it didn’t matter. Fishing isn’t just about catching fish. It’s the place that’s special.
A very good idea,OBN,and we really enjoy your pics and musings! First time for me was 1962 and as a 4-5 five year old,the memories are more vague than vivid. But I think that 'vague-sense-of-place' memory is what hooked me deeper than any of the so-called attractions could have.
I do know we drove miles out of the way to avoid all the ferries on US64. The smells of swamp and marsh give way to ocean salt. Humid sauna turns to natural Atlantic A/C. Sun so bright, reflecting off sand and sea. Miles of the old wooden pole powerlines strung between small clusters of cottages and tiny motor courts with sand driveways(and getting stuck)! The calming rhythmic roar of the waves(and being terrified of even the little 6 inch shore lap)! The laughing gulls and gliding pelicans, and the old working fishing trawlers put-putting through the sounds(and even in the vast ocean)! All the while knowing deep down that we were surrounded by water(MY GOD,THIS AN ISLAND)!! And what a mysteriously captivating isle it was,and still is.
We started vacationing in the Banks around 1980. There were 10 of us. Two families with a total of 5 kids. We stayed up in Corolla when you had to pass a guard shack and then travel via dirt road for another 20 miles to get to a house. Now 25 years later, we still return as the original two families. But now all of us "kids" have our own families and our own kids. We still stay together. We now travel south to Avon, Kinnakeet Shores and cannot imagine going anywhere else in the world. We all claim that we are residents of the Outer Banks, but live in other states (Ohio, North Carolina, Florida) for 51 weeks a year. There's nothing like our week in the OBX!!!
We vacationed with friends across from the Wright Brothers Memorial in 1986, our first year on the Outer Banks. We were hooked along with the 27 spot that my 5yr old caught that July week.
We bought a house in South Nags Head the following year and had many a memorable Thanksgiving, Easter and summer vacation.
We endured Nor'easters, hurricanes(that never happened), a tornado, sound surges (that did happen and wiped us out),the bridge walk over to Manteo (it was so hot we thought the water truck would be empty when we got there, sifting for sharks teeth at the Elizabeth II parking lot, crabbing, driving through the woods at Bodie Island Lighthouse at dusk to look for foxes, waiting for the kids to be old enough not to sleep through "The Lost Colony", meeting a Park Ranger named "Martha" (who did puppet shows at Coquina and canoe trips around the Bodie Island marshes),other Rangers who gave surf fishing lessons and told ghost stories over beach campfires,hearing the pop-pop of the duck hunters in the fall, listening to the jets barely above us heading back to Langley,watching the whales off Avon, seeing hundreds of migrating white swans, finding corn snakes on the porch and a bunny who wouldn't leave, watching our two labs run toward Oregon Inlet and knowing they would never come back ( flagged down a nice guy in a truck with his own lab in the back and chased them down), watching the kids play basketball in their pajamas with visiting neighbors from New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania,eating Apple Uglies at the Orange Blossom Bakery in Buxton before climbing the lighthouse, watching old movies, putting puzzles together and tucking the kids into bed and taking one more peek out the window at the Bodie Island Light, always there, always dear, always home.
Our family has been coming to the Outer Banks since 1972. My brother in law invited use down from Connecticut for a few days. From then on we were Outer Banks visitors every year. Our children have grown up, and bring there children here.
The first few years you had a choice of Winks or the Trading Post to by food. The highway was one lane and there wasn't anything but sand dunes where Nagshead Villiage now stands. Its sad to see all the construction, but I guess everyone would like to share the same experience as all of us.We come down 3 times a year. And met some wonderful full timers. The life style is just great, kick back, relax,and enjoy your loved ones.
We stay at Dunes South, hoping everything is intact. We just love it.
On a whim several years ago we decided to take a weekend trip. I called and made reservation at a hotel packed a few clothes, loaded the car and off we went. I have no idea why we decided to head to the banks, I grew up going to Ocean City MD, we just wanted to see something differant. We arrived well after dark and we couldn't even see the ocean but we could hear it! My 3yr old son woke up the next morning and asked me where we were, I told him to look out the window. The look on his face when he saw the ocean was amazing. As we started to expore the banks that long weekend I felt this connection that I can not till this day explain. I felt as if I had been there before, I've had the hair on the back of my neck stand up and give me chills. I love the history of the area only recently my husband admitted to me how much he liked it there and how much he look forward to our trips. I thought he was just pacifing me by going and not complaining about the work it takes to get us there!! We hope to one day live there and be able to enjoy the Outer Banks! Angie
Friend of mine introduced me to the area in the late 80s. Thought it was the neatest thing to be able to catch fish from the ocean. Then I hooked the one I couldn't land. That hooked me.
We are two families that came down from Pennsylvania for the first time, about 15 years ago. Ever since, we've been back every year. We were glad to see, in the aerial photos posted earlier, the first place we ever stayed is still standing on Surfside Drive. We have always stayed in South Nags Head. Although we regularly explore from Corolla to Ocrakoke, we prefer it's quietness, easy access and proximity to local attractions.
In 1996, we purchased a small home. This past year we sold and purchased another home, on the other side of the beach road. Our first home had started as the third property from the water, but was about to assume beachfront status. Too close for comfort.
Now, we visit two to three times a year and can't get enough of the Outer Banks. Personally, I could retire here. I just might look into that before too long and look for some part-time work. I wonder if DuneBurger is hiring?
Our first trip to the OBX was 13 years ago. We rented in Duck. We had been renting in Ocean City, MD up until then. We were done w/ O.C. when my sister-in-law suggested we try the Banx.
Obsolutely loved the beaches from the very first day. Our kids were young, so the condo, pool, ocean, with lots of other young families was perfect. Since then we migrated to South N.H. for a few years and rented on the beach July 4th week. That is a great time. House right on the beach, fireworks within site, cooler close by, no driving required. The OBX took us in like family and we couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Four years ago we bought a lot and built a house in Nags Head and go there every chance we get. We hope living there full time is in our future, just not sure how soon.
I will be 51 this April and have been coming to the Outer Banks since before I can remember. My family has a picture of me at the Wright Brothers Mem. when I was about 3-4 years old!. My parents and aunt and uncle came to the Outer Banks from DC before there was a bridge. They had just enough money at the end of the week to ride the ferry back and not enough for food. So they went fishing and crabbing and got plenty. I remember staying in South Nags Head in various cottages. Back then the biggest cottage on the beach was the "Crows Nest", now I can't even find it. Remember when the walk from the dune line to the surf was almost a 1/4 mile long? You had to wear shoes or flip flops or else you burned your feet. I lived there briefly in the 70's and plan on moving back someday soon.
My first trip to the Outer Banks was in 1983 with some college buddies. We came down in August to go camping and stayed at KOA-Waves. On the way there, I remember thinking this place better be worth the 8 hour drive. At that time, Rt.158 was only 2 lanes and it seemed like it took forever to get there. Once we got to Hatteras Island, it was like another world - totally undeveloped, rugged, and not a lot of development - just the campground and some weathered beach shacks. I was hooked! It's the first time we had ever seen ghost crabs, sand dunes, and that many stars. And man, was it hot that week. I remember sitting under the tailgate of the truck to catch some shade. Later, a storm blew through unlike any we had ever seen, with water spouts coming across the Sound. What an unbelievable site! I've returned many times since that first trip, and in 2002 bought a place down there. It's the only place in this world that I feel totally relaxed. I now go every opportunity I have and someday will live there.
Whats funny about reading these stories is that everyone pretty much starts thiers just the way that I would start mine. I came to the Outer banks in February of 2003, invited to go down to Hatteras for a blue fin trip aboard the Doghouse. Now coming from St. Simons Island, Ga. cold isn't really something that we are use to, and boy was it cold that weekend.
From the moment that we pulled in Manteo then into Nags Head and on down to Hatteras, I knew that I was hooked. There's something about staying a hotel that leaves your reservations taped to the office door. It was interesting to see how life pretty much shut down that time of year. Arriving on a Friday and having to leave on a Sunday with only one day to fish didnt really allow me time to explore Hatteras, but one thing is for sure I knew that I would be back.
My next trip came in June of 2004, with the G8 Summit invading St. Simons and Sea Island, I finally got to spend a week in Nags Head. Now one thing is for sure I enjoy June MUCH more than I do February. Being able to spend a few days looking at the unique shops in and around Nags Head, to looking at the different boat builders in Wancheese, and watching the daily catch at Oregon Inlet. How could you not be hooked! Setting on the back porch of the house that we had rented, listening to Buffet on the radio, I knew that when I have a family of my own I will be spending alot of time at this place.
Since that time I oftend find myself day dreaming about the Outer Banks. It is truely a wonderful place to spend your summers. I plan on being up in the Banks this coming May and I'm anticipating the long ride on I-95 N headed that way.
We first learned of the Outer Banks from my wife's parents. We came down for the fisrt time in April of 1987 for our tenth anniversary. What a cold rainy week! We stayed in Nags Head, and spent one of our days sitting on Nag's Head pier drinking hot coffee, freezing, not catching anything and still having one of the best times we ever had! My wife still talks about that day.
We now have a daughter who loves the Outer Banks just as much as we do. You've never seen a sadder little girl than the morning we were chased out by Isabelle!
Only been to OBX once due to family illness but am planning a trip to return next year. Came down with my mom and her companion who had introduced her to OBX a few years before. They loved it and I knew I would too. And I did. Just loved everything about it. The air, the smells, the sights, the sounds (or lack of), the people. When my mom told me she cried the first time they left thinking she would never make it back, I knew I had to make her wish come true and get her there. Plus, I knew it would have the same effect on me - and it did! Can't wait to share it with them again next year!
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