For those who visit the Outer Banks NC year after year, certain family traditions form. These are the things people MUST do, otherwise their annual trip would not seem complete. We have a few that have to be followed, things like "the first night spaghetti and meatball dinner" or the restaurant night (meaning a trip to the Colington Café). And of course there is the shopping night at the Duck stores, and so many more that we have discussed throughout Outer Banks Revealed.
But this is only one family's perspective. So I decided to open it up to get other people's perspectives and again leveraged Help a Reporter Out, or HARO. Not surprisingly, the responses came flooding in. Some will be on this page, others, for those with more extensive Outer Banks NC traditions, will be links from this page to their pages. The great thing about this is that although each may be a little different, by and large it is circled around the family and family together time, the essence of an Outer Banks NC vacation.
My friends and I visit in Nags Head each year. This year we got up early one morning and drove up to Corolla and out onto the beach ... and we saw the horses down by the water.
Attached is a photo I took. That was the coolest thing ever and something I will continue to do! Seeing this and taking this photo ... just phenomenal. I love driving on the beach so early in the day, the dunes, and seeing the horses.
Outer Banks Rocks! Lucky to be able to come back down soon!
P.S. Also a great place to get away and write. Last few years I travel there by myself the week between Christmas and New Years. Quiet writing retreat! This year climbed up Jockey's Ridge with the dogs. It was freezing! And I loved that too!
Marci, I have to agree with you on how cool it is to see the horses up in four wheel drive territory. And, like you, we love spending the holidays on OBX.
Hey Dan ... Our family has been vacationing in Pine Island for at least 10 years. We're headed there this friday in fact! We start with a traditional lunch at the Sunset Grill and Raw Bar the friday of check in ... check in at 4 pm. We get up early in the a.m. to watch the sunrise on our non-crowded beach (ok some of us do that!), we host our traditional summer birthdays dinner with a cake from Tulios, and each couple in the group usually goes out one night on a date night to someplace nice like Blue Point or Sanderling Inn or Roadhouse Bar and Grill.
The best part about Pine Island is the secluded beaches ... very fun!
Al Baird is about to release his upcoming book, Walking the Planks: The Incomplete History of North Carolina Ocean Fishing Piers. He then shared with me the following thing he loves about the Outer Banks NC:
We always do a crab night where we get blue crabs, shrimp and oysters from a seafood market and dump them out on a table covered by newspaper. Mallets and crab shells are flying as we devour them. There is nothing in the world that tastes like blue crab. Another tradition is to take the ferry over to Ocracoke and have lunch at the world famous Howard's Pub.
Lee and Andrew from Philadelphia and owners of Good to Be You.com had this to say about their own special Outer Banks NC traditions:
What a fabulous query, as we just returned from our fifth wonderful year of spending our summer vacation in Nags Head, Outer Banks. One of our OBX traditions is to head to Tortuga's Lie shortly after our arrival for a tasty bite (usually fish tacos) and a "shark bite" drink - a vodka & lemon-aide complete with a little shark with grenadine hidden inside (a real surprise for the unknowing). Of course we love the beaches, and always catch a great band at either Kelly's and/or Port O' Call, but the most important tradition of the summer is crab chasing by our two "furkids", our terriers Elton & Sophie. No worries though, as animal lovers, we do let the little crabs get away!
If you have a few OBX family vacation traditions you would like to share, please do so below:
What is Your Favorite Outer Banks Memory?
The Outer Banks is a special place. You read some of my favorite memories. Now here is your chance to share what makes the Outer Banks special to you. Share it here!
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
We have been going to OBX for almost ten years and our tradition is a funny one. When we are sitting in traffic on the bridge over to OBX on the first ...
