**Spring Break Recap ~ The Outerbanks** Part I {4.19.2023}

April 19, 2023 / 4 Comments

A couple weeks back was our Spring Break, and we decided to go somewhere different. We chose the Outerbanks because none of us had been there. None of us anticipated the distance to this location. Haha! 

We started our journey on Friday, after school, about 5:00. 

We made a pit stop and grabbed Addison some more snacks. LOL

We ended up stopping to sleep just north of Charlotte about 11:30 that night. Our room was very nice and cozy. 

The next morning, we were up bright and early, ate breakfast, then started back on the road. We were excited when we finally saw water. This was crossing the bridge, over the sound, to get to the Outerbanks. 

Once we crossed the bridge, we were in Nags Head. We headed north toward our condo in Kill Devil Hills. 

The condo was very nice. It was very well decorated, and we had three bedrooms and three bathrooms, so plenty of space. 

Addison enjoyed finding books and toys to play with. 

Once we got settled in, we decided to do some exploring. The wind was fierce. 

We ate dinner at a really good place, Miller’s Steak & Seafood. Of course, I forgot to take any pictures. If I’m in the area, I would definitely go back. 

We found out quickly that the shops and restaurants were just beginning to open back up for the season. Some places still weren’t open, and the hours were not correct online anywhere. So, my suggestion if you go, would be to go a little later so you make sure places have opened back up for the season. 

We finally found an ice cream shop that was open. They actually said they opened back up the night before! Hooray! We were extra excited for some Holy Cow Creamery! 🙂

 

We were in the bed fairly early. It had been a long few days of traveling. 

The next morning, we were so happy to be eating on the patio and smelling the ocean air. Even though it was quite chilly. 

We planned to go visit some of the lighthouses this day. So, we stopped to grab some famous Duck Donuts for the drive. One thing to note, the Outerbanks is one long piece of land. It takes a few hours to travel up and down the coast. 

We traveled through Pea Island and arrived on Cape Hatteras. 

In the town of Rodanthe, we were over the moon excited to find the “Inn of Rodanthe”. This is actually where they filmed Nicholas Sparks’ book “Nights in Rodanthe”. We had to snap some pictures. 

We continued driving, along the coast, and saw lots of wind surfers! 

We finally arrived at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It was so beautiful! 

I have been to many light houses, but I feel like this was the largest and most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. It was massive! 

The history of this one was very cool. They actually moved this light station in the late 90s because of beach erosion and fear that it might fall in the ocean. The process of moving it was amazing. 

It had a beautiful little walking trail out to it. 

They also moved the two light keepers houses. 

The base of this was massive. And the detail was so beautiful! Actually walking inside the light station was closed for refurbishment, but we enjoyed just strolling around the property. And, we explored the light keepers house too. 

After we left there, we headed back up the coast, back to Kill Devil Hills. 

I snapped a picture of the Bodie light station. We didn’t drive out to see it, but I did capture a pic from the bridge. 

On the way back, we ordered a pizza and picked it up to eat back at the condo. 

As you can tell, Addison changed clothes and was ready to go to the indoor pool. LOL 

However, we kept redirecting her to other things, like the children’s dictionary, while we watched the girl’s basketball championship game. Hahaha! 

When the game was over, we did take a walk to look at the ocean. It was soooooo cold! And sooooo windy! We were quick to continue on to the indoor pool which she loved. 

That’s it for the first few days. The next days of our trip consisted of lots of laughs while looking like coneheads and leaving in search of warmer temperatures! I’m not sure what day I will post part 2, but be on the lookout! 

xo

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4 Comments

  • Joanne

    April 19, 2023 at 2:18 pm

    I’ve always wanted to visit the Outer Banks! It seems like such a fun litlte area… but with family further down the North Carolina coast it seems silly to go that far and not put in the few extra hours to go and see them instead so that’s what we always end up doing. One of these times I think we need to plan for just a few days in the Outer Banks while on the way there or on the way home.