Outer Banks

Visiting the Outer Banks (OBX) has been on our "to do" list since we moved to North Carolina.  I listen to my students rave about it and started to feel like I was left out, or certainly not a true North Carolinian unless I visited. So, this summer a student who's family has a home in Buxton, NC (mile 61 on HWY 12-almost at the end of Hatteras Island) offered a stay.  Consequently, he is also doing his internship at an exclusive resort in OBX, so I was able to work and play.  Words cannot describe the natural beauty of the OBX, although a few come to mind; breathtaking, inspiring, majestic...you get the point. And Sean and I aren't "beach people."  I dropped him off to ride his bike in the 50 mile HWY 12 to the house on our trip in and I drove slow, stopped to take pix, and enjoyed the evening glow on the ocean and dunes (one way in and out).  We tried to pack as much in as possible for four days, so we paddle boarded, visited the Hatteras lighthouse and Wright Brother Museum, rode our bikes to Ocracoke, and ate seafood every meal.  The highlight of the trip was Ocracoke.  We rode 12 miles from our house to the ferry (a 40 minute ride), then 14 miles to Ocracoke.  The lady at the bar said, "Goddamn, you rode that far?"  And although I laughed at her, the last leg of our trip in 90 degree heat when Sean couldn't take it anymore and rode home in front of me, I did start to agree with her!  It was a great day, although the heat got to me (my cryptonite) and I was thankful for a tailwind home because I'm pretty sure I wasn't peddling.  I would highly recommend the trip, it is truly a special place and one worth protecting!