Our First Visit to Outer Banks, NC

The Outer Banks of North Carolina, also known as OBX, is a popular summer vacation destination among DC/MD/VA families for its expansive and quaint oceanfront beaches, wild horse population, history, and delicious food choices. The 200-mile string of barrier islands covers nearly the entire coast of NC and OBX is really just a string of beach towns, each with its own unique characteristics.

When you walk on the beach at night, you can say things that you can’t say in real life.

Jenny Han

Our end-of-summer family vacation in 2021 was my first time visiting OBX. I might be in the minority but a weeklong vacation filled with not doing much of anything is not my ideal trip. We booked a house through VRBO in Kill Devil Hills. Our requirements were: 1) Must be pet-friendly so we could take our dog, 2) Must have a private pool, 3) Must be within an easy walk to the beach, 4) Must have enough bedrooms for all seven of us all to be comfortable, and 5) Must not be over $4,000 for a weeklong rental.

Getting to the OBX from the DC area was the only bad thing about this trip. What should have taken 5.5 hours on I-95 always takes longer because of traffic. A weekend in August was no exception.

In case you don’t know, the Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur) piloted four successful flights with their powered, airplanes in Kitty Hawk, and you can visit the historic site to see a monument. There’s a lot of history in this area to explore, and that kept things interesting for me.

Weeklong beach vacations do not require itineraries. In fact, that would defeat the whole purpose of relaxation. We did a lot of cooking at home and frequented the Publix market often. My favorite experiences of this trip didn’t make the list of recommendations below because they were watching our dog run through the ocean for the first time, walking along the beach at night with my youngest daughter, and lots of pool volleyball tournaments with the whole family.

Seven days of sun, sand, and no itinerary at the beach were exactly what I needed to end the summer of 2021. If only we could do something about the traffic on I-95.

Favorites	Area	Trip Notes
Duck Donuts	Several locations in OBX	Warm, delicious, made-to-order donuts. Need I say more?
Wright Brothers National Memorial	Kill Devil Hills	The hike up to the top of the sand dune where the monument is located is a great way to stretch your legs after being in the car for 6+ hours.
Corolla Jeep Adventures	Corolla	Must do! The girls and I went on a wild horse tour on Corolla’s beaches which are only accessible with a 4-wheel drive vehicle. While we only saw a few wild horses, we learned a lot about how people with homes in Corolla live and the history of how the horses got there.
Sugar Kingdom	Kill Devil Hills	We always end up in a candy shop on vacation.
Avalon Fishing Pier Arcade	Avalon	While the adults listened to live music, my daughter loved playing pinball and skeeball with generous tickets for prizes that she exchanged for treasures.
Jimmy’s Seafood Buffet	Kitty Hawk	We loved sampling new kinds of seafood at the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet.
North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoake Island	Manteo	A must-do! This smaller-sized aquarium was definitely a trip highlight. There is a sea turtle rescue facility onsite, a shark tank, and visitors can pet stingrays and starfish – all popular activities with both of my daughters.
Roanoke Island Festival Park	Manteo	I was curious about the mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke. The Roanoke of today is a beautiful area to explore.
Sunsets on the sound side at Duck Town Boardwalk & Shopping	Duck	If we visit OBX again, I’d stay on the sound side. The boardwalk in Duck had some great restaurants, shopping options, and spectacular sunsets.
Jockey’s Ridge State Park	Nags Head	Home to the tallest sand dune system in the eastern United States and is one of the most popular things to do in OBX because of the views and wind conditions that make it perfect for hang gliding and flying kites.