• The Surf Slide: Mile Post 10 - Out of Business (open lot for sale)
• Evans Crab House: Mile Post 11 - Out of Business (now a printing business)
• Dowdy's Amusement Park & Carnival: Mile Post 11 Out of Business (park is abandoned)
• Acme Ice Cream Shack: Mile Post 13 - Out of Business (now beach homes)
• Newmans Shell Shop & Museum: Mile Post 13 - Out of Business (now beach homes)
• Jockeys Ridge Candies & Gifts: Mile Post 12 - Out of Business (now beach homes)
• The Wharf: Mile Post 12 - Out of Business (now beach homes)
• The Christmas Shop: Manteo - Out of Business (building still stands)
• Kitty Hawk Fishing Pier: Destroyed by Hurricane Isabel (now a Hilton Hotel)
• Current height of dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park: 80 feet (was 140 feet at turn of century)
• Tan-A-Rama Motel: Kitty Hawk - Destroyed by Hurricane Isabel (abandoned building)
• Sea Spray Motel: Mile Post 12 - Out of Business (abandoned building)
• Blackbeard's Gifts: Route 158 Bypass at bridge to Manteo - Out of business (open lot)
• Southern Shores / Duck / Corolla: Unholy traffic mess and over development to the extreme!

Beach Trip 2006 Event Intinerary

Monday: Roanoke Island

     Alongside the Outer Banks located between Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds is the island of Roanoke.  The island is divided by the two towns of Wancheese and Manteo.  These names derive from the the Indian chief brothers who killed one another in an attempt to gain power over the Algonquin tribe who resided there.  The first English colony in the new world was not Jamestown or Plymouth as some may believe...but Roanoke island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  The English colonists allied with chief Manteo but were left to fend for themselves as England was unable to replenish the colony due the impending invasion by the famous Spanish Armada of 1588.  After the death of Chief Manteo...the colonists were devastated by a brutal winter, starvation, death and disease.  When England was finally able to return the next spring, the colonists had disappeared with very little sign of what had happened to them.  This is the story of the famous "Lost Colony", and it is depicted at an amphitheater every evening as America's longest running outdoor drama.  Famous actor Andy Griffith started his acting career and portrayed Sir Walter Raleigh in this play that is a MUST for any family with small children visiting the area.  Link: http://www.thelostcolony.org/  Also on the island are the Elizabethan Gardens, Fort Raleigh, Festival Park and the North Carolina Aquarium.

Tuesday: Southern Shores, Duck & Corolla

     This was the most disappointing and aggravating day of the vacation.  To the North of Nags Head is the once desolate and quiet sands of Duck and Corolla.  Ok the picture below is NOT route 12 on the beach road, but it might as well be.  The traffic is atrocious!  They completely destroyed the Northern beaches by building a multitude of resorts, time-shares, condos, beach mansions and strip malls.  This from an area that used to have wild horses, undisturbed sand dunes and the beautiful unpainted Currituck Lighthouse.  Now you even have to stand in line to see the lighthouse.  It just makes you very sad.

Wednesday: Hatteras, Frisco & Ocracoke

     On the opposite and southern end of the Outer Banks is the world famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the little known Frisco Indian Museum and romantic cove of Ocracoke island.  Cape Hatteras Light is the world's tallest brick lighthouse and sits at the eastern corner of the Outer Banks chain.  It's easily recognized by it's spiral black and white paint scheme that looks much like a barber pole.  It stands at 196 feet shining a warning to vessels up to 20 miles out to warn them of the dangerous diamond shoals that has claimed the life of so many ships.  Cape Hatteras Sea Shore Link: http://www.nps.gov/caha/

     The Frisco Native American Indian Museum - a privately-owned little building along route 12 has some fascinating and neat artifacts of American Indian culture and history.  Admission is $5 per person and they pay extra attention to the native American tribes of the area in and around Eastern Carolina.  Link: http://click.nativeamericans.com/www.nativeamericanmuseum.org/

     Ocracoke is the place to go if you want a romantic get-away with your spouse or sweetheart.  The only way to get on the island is by ferry.  You must literally drive your car up onto a boat which brings you to the island and the last leg of route 12.  The road ends at a quiet little cove of fishing boats, restaurants, inns and gift shops.  At the top of a hill overlooking the water is a picturesque little white lighthouse that shines as a beacon over this romantic little spot.  This is also the place where Edward Teach, most widely known as Blackbeard the Pirate, was caught and killed by the British Navy in 1718.

Thursday: Oregon Inlet & Bodie Lighthouse

     Sometimes it's not the famous things that touch you and bring out emotions, but the familiar.  As a kid on vacation in the Outer Banks...I can remember time and time again driving past the Bodie Lighthouse and seeing the light shining over the beach road as you drove on the southern end of the beach or back across the bridge from Manteo.  Although smaller and barely known nationallly, Bodie Lighthouse holds a charm for those who are used to coming here for their summer get-aways.  The lighthouse is not open to the public, but you can get to the grounds and take pictures.  The park service maintains a gift shop and tour guides as well.

     Oregon Inlet is the fishing center for deep sea fishing in the sounds and coastal Atlantic waterways.  The best thing about this place is that you can bring your children to watch the fishing boats return after a day of deep sea adventure.  As soon as the ships park into their slips they reveal their booty - large fish like Sailfish, Bluefish, Tuna, Wahoo, Shark and Dolphin (no, not the Bottlenosed variety).  When I was a child...they used to catch Blue Marlin...the most challenging and beautiful of all deep water fish.  But now they catch and release...so you are unable to see this magnificent fish unless you are on the boat at sea.  Link: http://www.oregon-inlet.com/

Friday: Wright Brothers Memorial & Jockey's Ridge State Park

     The first powered airplane to ever fly was at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina which is a part of the Outer Banks.  A couple of bicycle makers from Ohio decided to use their ingenuity and know-how to invent a flying contraption that would fly on it's own.  Orville and Wilbur Wright were creating one of the most pivotal steps in the evolution of mankind.  For their invention, they needed an environment that was flat and with constant wind.  They chose Kitty Hawk and moved into a camp in the middle of nowhere.  December 17, 1903 -witnessed by a total of five persons...three local helpers and themselves, the Wright Brothers plane - named "The Flyer", on it's fourth try travelled under it's own motor-driven twin propellers 852 feet in 59 seconds.  Sixty-six years later Neil Armstong stepped onto the surface of the moon.  Link: http://www.nps.gov/wrbr/

     The tallest natural sand dunes in the Eastern United States is Jockey' Ridge in Nags Head.  Unfortunately rapid development and erosion has been slowly lowering these magnificent dunes and they are not as spectacular as they were when I was a kid.  The absence of vegetation and trees have caused increased wind and storm surge, which has been shown to contribute to it's shrinkage every year.  Even so...the dunes are still used by hang gliders and outdoor enthusiasts and you can see them as you drive by on the bypass.  The dunes are maintained and monitored by the state park system and there is a walking tour if you wish to see them first hand.  Link: http://www.jockeysridgestatepark.com/

Saturday: Relaxing in Nags Head

     The last day we spent relaxing on the beach.  Swimming, tanning and being lazy.  Lastly I would like to mention that there is a whole 'nother aspect of the Outer Banks and that's the eats!  There are several favorite restaurants I recommend for anyone visiting the area and will list them in the banners below.  If you are ever in the Outer Banks - check out these joints! 

Hopefully...the Outer Banks will continue to be place of relaxation and enjoyment.  It would be a shame to me if it becomes a loud, busy traffic-ridden beach much like Ocean City, Virginia Beach and Myrtle.