North Carolina is our new home state! Caleb and I are so excited about it and have been so excited to check out all the things that make North Carolina so special. So this past weekend we decided to camp our way down the Outer Banks.
Quick Facts:
Where we went: Corolla Beach, Duck, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Hatteras, Ocracoke
Where we stayed: Townsuites Kill Devil Hill, Frisco Campground, Ocracoke Campground
Where we ate: Tortugas Lie, Forbes, Country Deli, Blue Pelican, The Sugar Shack, Ocracoke Oyster House, Ocracoke Coffeehouse, 1718 Brewing, Plum Pointe Kitchen,
What we did: ORV Beaches, Hang Gliding, Offshore Fishing, Lighthouse viewing, Camping (duh), shopping
We started in Nags Head, technically Kill Devil Hill since that’s where our hotel the Marriott Bonvoy Townsuites were. The hotel was perfect for a COVID safe stay. It was very clean and each room is equipped with a full kitchen meaning you can cook and prepare all your own food. One thing I would have changed; we had a ‘partial ocean view’ room which was slightly more than a standard view room and calling it a ‘partial view’ was a bit of a stretch. Even on the third floor where we were, you had to stand on a chair and stand in the far corner to barely glimpse the ocean over the rows of houses in front of the hotel. In the future I wouldn’t bother paying for it, especially since the beach is in such close proximity that you could be there in mere seconds and have perfect views. One of the activities I was very excited for was the Hang Gliding lessons with Kitty Hawk Kites. We set it up for the first morning we were there. It was right down the street from our hotel, at Jockeys Ridge State Park. We got there early so we decided to walk around the park. What we didn’t know was that the park was filled with sand dunes! Walking around felt otherworldly. It was beyond weird to stand there completely surrounded by sand dunes and desert landscapes and realize that just on the other side was the ocean! After walking around for half an hour we walked over to the instruction center. Our instructor gave each of us a small pole about a yard long. Holding them out in front of us we went over basic of hang gliding, like how to hold on, what different commands mean, and how to stop the glider. From here we were fitted with helmets and harnesses and then lead out into the dunes. Throughout our lesson we got to take five flights down the dune, I highly recommend the experience! It wasn’t an adrenaline rush, just a soft peaceful glide. For someone like me, who would love to go skydiving but lacks the guts, this felt like the perfect first step into gathering the courage. Afterwards, we went and got lunch at the highly recommended Tortugas Lies. I am obsessed! If you go you must get the “Shark Attack” this drink is served with a plastic toy shark in it, and when you tip the shark upside down it appears to bite into the candied cherry in its jaws and cherry grenadine pours out. The beaches are beautiful so we walked around and enjoyed the sunset views before heading to the Sugar Shack for dinner. I wish I could say better things about this restaurant but it honestly disappointed. I cannot day for sure though that this is a normal thing, or if it’s because we came at the end of the day. For example, the seafood in the seafood boil was very overcooked but I’m unsure if that’s how it normally is, or if maybe it was just the last of what they had made earlier and rather then make it fresh that late at night they just reheated an earlier batch causing it to be overcooked. Additionally, in the whole dish there were only two mussels. It was advertised on the menu as a mix of crab, mussels, and shrimp but honestly was 99% shrimp. Our friends went to the Blue Pelican and had a much better experience, in the future I would probably go there. The next day we decided to drive up to Corolla Beach in hopes of seeing wild horses. The drive there was beautiful and took us through the adorable town of Duck. The little town center there is filled with cutes shops and waterfront restaurants, I could easily have spent a full day biking around that area and enjoying the sunshine. Once you at Corolla beach we stopped to let air out of the tires before venturing out onto the beach. We drove for about an hour down the beach before parking and taking out our Country Deli sandwiches for lunch (10/10 recommend! Great GF rolls!) During our time there we saw many of the wild horse tours coming and going but sadly we never saw any wild horses. I’m unsure if we were supposed to go further up the beach to be able to see them or if we were just unlucky. Later into the afternoon we drove back to Nags Head, stopped at Forbes for some chocolate treats (try the rice krispy treats or the peanut butter cups!) and then headed to Frisco Campground.
Quick Facts:
Where we went: Corolla Beach, Duck, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Hatteras, Ocracoke
Where we stayed: Townsuites Kill Devil Hill, Frisco Campground, Ocracoke Campground
Where we ate: Tortugas Lie, Forbes, Country Deli, Blue Pelican, The Sugar Shack, Ocracoke Oyster House, Ocracoke Coffeehouse, 1718 Brewing, Plum Pointe Kitchen,
What we did: ORV Beaches, Hang Gliding, Offshore Fishing, Lighthouse viewing, Camping (duh), shopping
We started in Nags Head, technically Kill Devil Hill since that’s where our hotel the Marriott Bonvoy Townsuites were. The hotel was perfect for a COVID safe stay. It was very clean and each room is equipped with a full kitchen meaning you can cook and prepare all your own food. One thing I would have changed; we had a ‘partial ocean view’ room which was slightly more than a standard view room and calling it a ‘partial view’ was a bit of a stretch. Even on the third floor where we were, you had to stand on a chair and stand in the far corner to barely glimpse the ocean over the rows of houses in front of the hotel. In the future I wouldn’t bother paying for it, especially since the beach is in such close proximity that you could be there in mere seconds and have perfect views. One of the activities I was very excited for was the Hang Gliding lessons with Kitty Hawk Kites. We set it up for the first morning we were there. It was right down the street from our hotel, at Jockeys Ridge State Park. We got there early so we decided to walk around the park. What we didn’t know was that the park was filled with sand dunes! Walking around felt otherworldly. It was beyond weird to stand there completely surrounded by sand dunes and desert landscapes and realize that just on the other side was the ocean! After walking around for half an hour we walked over to the instruction center. Our instructor gave each of us a small pole about a yard long. Holding them out in front of us we went over basic of hang gliding, like how to hold on, what different commands mean, and how to stop the glider. From here we were fitted with helmets and harnesses and then lead out into the dunes. Throughout our lesson we got to take five flights down the dune, I highly recommend the experience! It wasn’t an adrenaline rush, just a soft peaceful glide. For someone like me, who would love to go skydiving but lacks the guts, this felt like the perfect first step into gathering the courage. Afterwards, we went and got lunch at the highly recommended Tortugas Lies. I am obsessed! If you go you must get the “Shark Attack” this drink is served with a plastic toy shark in it, and when you tip the shark upside down it appears to bite into the candied cherry in its jaws and cherry grenadine pours out. The beaches are beautiful so we walked around and enjoyed the sunset views before heading to the Sugar Shack for dinner. I wish I could say better things about this restaurant but it honestly disappointed. I cannot day for sure though that this is a normal thing, or if it’s because we came at the end of the day. For example, the seafood in the seafood boil was very overcooked but I’m unsure if that’s how it normally is, or if maybe it was just the last of what they had made earlier and rather then make it fresh that late at night they just reheated an earlier batch causing it to be overcooked. Additionally, in the whole dish there were only two mussels. It was advertised on the menu as a mix of crab, mussels, and shrimp but honestly was 99% shrimp. Our friends went to the Blue Pelican and had a much better experience, in the future I would probably go there. The next day we decided to drive up to Corolla Beach in hopes of seeing wild horses. The drive there was beautiful and took us through the adorable town of Duck. The little town center there is filled with cutes shops and waterfront restaurants, I could easily have spent a full day biking around that area and enjoying the sunshine. Once you at Corolla beach we stopped to let air out of the tires before venturing out onto the beach. We drove for about an hour down the beach before parking and taking out our Country Deli sandwiches for lunch (10/10 recommend! Great GF rolls!) During our time there we saw many of the wild horse tours coming and going but sadly we never saw any wild horses. I’m unsure if we were supposed to go further up the beach to be able to see them or if we were just unlucky. Later into the afternoon we drove back to Nags Head, stopped at Forbes for some chocolate treats (try the rice krispy treats or the peanut butter cups!) and then headed to Frisco Campground.
