OBX III: Money in THE BANKS

It's back to The Banks!

Thursday, July 19 - Thanks to yet another cheap flight to Norfolk, VA, from Nashville via Southwest Airlines ($39 each way!), we got another chance to grab some beach time in what is fast becoming one of our favorite places to visit:  The Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Our friends, Nate and Ginny, grabbed the flight deal as well and joined us for their first visit to the OBX.

 

After we landed, we ate a late lunch in Norfolk at a Diners, Drive-ins & Dives TV-show star called Doumar's. This car-hopping drive-in hasn't changed much since it started way back in 1934.  They are famous for their barbecue (which was tasty) and the fact that the original Mr. Abe Doumar invented the waffle ice-cream cone.  The photo above shows his invention still working today and making all their cones by hand (and machine).  The cones were delicious especially with some butter pecan ice cream in them!  Speaking of D,D & D, we came to find out that the show and its host, Guy Fieri himself, were in the OBX the following day doing a taping at on one of our favorite restaurants, Tortugas Lie).   

We got a sweet rental car from Avis, our first Subaru Outback.  We made a few quick stops on the way south into North Carolina at the Weeping Radish Brewery, then at The Outer Banks Brewing Station and then a Brew Thru (photo above) to stock up on more "provisions"'  for the long weekend.

The drive down was gorgeous as usual. 

Our first dinner in the OBX was at The Atlantic Coast Cafe in Avon.  Delicious, fresh seafood!

After dinner we took a walk on the rickety-looking Avon Pier.  Despite its appearance,
the 600'- long, pier  built back in the 1950s must be a sturdy one to have survived so many hurricanes.

We rented a large house through the Outer Banks Motel in Buxton called the Dillon House.  It had tons of room for us and was very quiet.

Friday, July 20 - Beach time!  We had tons of fun boogie-boarding and beach lounging. 
The booming waves were huge and the surf was very strong.
Afterwards, we opted for some boat drinks at Dirty Dicks Crab House.  We drove down to
Ocracoke Island via the ferry and did a little shopping.  Unfortunately, it was too windy
to rent bikes as we had planned.  We ended our visit with dinner at Howard's Pub.

Saturday, July 21 - We started today with a drive up to Kill Devil Hills to a kite festival at the Wright Brothers Memorial.  We were hoping for some more beach time later today,  but some bad weather dashed our plans.



We opted for dinner and drinks (this was Ashlee's blueberry martini) on the sound-side of the
OBX tonight at The Sandbar & Grille.  More great seafood and a wonderful sunset view.
We lazed around our rental house for the rest of the evening watching movies on the
sweet big screen TV in the den.

Sunday, July 22 - Back to the beach!  We grabbed some sand near the beautiful Cape
Hatteras Lighthouse for another day of seaside fun.

 Ashlee is now officially addicted to boogie-boarding.

After driving up to the lovely sound-side village of Manteo for dinner at
The Full Moon Cafe & Brewery,we dropped by The Elizabethan Gardens for what was
advertised as an after-dark "Gardens-a-Glow" event.  Unfortunately, without our knowledge, the
festivities had been cancelled due to bad weather earlier in the week??  Oh well, it looks lovely
through the locked fence and it will have to be on our list to check out on our next visit.

Monday, July 23 - It was early departure from the OBX for us as we headed back to Norfolk to catch an early afternoon flight back home.  Another great trip.  Come on, Southwest, run that sale again!!  We can't wait to come back!!