Outer Banks, North Carolina

Outer Banks, NC
You Know You're
Hooked On the Outer Banks
when...

Welcome to the Outer Banks "You Know You're Hooked On The Outer Banks When..." probably our most popular page. This is a moderated page where you can get the inside information on activities on the Outer Banks. Be sure to check out all of the Outer Banks Travelogues! 
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Tell us why you are Hooked on the Outer Banks. Click here to bring up an easy-to-use form. Note: These pages are courtesy of Southeast Getaway. All postings will be published there using their form.

• My husband and I honeymooned there 25 years ago. We returned this past May to celebrate 25 years, it was as beautiful as ever. The first day on the beach the whales were in close and we could see them playing in the water. It was the only place that we went back to (after 25 yrs) that still had the beauty it did then. The people were friendly. Of course the light house at Hatteras has moved and the Wright Brother's Memorial is much bigger and nicer, and Jockey Ridge has had alot of movement, it was fabulous just like it was then. I want to move there. It is gorgeous!
  -- Donna Dewar  - Monday, June 14, 2004 at 18:33:58
• I am hooked on OBX because when we went down this May 04' we stayed in a house named Banana Wind and I had the best time in my life. My boyfriend and I climbed to the top of the Cape Hatteraus lighthouse and saw the most beautiful view imaginable. We had a fire on the beach and ran away from the crabs. It was the best vacation I ever had, and cannot wait until next May comes and I can do it over again.
  -- ashley harter  - Friday, June 11, 2004 at 13:24:56
• -It brings tears to your eyes to go to the same cottage (Marvin Minton Motel-Nag's Head) where you enjoyed summer vacations with family members over 30 years ago, some of which are no longer here.
  -You can reminisce about happy times spent on the Outer Banks so many years ago, but the memories are so vivid that it only seems like yesterday.
  -You realize your passion for the OBX was actually "inherited" from your grandfather and mother, both of whom have since passed away. (My children and I are the 3rd and 4th generation!)
  -It's the ONLY place you want to go on vacation and deep inside your heart, you wish to live there someday.
  -You feel a "special bond" with others who visit the Outer Banks because you know they can feel the magical peace & serenity that you do.
  -When a stranger rolls down their window at a stop light and asks you what the front OBX license plate on your car means and you tell them "You just have to go to find out.
  -Can't wait. My husband and I will be leaving in 9 days. It takes about 10+ hours but it doesn't seem that long and it's well worth it all just to hear the waves crashing, sea gulls overhead and the sand between your toes.
  -- Tammy Nelson  - Thursday, June 10, 2004 at 16:49:46
• My grandparents moved here to retire in Nags Head after they sold their home in Maryland. They wanted the condo they bought right on the ocean to become the place where our big family would gather, like we did in Maryland for years. Now, they've both passed away, and the condo has been sold, but the beach itself pulled first my little sister (11 years ago), and now me (this past winter) to uproot our lives from the mountains of New England and come to this island where anything is possible and where dreams really do come true. Walking along the beach on a sunshine day makes you feel healthy and alive. Sitting on the sand, after the sun sets and feeling the warmth on your toes...watching the waves in the moonlight...that's just plain spectacular. Things seem to fall into perspective. You feel peaceful and ready to handle the "real world" again after a little while just breathing. I love the Outer Banks, the people all have "their story" and the restaurants/outdoor bars offer some of the best meals and robust atmosphere ever experienced, in just shorts and a bikini top. The storms are wild, scary and fantastic to be a part of. And they say, it is here where you will find 'the answers'. Even St. Andrews Episcopal Church by the Sea is filled to capacity every Sunday...(an amazing thing this day and age) I'm hooked. I'm staying.
  -- Cindi Getek - Tuesday, June 8, 2004 at 21:52:57
• We got hooked on the OBX in 1994 after some friends encouraged us to rent a "beach cottage" in NC. I had no idea what we were getting into. So for almost every year since then we have met our good friends from Michigan there and shared a beach house. Beginning in January we start to comb the internet and catalogs for our perfect house as close to the ocean as possible. Our children have the most wonderful memories of our week in heaven and look forward to going each year even now as teenagers. My favorite acitivy is looking for the perfect shells on the beach in the early morning up in the dunes. We bring back a huge box every year and add to our landscape rock so when I look out my window I can see a little bit of the obx every day. The food, great little shops, beautiful beaches and charm of the island leaves me daydreaming often about what the weather is like on a given day or who is staying in "my" beach cottage. I can't image a summer without a week or so on the banks.
  -- Rose Pomeroy  - Friday, June 4, 2004 at 16:50:11
• After watching the film 'Message in a bottle' my dream is to visit the Outer Banks. I'm sure my future belongs there, if only in my dreams!!!
  -- Nikki Beech  - Sunday, May 16, 2004 at 17:53:03
• I have been hooked on the Outer Banks since 1992 when a friend of mine took us on a trip during Easter. I could not believe how time seemed to reverse itself and everything seemed to just slow down a little. Ever since, I bring my children nearly each and every year "home" as I call it. I am not a native of this beautiful paradise but if I have my way, I will spend my remaining days here. I know that it takes a special person to be able to handle what mother nature throws at this place and her people, but their resilience is absolutely amazing and that too is another reason why I am hooked. You will not find people like this anywhere, I can assure you.
  -- Sharon Hall  - Friday, May 14, 2004 at 11:22:41
• When you are the only person in Indiana with a license plate that reads "Hateras". Our Cabana was destroyed by Isabelle, so this year we will stay in Avon. Can't wait, Only three more days!
  -- Carol Keeley  - Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at 00:05:47
• we have only been home two days and are already talking about next year's trip. This was our first visit to the Outer Banks, we arrived in Buxton after dark so did not see the view until the sun came up the next morning. It was magical, like all my 47 Christmas mornings had been rolled into one. The whole week, schedules were forgotten and we couldn't stop smiling. There's 'something' about this place; if you come stressed, you won't go home that way. My husband and I have both remarked how even being home feels better now. This Outer Banks vacation gave us a whole new attitude!
  -- Debbie Allen - Wednesday, May 5, 2004 at 00:17:06
• Starting when I was little, like 5 or something, my family would take a couple weeks out of every year to go down to the outerbanks where we would stay, usually in avon, at the avon motel. we would go almost every year and the fishing was always great. well, we stopped going in the mid eighties and then I grew up and moved on. Well, i now live in nc, about 200 miles from OBX and my wife, kids, and me have been going to the obx 2x a year since 2001. We usually stay south of avon and rent a house for a week or 2. I love the 4x4 access and the fact that i can find a nice quiet piece of beach in about 20 minutes no matter where I am. we love ocracoke and venture over to the island just about every day. we love the seclusion and the lack of hustle/bustle. we are going again in early june and I am really getting excited. so far, i've never been stuck or had any problems on the beach, just make sure my tires are aired down and i have plenty of gas and also I make sure the truck is in A1 shape. kis love it, i love it more! :-) 
  -- Bill Zavetsky - Tuesday, April 27, 2004 at 17:39:37
• I've been hooked since a trip in Aug. 1994. It was there I found my home away from home. I discovered a more "primitive", peaceful way of life there that year...even during the "in season". To my surprise, the images and feeling followed me home that year and it was something that stuck with me, has remained in my thougths and my heart every single day, has become a part of my being. The banks have left such an impression on my daily life that since that first trip, I have taken every one of my vacations there, stayed in many rentals, in various areas of the beach from Duck and north, always staying oceanfront. I have returned every year since then, at least one time a year, introducing the banks to friends and relatives, building memories, taking along my dogs, but always finding May and Movember the optimal times for visits. The times that have become a part of me is catching the sharks and flounder from the oregon inlet bridge, hanging out there with all the friendly fishermen and trading secrets, building many great memories of fishing off the surf by the light of a breath-taking sunset in four wheel drive country, having fished the piers through just as great a sunset, having built the castles on the beach with little children who joined my efforts as they were just wandering up the beach, making discoveries along the beaches after storms when the craziest of things wash up and the speculation and learning begins. I've dug for clams in the sound, taken the ferry from Hattaras to Ocracoke with a slue of stow away sea gulls guiding us every time, have climbed the lighthouses, shopped lots of the stores - I like the smaller, less-known places where lots of the true local flavor can be purchased, eaten some of the best food I've ever had (Dirty Dicks, Awful Arthur's, Slammin' Sammy's, George's Junction, The Wharf, this list goes on...and on...and on). I have experienced watching the waters leave the sound and empty out to sea just before the winds of a noreastern hits and have spent many a night, staring into the stars above and waiting for the next shooting star to wish on. I've taken the four wheelers into what was once known as the backlands and have been chased away by a hurricane or two. Each time I have returned home, I return with another "piece of the beach". Over these 10 years of visits, I have turned my home in PA into a beach house, have remodeled the bathroom in the style of most of the beach cottages, as well as the living room and have plans for the rest of the house. I have had many pictures of different sights around the OBX blown up and framed and they decorate the walls of my house. There are seashells and nets, naticaul decor from all over the OBX in my house, my Christmas tree is decorated entirely with natural findings and store bought items...not a single room or season has escaped from the OBX. If I could...I would have already jacked my house up on stilts, parked my jep under the house, filled my yard with sand, shells, and sea oats and hung pictures of the beach on the outside of my windows. The only newspaper I get and read is the coastland times...delivered right to my door...just so I know what's happening...home away from home. Yea, the OBX are in my DNA. Until you go...you'll never know true obsession.
  -- Brenda Troup - Sunday, April 25, 2004 at 20:49:13

• I went to the Banks one time, years ago, with friends. It was magic. It was the only beach I've ever been on where I really felt like I was having an experience with the ocean. No crowds. No trash left all over the beach. The surfers were cool. Sitting on the beach late at night, the sunrise and wind pushing the remainder of a storm away, the sand crabs starting to pop out... and the Apple Uglies... 
  It was a whole different way of life down there.
  -- Deb Derbis - Thursday, April 15, 2004 at 10:14:35
• .....all you can do is wait until "vacation day" comes around ! 
  Spent many vacations in the OBX with my family when I was small starting in the mid 70's.....then for a time I didn't go......Back in 1988, though, I started going again.....My wife (then girlfriend) and I have been going every year since except 1999, because of the expected birth of our son. 
  Beginning with our honeymoon in 1996, we have rented a house on the North Beach every year in September....its just an expereince that never gets old! 
  Both of our boys (now 4.5 and 2) have taken their first "beach steps" on the OBX.... 
  Have been through 2 major evacuations, the latest which was September 2003.....we were there for 2 days and we were ordered to evacuate.....our 4x4 broke down the day before evacuation, so THAT was a disaster (Thanks Elizabeth Ford for getting us on the road!)....but even with that fiasco, we got a taste of the OBX which has left us yearning for this years trip! 
  Two words: Vacation insurance -- and if you are in the 4x4 area, make sure you have a cell phone and the number of the (only) tow truck operator. Trust me, I know. 
  Just a word to the County folks -- get that Northern Beach evacuation route opened sooner! It saved us HOURS of driving last year once it was FINALLY opened! 
  Stack Em High, Jimmy's Buffet, the Wind Mill Restaurant and the Ship's Wheel (I love "The Galley" breakfast!) are our favorite restaurants.... 
  We have seen most of the tourist sites over the years and these days just hang out at the beach or just enjoy each other's company.....the way it should be......a piece of heaven. 
  Hopefully this year will have beautiful weather and no vehicle problems! 
  Once the Outer Banks get in your blood, you are hooked.....its the ONE time of year that my other obsession, riding my motorcycle, takes a back seat. 
  But one year I hope to take my bike with me to the OBX....that will be sensory overload! 
  -- Dave Zavetsky (zavetsky@comcast.net) - Monday, March 29, 2004 at 08:36:13
• you know you're hooked when you're 15 years old and have been going since the first year you are born.. you can't decide which friend to take with you to share your glorious trip and you keep a cup af sand from last year beside your bed so whenever you miss it all u have to do is touch the sand
  -- Brandi McCormack - Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 19:16:23
• You know you're hooked when you begin to dread going because you know you will have to leave after your 2 weeks in Heaven; when, as a retired teacher, you'd be willing to go back to work long enough to pay for plane fare from Texas; when you carry a flat, smooth piece of broken shell in your purse and feel warm all over when you see it and plain emotional when you hold it. 
  -- Linda Kennington - Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 00:18:28
• I'm hooked on the Outer Banks because I like to go 4 wheeling there and drive speed boats in the ocean. Please send me some OBX stickers ASAP!
  -- Luke Phillips - Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 21:42:15
• I have been going to the OUter Banks for 26 years. It is a long 12 hour drive but worth every bit of it. My family has been tring to talk me into Florida for years but I will not budge. The Outer Banks is the only place for me. My 7 year old son is just as obsessed as I am. I love the New York Pizza Pub and my son loves Wings. Without a doubt the Outer Banks is the best place on earth.
  -- Beth Irvin - Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 15:32:47
• There is a magic, that can't be felt anywhere on earth. Because the ocean is somehow different there....there is a feeling, a comfort, a warmth, that I have never felt in any other vacation spot before or since...and I can't stay away too long...I have to see it..again and again, at least once a year, if not more...to see the shorelines, the whitecaps, the dunes, and even after Isabel wreaked her havoc, to see the 'Banks' come back...the familiar lighthouses, all there, all still lighting the night skylines...the sight of a full moon rising on the Atlantic...and I am sad when I leave, and reminiscent for weeks after being there....and to quote Mr. Taylor's song, 'In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina....'
  -- Michelle Yamrick  - Saturday, March 6, 2004 at 21:37:14
• When we visit one weekend every month with a 6 hour drive Friday night after work no matter what the weather is like to spend Saturday walking on the beach so I can search for shells and driftwood to bring home to the "beach retreat" I am trying to build in the corner of my living room, to keep me happy until I can move to the outerbanks and live for ever in peaceful bliss. Eating at the Dunes,Stackum High Pancakes and Dirty Dicks, and the kids love Kill Devils Corn Dogs and Custards. The delightfully friendly people at Colony IV Motel and Nags Head Inn and Avon Cottages. Only 11 days till I return to Heaven on earth and then have to wait another unbearable 3 weeks to go back again. 
  -- Sherry Miller  - Friday, March 5, 2004 at 11:19:43
• We love each and everyone of our friends, the ones who are no longer with us and the ones that are still waithing for every oct. Never have we met such people as the friends of the outer banks from the outer banks pier to bingo- to the grocerys stores we have met the best friends on the fishing unlinited fishing pier from all over the world there is no one in the world can compare with these people we just want to say thank you for sharing your part of you world with us it means more than you will ever know jp cottage's the best place on the outer banks just like family - thanks again the fuller's from ohio
  -- PATTY FULLER- Thursday, March 4, 2004 at 22:57:32
• ...is there anywhere else to go? We started going there in 1992 and have went at least once a year since then. It just seems like home. I can not say that there is anything about the banks that I don't like. Every year we go to Jockey's Ribs and they remember us. My nephew has celebrated his last 4 birthdays there! The best food on the beach! We also luv the Jolly Roger and the Wharf. I love the sound, you just seem to be in another world when you are there! My husband & I will be living there someday! Only 3 months and we are there! 
  -- liz lozano  - Wednesday, March 3, 2004 at 23:49:12
• I am hooked because from the time we leave....I am always going on OBX sites, the AvalonPier.com, and have the days counted down!!! Dunes South in South Nags Head is truly heaven on Earth and I can not WAIT to get back there!! Only 120 more days!!!
  -- Lisa Furry  - Saturday, February 28, 2004 at 20:01:48
• - When on Christmas Eve, after reading The Night Before Christmas to your four year old child, she looks up and says I want to go to the beach and chase the sea gulls , - and so do you. 
  - Why you feel proud when you see the Welcome to the Village of Waves road sign in your surfer dude college kid s dorm room. 
  - When your friends can't understand why you rave about food from places named Awful Arthur s and Dirty Dick s. 
  - When you know that the driver in the car ahead of you with the oval black and white HI sticker isn t just saying hello. 
  -- Steven Hunt - Sunday, February 22, 2004 at 14:30:36
• you go back EVERY YEAR because you cant imagine vacationing ANYWHERE else, you count the days until you are going back, you love the cake at THE WHARF and going to BIG AL'S is a tradition, DIRTY DICKS is amazing, you had a great time even though it rained EVERY day last year, miniature golfing is also a tradition and walking to FAT BOYZ ICE CREAM!!! :o) I LOVE OBX!!! 165 days til we go back!!!
  -- Melissa Tasy - Monday, February 16, 2004 at 19:34:04
• 1) I know I am hooked on the Outer Banks because one of the grocery memberships savings cards in my wallet is a Food Lion card...And the only Food Lion I have ever been to is on the Banks! 
  2) I know I am hooked on the Outer Banks when I took my 6 week old daughter there...and stayed for Gustav (2002)! 
  3) I know my family is hooked because the first time I walked, the first steps I took were on the beach in Buxton, NC (many, many years ago!!) 
  4) I know we are hooked when growing up, my family tried to coordinate our vacation with my birthday so that we could celebrate it on the Outer Banks. 
  It's a sickness, but I love it! 
  225 days (and counting) until my next visit!
  -- Erin Runkle  - Thursday, January 29, 2004 at 20:47:27
• You have just booked your week 2 house at the beach-One week only is purely for novices-and now all you can do is obsess over the beach catalogs all winter...and you just got back from a week in November. 
  -- Debra Pearce  - Tuesday, January 27, 2004 at 09:24:40
• We have been going to the Banks since 1983....and even the poor dog is hooked....you know she is hooked when you say Awful Arthur's...and she perks up her head from a deep sleep!! We dearly love the Banks ...all of us..and hope to be able to return until we are gone from this earth and then may we return to our beloved Banks home in spirit! 
  -- Mary Mount - Sunday, January 18, 2004 at 22:13:13
• I'm just sitting here with tears in my eyes reading the words of those with kindred spirits! You could never understand unless you have been there. My family and I went to Va. Beach for a couple of days this month in January and all they could say about the ocean is : "It smells like Nag's Head! I want to go to Nag's Head!" THe Outer Banks is unlike anywhere else on this earth. Troubles seem to fade there...You rediscover your family there....You make soooo many memories (all happy) EVERYONE I know that goes there counts the days when they can return. Why is this? In my opinion, its God's way of telling us that Heaven is real and the OBX is a little taste of it. Hope to see you all in Salvo this June!! Dave Cash
  -- David Cash  - Friday, January 9, 2004 at 09:22:48
• I spent most of my life only an hour away. I practically grew up on Jeanettes Pier, in fact I caught my first big fish (a flounder) there when I was four. My daughter was born in California (where I now live,) but her first experience with the ocean was in Nags Head. I will always call OBX my home.
  -- Melanie Orlanda  - Saturday, January 3, 2004 at 00:56:59
• you know your hooked when the first thing in the morning and the last thing before you go to bed is go to the pier web page and listen to the waves and looked at the beautiful view :) http://www.avalonpier.com/streamwaves.html
  -- Helen Pannell  - Monday, December 15, 2003 at 20:43:53
• I grew up in north Jersey, but my Dad, being from Boston and New Bedford, loved the ocean and so we went to Cape Cod every summer. Cape Cod got overdeveloped and we moved to Maryland (Ocean City is a horror). Returning from Chicago in 1976 (and me not having seen the ocean for 5 years) my Dad said he had found a place like old Cape Cod, but better. He said the Bankers were very friendly and the prices right. I made my first trip to pre-development Duck and was overwhelmed by the wind, the beauty the low densities. Highway 158 was a little 2-lane road then and the Causeway 1 lane in each direction. Eventually started going to Hatteras Island and every year some combination of my families, friends, in-laws etc.go for 2 or more weeks. My wife wanted to go somewhere else for 2004...I agreed but a few weeks later booked a house for 2 weeks on Hatteras. You know I'm hooked on those huge skies, star-exploded nights, ghostly winds coming off the ocean, dolphins in the surf, Ocracoke seafood, NCDOT free ferry rides, legends and lore, kayaking Pamlico and I could go on and on. How could I go somewhere else?
  -- Brian Muldoon  - Thursday, December 11, 2003 at 13:33:30
• When you come to this site LMAO
  -- Rick Star  - Saturday, November 22, 2003 at 18:41:03
• Every year me and my family go to the OBX and we can't dream of going any where else!!!:)we are HOOKED!!! One year we actually saw a whales tale!! Out in the ocean. There had just been a hurricane thuogh so it may have been lost or somthing. The hurricane that had just hit was hurricane dennis. The year of 1999. I love storms so I loved it!!:)
  And there is no one on the beach either, not like florida or myrtle beach. You can also drive on the beach and when we did (me my dad and my friend) we rented a jeep and when we hit a bump we when flying in the air!!! (WEEEEE!!!) It is so fun, I want to go now!!!!! When you go riding on the beach you can go in a kinda secret road and back in there are some wild horses!!!! COOL MAN!!!! Wild mustangs.
  Well that's How I'm HOOKED on the outer banx!!:)
  -- Karrie Hunt  - Saturday, November 15, 2003 at 12:56:05
• You know you're hooked when you haven't been there for ten years and it's the only place you could dream of spending your honeymoon...
  -- Joanne Semmelmann - Tuesday, November 11, 2003 at 20:04:38
• We started coming to the Outer Banks in 1998. Duck to be exact. My mother in-law wanted to buy a house to rent out. She did find one--on the beach. My mother in-law thought it would be neat if the whole family vacationed in Duck that Thanksgiving. Since the family is so large we had to rent out another house, in addition to the one she already owns. My husband and our three children stay in the other rented dwelling, since then it has become a tradition and I have been inviting my parents and siblings down also. We haven't missed a year since then. We stay in the same house every Thanksgiving and in the spring we stay at my in-laws house. Twice a year we make the OBX our vacation spot. I wouldn't dream of staying anywhere else. It is so quiet and very family oriented. We have stayed in other resort towns--Myrtle Beach to be exact. It is so crowded and noisy we wouldn't dream of ever going back there. My kids have so many memories of going to all the lighthouses, Jockey's Ridge, the Wright Brothers Memorial and so much more. It really is a wonderful place to stay.
  -- Vicky Doherty  - Monday, November 3, 2003 at 00:05:12
• I have lived in North Carolina all of my life and until 1998, had never visited the OBX. My Mother had been in her early adult years and said that you were not a true north Carolinian until you had been to to the Outer Banks, that it was a differant world. I agree, I was not impressed with the Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills area, way too commercial for my liking, But differant strokes for differant folks. I fell in love with the Avon/Buxton area, it is truly breath taking. We always take the ferry over to Ocracoke to spend a day,and eat at the Jolly Roger! Somepeople don't like Oracoke,what a shame too removed for them to enjoy....sad, they don't know how to enjoy what the Lord created. My husband and I planned all summer to go down in Sept.of 2003 and the day that we planned to leave Isabel came in,while alot of damage was done,no one lost their life...Thank the Lord! My husband and I did make it to our beloved Outer Banks, 2 weeks later, the weather was beautiful and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse had just been reopened the day before we arrived for climbling, I was so excited that I cried. After the climb we ate breakfast at Diamond Shoals(great food) and at night we ate at the Mad Crabber(also great food) lot of places were being repaired (mostly shingles and sand,tree removal)we couldn't go past Frisco, because of the Inlet opening during Isabel, but we were able to go and buy bait from Capt. Jack and Lovey at Frisco Bait and Tackle Shop,(great couple)we also were able to fish off of the Avon pier (which is one of the very few left standing)that is always a treat to stand at the end of the pier and look back at the Island. Can't wait for next years vacation to the OBX!We are fans for life! 
  -- glenda horton  - Thursday, October 16, 2003 at 15:50:38
• Our first trip to the Outer Banks was 7 or 8 years ago, we stayed in Avon. That first vacation we experienced a tropical storm which was quite an experience(I can't imagine a Hurricane). From that point on I have been hooked. I love that the place is so relaxing, there is much to do, fishing(on my list of things to do), kayaking, Bike riding, and of course the annual trip to Ocracoke. The reason I now own a 4 wheel drive vehicle is so I can go anywhere on the beach, away from the crowd. Our dogs enjoy this also. But the # 1 reason I am hooked on the Outer Banks is the quality time I get to spend with my family. This year our vacation plans had to be changed due to Isabel(a small inconvenience compared to what the people of Hatteras Village and Ocracoke have been through and continue to go through), but I very much wanted to be in the Outer Banks. Our original house was in Frisco and the road was closed until this past Thursday, so we rented another house in Waves and still had a great vacation. I am already looking forward to next year and we just got back yesterday!
  -- Matt Gahres - Sunday, October 12, 2003 at 19:53:48
• My husband took me to this wonderful place on our honeymoon in 1998 - forgive me but I forget the hurricane that landed that year. We had a condo at Pirates Cove and were evacuated 2 days later. We did return 3 days later to some damage but not terrible. The Holiday Inn in Nags Head gave us a Ocean Front Room for a very reasonable price. It was the high light of my life. We spent one more vacation in Salto and that was it. I am sick now and want nothing more than to spend at least another spring, summer, winter or fall at this place that has stayed in my head forever....This place has meant more to me than anywhere. 
  -- Debbie King  - Tuesday, October 7, 2003 at 01:00:58
• 1) I have been there for every birthday of my life, except the year I was born. 
  2) Our family started out in a 3 bedroom villa on the sound and this year we stayed in a 10 bedroom on the beach.
  3) Driving from Cincinnati is not a bad drive at all.
  4) On Christmas morning we all talk about who wants to go next year.
  5) The servers at Sam and Omie's remember us, even though we are only there for a week a year.
  6) I remember when the Causeway was only one lane both directions.
  7) James Taylor- Carolina in my mind
  8) Kitty Hawk kites- the original store.
  9) The fact that when you tell people you are going on vacation to the Outer Banks they ask 'where is that?'.
  10) At least once a month the family will happen upon a memory and reminisce about the most recent trip or all the way back to the first trip.
  
  And of course the fact that no matter where my travels take me over the course of the year, I always count down to when I get back to Nags Head.... the sun, the sand and enjoying time with my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews and the one I love. I hope to be back next year, to a place that has stood the test of Mother Nature and only gets better with age.
  -- A Habel  - Friday, October 3, 2003 at 10:45:38
• I have been coming to the banks for 23 years. Some years missed. My first was in 1976. WOW. My heart cannot find the words to discribe the joy, comfort,and total peace of mind I have found on the banks. Most of my time has been spent on Ocracoke Island and have watched it change and grow. But still never looses it's ability to hold me captive and creating in me the desire to hold on to the breezes that finally carries me back. My memories are of a primitive, simplistic lifestyle. Swept forward by the changing of the tides.
  -- t c  - Wednesday, October 1, 2003 at 20:36:00
• After looking forward to our yearly beach house trip for 11 months, Hurricane Isabel took away our Nag's Head vacation this year. We went on down to Myrtle Beach, SC, for a couple of days, but left early because we couldn't wait to get away from there-too crowded and commercialized. Luckily, we did have vacation insurance and will get our money back for the beach house, so have already reserved it for next May - NOT hurricane season. So, stuff that won't be used in the interim is still packed in the basement and the countdown has started - again.
  -- Barb Crocker  - Monday, September 29, 2003 at 11:02:20
• We wait all year for this!!!!. Have not had lights at home for over a week, so this is a nice reprieve. We outsmarted Isabel and are in the Outer Banks at this very minute!!! Pine Island is still very beautiful. Weather is more than we could have ever hoped for. Our child will still get his annual picture taken on the same day at the same spot. Y'all come!!! You won't be disappointed. 
  -- berbice two - Sunday, September 28, 2003 at 23:01:42
• We have been going to the OBX for over 20 years. We have had our own "castle in the sand" since 1988. I think everyone should know that OBX is not part of the USA, nor is it a part of the earth. Somewhere from time and space this little bit of paradise landed in NC. I know this because nowhere else can you hire someone to paint your house and they arrive with a surf board. If the surf is up, forget painting. They'll paint at night with a flashlight, except the surf is up at night also. Then you hire a plumber and he arrives with a fishing pole - - get it. There are more important things than work. Those of us who live in the USA or on this earth, haven't quite learned that. The only chance we get at this peaceful attitude is our short stay when we vacation at OBX. And Izzy and the other hurricanes can try as they might they cannot keep us from going where our heart is. To all who love the OBX - enjoy. 
  -- Bobbe Sarsfield - Friday, September 26, 2003 at 20:41:39
• I'm glad I found this website. There is no place like OBX to vacation, and make it your family beach. I love it there for the natural beauty, the people, the restaurants, the history, the many lighthouses to see and if you have never been to Jockey's Ridge State Park, go. Awesome! There is no place like the beach to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds and wonderful smell of that relaxing ocean air. I love you OBX! 
  -- Holly Schrock  - Friday, September 26, 2003 at 13:53:41
• Three years ago my son and his friend decided to work in the OBX for the summer. Since my wife and I never visited that area (Ocean City was our escape) we decided to make the trip. Two years ago we made the OBX our vacation. Three years after we first visited, we now own our 2nd home and look for any excuse to get away. I can't explain the magnetism, but that's OK. 
  -- John Eckes  - Friday, September 26, 2003 at 10:35:01
• Even with the fury of the hurricanes, there is no place on earth like the Outer Banks. We have been coming there for years. Have stayed in numerous places, South Nags Head, Nags Head, Carova Beach, Corolla, etc. Lately, we have been going twice a year (May & Sept.) Our children are grown so now it is just my husband & I and our two Golden Retrievers, Brandy & Duncan. There are an abundance of beautiful homes that will allow our beloved dogs to travel with us available through the realtors. They adore the beach and the ocean air as we do and we are comfortable knowing they can be with us instead of making them crazy and upset at a boarding facility. They are well trained and treat our rental homes as they would our own. I applaud the realtors and owners who make this service available. Just one week prior to Hurricane Isabel (Sept. 6-13) we stayed at a beautiful home called Corolla Escape through Sun Realty in Corolla. We were totally happy, the weather was wonderful and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. We find more and more that each time we have to leave, it gets harder. This time we finally decided that we will shoot for early retirement here in PA and move just as close to the Outer Banks as we can afford and spend the rest of our days there. It's as close to heaven as we have found.
  -- Margaret Scott  - Thursday, September 25, 2003 at 09:04:47
• You know you are hooked on the outer banks when there has just been a huge hurricane, your motel reservation had to be cancelled because the motel was crushed by a pier and you are now online, looking for a place to stay so you can go anyway cuz ya can't stand to stay away for another year. My heart goes out to all the victims of Hurricane Isabel, and I hope the outer banks is on it's feet again real soon. The collective hearts of the people down there are made with the strongest stuff on earth, love and hope. God Bless all of you and we will see you this weekend even if we have to sleep in the car!
  -- Marianne Duncan  - Wednesday, September 24, 2003 at 12:51:18
• that is the first time i was ever to the beach was this summer and i spent 3 days down their and i love it. i was down at the beach and to the resaunt and ate and the pear and i was up and down the beeach town raod and now i would like to go to a link to see pictures of what the storm done and also i would love to come back and spend at least a week or a month down their. i loved it.
  tiny carr 
  -- tiny carr  - Wednesday, September 24, 2003 at 00:21:01
• You know your hooked when..... you worry more about whats happening to your beloved OUTER BANKS when Hurricane Isabel Sept. 18th 2003 was blowing in rather than worry about your own property where you live that is also in the path of the storm as it blows up the Chesapeake Bay Region of Maryland. I live on a little point of land that sticks out into the Chesapeake Bay and has the Potomac River and Patuxent river on each side and as we sat through the 70+ mile an hour winds with trees snapping in half all around us, and storm surge floods and high tides and inches and inches of rain, and without power for 4 days, all I could keep saying was I hope everyone down in OBX land is OK and couldnt wait till the power came back on and get on the computer and TV and newspaper coverage to see the damage. I called Tom at the Colony IV Motel(been staying there for 14 years) to see if they were ok. The pictures of OBX are heartbreaking. I pray for all of you there for strength and patience during the cleanup and repair process. I wish I could come down and help with the clean up. Outer Banks........ I will see you as soon as they will let non-residents back in. I hope to some day BE a RESIDENT Hurricanes and all. God Bless the most beautiful place on Earth and may his hands touch and heal the land the beaches and all of you who live and love it there 
  -- Sherry Miller  - Tuesday, September 23, 2003 at 09:37:45
• We celebrated our 10th anniversary by staying at The Sanderling in Duck. It was so romantic! A whole week devoted to driving up and down the Outer Banks to see my beloved lighthouses (all of them!!), getting up at sunrise every morning to watch the dolphins swimming together in pairs (so romantic!) We're an Air Force family and we've lived literally around the world for the past nearly 20 years, and yet of all the places we could settle when we retire, all we seem to talk about anymore is going back to North Carolina!!! The Outer Banks to me will always be the closest thing to heaven I've seen here on Earth. 
  -- MJ Maxwell  - Saturday, September 20, 2003 at 06:42:42
• I've been going there since I was six, first with my parents and now with my own family. Our idea of a vacation is having as many friends and family members with us as possible. Staying at Geri's Place for the past 18 years (MP21) we have often had 7 of the 10 cottages filled with people that we know or are related to us. Knowing what we are going to be doing each day - sitting on the beach - and what restaurants we want to be sure to hit - makes it the most relaxing place on earth. My girls have grown up spending two weeks each July on the OBX. They are now teenagers and they still can't wait to go. I can't wait to go back in July. You know you are hooked when your idea of an evening out is sending people ahead to get a table at Awful Arthurs and knowing that you are still going to wait 1 hr+!! for that table.
  -- Jean Jerina  - Friday, September 19, 2003 at 10:59:09
• We have been coming to the outer banks for 24 yrs. Usually in the latter part of the summer. We were evacuated on Tues. for ISABEL, and the two days before the weather was great, warm wx, lots of sun, the sound was calm, no wind but the ocean was a little rough. We will come back to Avon, NC. Next year to enjoy the late summer weather and the great fishing, surf, sound and serenity. 
  -- Bob King  - Friday, September 19, 2003 at 10:48:26
• You know you're hooked when you:
  (1) Consider the Hatteras Lighthouse, "yours"
  (2) Recognize the exact beach access point Jim Cantorre is broadcasting from
  (3) Have scars from the giant moscito bites!
  (4) Go back every year for the last 25 years anyway! :)
  -- Dina Bochnik  - Thursday, September 18, 2003 at 12:14:17
• It is an absoultly wonderful place to vacation. If I could live there I would. You do not have to worry about your children getting lost on the crowded beaches so the entire vacation is relaxing. It breaks my heart to leave every year, but knowing that I am going the next year is always a wonderful feeling. Thank you to all the people who work down there, for making every vacation a memorable one. Can't wait to see you next year.
  -- Sharon Zimmerman  - Tuesday, September 16, 2003 at 14:14:00
• ...I never want to trade the week of time-sharing in Nags Head for any other place in the world (unlike other time-share weeks at other places). That week is for me and my family and for renewing our souls! 
  -- craig stevens  - Sunday, September 14, 2003 at 11:23:36
• we went for the first time in the summer of 2003...stayed in a monumentally huge and beautiful beach house with 9 other people..celebrated our daughter's 2nd birthday while we were there...experienced the ocean with her for the first time...went to lighthouses, an experience that we've never had an opportunity to do...walked on the beach at dusk and chased crabs and watched other families do the same and just laugh and laugh and be together...scrambled to find more food for our small army after the SEAGULLS ate the steaks right off of the grill (but only after the were cooked through!!)...
  we see OBX bumper stickers all over the place up here, 13 hours away from the Outer Banks...i wish i had gotten one while we were there. We have good memories, and while i don't know when we'll get to go there again next, i truly am looking forward to getting there again.
  -- Carol Leedy - Sunday, September 14, 2003 at 06:07:02
• I am glad to have found your site... I have not been able to take my family to the Outer Banks for a few years, but it's wonderful to enjoy your site and all the wonderful comments from others... We have come from Ohio to the Outer Banks as a family twice in 5 years. This Fall may be our first "Thanksgiving Week" in the Outer Banks. If anyone knows of an affordable place to stay (sleeps 3), please email Me. Otherwise, enjoy your stay and Best Wishes!!
  -- Michael Buser  - Friday, September 12, 2003 at 16:59:19
• After my first trip to the OBX I knew this was where I wanted to be. After 30 years of looking for my ocean home I made the financial commitment and purchased a 2d home in Colington where I plan to live permanently in 5 years. I have been on line every night to look for sites like this. I am obsessed and I can't wait to spend all of Jul and Aug and every holiday in my new home not to mention the rest of my life. 
  -- Barbara Goulet  - Monday, September 8, 2003 at 21:47:47
• You can walk on the sand even on the hottest day in July. 
  -- Deborah Balestrier  - Monday, September 1, 2003 at 08:53:27
• You know you have no hope to rid yourself of the OBX, when you take your shoes off midwinter, in your 4x4, to feel the sand you have had no heart to clean out from last summer's vacation.
  -- Robin Bishop  - Sunday, August 31, 2003 at 23:16:52
• I recently admired a T-shirt on a resident that said something like "I got crabs at Dirty Dick's". It had a N.C. address on it, I'm pretty sure of it. I am interested in purchasing a T-shirt because I like to advertise, especially if it is an "eye catcher" like yours. I have one that says "Drink Naked" from a winery in Va. Can you please let me know if it is at all possible to purchase this product. Thank You. Sincerely, Joanne Yatauro
  -- Joanne Yatauro  - Thursday, August 28, 2003 at 15:48:00
• I fell in love on the Outer Banks, got engaged on the Outer Banks and am getting married in 2 weeks on the Outer Banks. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world!!
  -- Shelly Young - Thursday, August 28, 2003 at 14:53:04
• you get back from the banks and all you can think about is when you're gonna go back.
  -- Kirk Boyd - Thursday, August 14, 2003 at 09:35:06
• you get back from the banks and all you can think about is when you're gonna go back.
  -- Kirk Boyd  - Thursday, August 14, 2003 at 09:35:06
• the water, the waves, the lighthouses, the stormy weather, the beaches, the sand, the shells, the sunset, the scent, oh, and the dining, are almost as beautiful as the love of your life.
  -- Matthew Gray  - Tuesday, August 5, 2003 at 17:53:53
• - All year I am a pastor of a local Baptist Church, I am the chancellor of a Christian Academy filled with rowdy kids and I am the founder of a Seminary where I teach in the evenings.I am the general manager of a radio station. I am married with 5 kids, 4 of which are still teenagers and you ask ME why I love the Outer Banks?
  - My wife, kids and I actually count the days when we can return for vacation. I cannot wait until my feet step off the ferry onto "my" beloved Ocracoke. I can dress in old ragged jean shorts,t-shirt and sandals.
  - No suits, ties, or dealing with people. I can fade into the background where no one recognizes me and I can just be an old ragged looking beach bum.
  - I truly believe that God created places like this, so people like me can go walking and feel the high blood pressure go away!!
  - My house this year is in Salvo 8/23---8/30 2003
  - MAYBE I'll see you there..but I bet you won't recognized me!!
  -- Dr. Dave Cash  - Tuesday, August 5, 2003 at 13:04:47
• We live on Ohio, and the only newspaper we subscribe to is the Outer Banks Sentinel. It doesn't make any difference if we receive it a week late in the mail. It still reminds us where we would rather be.
  -- Dennis Coz  - Monday, July 28, 2003 at 11:27:57
• ...of a defective gene that I'm proud to have: The "OBX vacation countdown gene". (Translation: I can tell you on any given day how many more days it will be before I go again (example: 58 days and counting)) My husband has it (though not related to me) My parents have it. My siblings have it. My kid is showing signs of it. I am just genetically drawn there. Can't help it. Don't want to help it...(I noticed that y'all have got it too!!!) Didn't think it was communicable. Heck!, it must also be catching. 
  -- berbice two  - Friday, July 25, 2003 at 17:29:30
• it's a place that brings back so many great memories! Like so many other people here I feel like it is home. Not only is the place beautiful and enjoyable but what makes the beach the best placed in the world is the people who have been there to make the memories!!! 
  -- Melissa D  - Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 21:25:08
• It isn't crowded like Ocean resorts up North. I love to comb the beach for shells and I usually find at least 50 or more whole conch shells, starfish, sand dollars, sea urchins, and other shells. I first started going to the Outer Banks 13 years ago when I was 7 years old. We stayed mostly in Nags Head and the northern beaches. It wasn't as developed then as it is now so we are starting to head further south to get away from the ridiculousely big beach houses and condos. I went to Ocracoke Island last year with my aunt for the first time and I liked it alot. I like to go surf fishing and I like to have a part of the beach all to my self. Well, I had plenty of room. No big beach houses blocking my view or tons of people elbow to elbow. It was beautiful. I am planning on going there again this year. I am staying in Hatteras this time. Again, Hatteras is another low-populated town where you can find your "own little beach". The water is very warm compared to the mid-atlantic. I also catch alot more fish on the Outer Banks than up north. Another fun thing to do if you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, is to drive out onto the beach. You can get to parts of the beach you want to get to without having to walk 3 or more miles. The only thing I don't like about the Outer Banks is the growing population and the ridiculous beach houses and resorts they are building. I know we stayed at a motel called the Vacationer for almost 7 years straight and then one night we got to Nags Head late, about midnight and we couldn't find it anywhere. Here we finally realized that they bull-dozed it and put up 3 new beach houses in it's place. Which probably rent about at least $1000 per week and block the view. Every year we take pictures or write down different cute little motels and come back the next year to find out that they were torn down and replaced by condos. Soon the beaches that aren't reserved are going to be closed to the public(private). The only ones that will be left are the ones already owned by the park service. That is the only downfall I can see at this point. I am only 20 years old and even I can see what is happening. I love deserted beaches and peace and quiet. I just hope the southern beaches stay that way. Thanks for reading!!!!!
  -- Shanda Rippeon  - Thursday, July 17, 2003 at 15:27:56
• Since before I can remember I have been coming to the Outer Banks with my parents and to sisters, and everyone else on my Dad's side of the family. I am only 13 years old. We own our own beachhouse in Duck, and I can tell you all the names of the other 27 beachouses on our street. The two weeks we spend in North Carolina every year are always the highlights of the summer. 
  -- Jonathon Loos  - Wednesday, July 9, 2003 at 15:28:17
• My family and I have been going to OBX for 3 years and its gonna be 4 in august. The first year i went there I love it i had only been about the 2nd time i had ever been on a beach. I love waking up and being able to here the waves crashing every morning. and for months after i come home i dream about the beach and i would wake up and here the waves in my head. my family goes down every year for 2 weeks in the beginning of august. we are soo hooked that we even count down from the day we get back till the next time we go. we had recently bout condoes in manteo that are jus being built we are all so excited. E mail me bout any good stories u have from obx...
  -- Martin zackowski  - Saturday, July 5, 2003 at 22:24:34
• when after visiting here for 20 years, you find yourself building a bungalow in Manteo.....we've been here almost 2 years and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE living here. The people are so friendly...we have absolutely no regrets. Five miles from the beach and yet the nicest little town with a wonderful community feel. It's just like Mayberry, complete with Andy Griffith (he goes to our church) Please email me.....I'd love to hear from you! 
  -- Angela Sellers - Thursday, July 3, 2003 at 11:11:59
• My wife went down last Columbus Day with a friend to check out condos. She found the perfect one in Duck. Swimming pool, tennis courts, picnic area with grills. Then walk about 50 feet and your on one of the best beaches in America. We see and hear the water from our living room. It takes us 7.5 hours and it's worth going just for the weekend. All I can ever think about is when is our next trip down. It can never come soon enough. OBX is heaven on earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  -- mitchell silverman  - Wednesday, July 2, 2003 at 15:52:00
• We are leaving this Wednesday July 2nd to spend 4 days at Nags Head. Our friends are already there who have gone for the last 8 years!! I am sure, we will be HOOKED, and will for sure be staying a week next year! I love reading all these wonderful things about OBX. Lisa in oHIo~~~~~
  -- Lisa Lisa  - Monday, June 30, 2003 at 22:53:00
• Cape Hatteras is our "lost" city....we like to think no one else knows about it and we dissuade others from going there because we want to keep it all to ourselves. We dream of being stranded there for weeks....years...forever!
  -- Janet Wilson  - Sunday, June 29, 2003 at 21:21:42
• You know you're hooked on OBX when you try to find a way to have a John's dolphin boat delivered to Michigan. You try to find a reason to build an outside shower at your house. You can spot an OBX sticker a mile away and you know they're just as hooked as you. 
  -- KA S  - Sunday, June 29, 2003 at 17:57:23
• ...when you just have to get there sometime during the year - even if you spent a great week in July at one of those "other" beaches 
  ...when you start talking about it with one person at work, and your co-workers start wandering over - next thing you know, everyone is "OBXing"
  ...when trying to come up with a unique email address, it ends up including the letters OBX
  ...when it really does feel like you are coming home as you cross that bridge!
  -- Laura Atkins  - Thursday, June 26, 2003 at 15:22:22
  
• My daughters and I have been going to outer banks for 8 years. We started going with a lot of family and now just the 3 of us. We stayed for the first time in southern shores and it was truly beautiful. My daughter will be getting married June 2004 in southern shores. We went to Currituck light house, duck area, Manteo area and it was all beautiful. We will continue family vacations in the outer banks.Everyone should visit the Oakracote Island. The beaches are to die for. Beautiful white sand, tons of sea shells and no one around but you.Enjoy!!!
  -- ANN TRITT  - Tuesday, June 17, 2003 at 10:36:59
• when I was little I grew up on the Outer Banks. I had the life. I would cross the beach road to go to the Mariner Motel at mile post 7 (where my dad worked), to go swimming in the pool or in the ocean. If I was hungry, I would go to the Jolley Roger's (where my mom worked) and Carol and gang would set me up with the best food every. But life went on and we had to move North. But every summer until I graduate (12 years) I spent my summer break with my grandparents on the Outer Banks. Now that I am married and working, we fly down, so that we can stay longer. When I retire I want to live in Kitty Hawk. When I first moved North nobody knew of the Outer Bank. So it makes me very happy to see that the Outer Banks has touched so many people's lives. If I could I would move back, in a heart beat.
  -- Michele Cordes  - Monday, June 9, 2003 at 12:37:02
• we drove 10 hours with a 3 year old and it was worth every second to wake her up first thing in the morning and see her face walking the beach finding shells. We will remember that for the rest of our lives. Can't wait till we visit again. Thanks OBX for a lifelong memory
  -- jim pfister - Friday, May 30, 2003 at 23:48:05
• I am so Hooked on the OBX that I went out and started my own business solely so I can buy a beach house and retire at Currituck in 7 years. 
  -- Chris Kelly - Wednesday, May 28, 2003 at 13:09:33
• Me and my friend found 2 beautiful girls , snuck off with them, completely lost track of time, and got in the most trouble of our life........but it was well worth it.
  -- Mike Brady  - Thursday, May 22, 2003 at 18:00:02
• you return from the banx.. and you can't forgive yourself for wasting so much time sleeping (6 hours a night) and showering ((4 min with hair, 2 without)). DAMNIT... thats 6 hours and 4 min i could have been at the beach longer PER day. ~Lots of love for the OBX in ontario!!
  -- Eva P  - Saturday, May 17, 2003 at 18:31:22
• We spent 16 hours driving with 3 young children, and we'd do it again tomorrow if we could! It was awe inspiring, and gave us a whole new perspective on life. Never have I seen a more beautiful place. Thank God we're Americans, and have a place this close to heaven on earth! Thanks OBX for the time of our lives.
  -- Kelly Lunsford - Saturday, May 17, 2003 at 15:20:44
• I have a watercolor painting of Sam & Omie's hanging over my kitchen table (thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law who paints!) - I can sit and count the days until the next trip. Volunteered to make the 10 hour drive to SPEND THE NIGHT and drive home the next day - to retrieve my wonderful mother in law from her sister's house (a local) - she could have flown, but I said NO WAY - fortunatly my dad instilled the virtues of a good road trip at an early age! (January 2002) Love to go into the shops in Manteo - where else can the jail inmates wander pretty much unattended picking up trash during the day (2001). It's somewhere that I can get to without a map! Goombay's Coco Loco chicken, Tortuga's Lie Tortilla Soup, anything from Lone Cedar...etc, etc, etc... The look on my kids faces when we pack the car and again when we smell the ocean before we can see it! 27 days and counting!
  -- Jill Mogg  - Friday, May 16, 2003 at 13:07:37
• You know your Hooked on OBX when you can share a Beachhouse with SEVERAL rude and unpleasant family members and still can't wait to go back year after year. LOVIN' OBX IN PA!!!
  -- Terry James  - Thursday, May 15, 2003 at 13:52:54
• it's the easiest place on earth to be happy and lazy.
  -- Dianna Holinbaugh  - Wednesday, May 7, 2003 at 10:53:01
• NEWS FLASH!! The OUTER BANKS OF NORTH CAROLINA have completely DISAPPEARED due to overnight storm!! No use to tell ANYONE ELSE about the banks! If they re-appear I'll let you all know, PROMISE! By the way, since OBX is gone Leave all your property to me. If it EVER comes back I'll sell it back to you cheap MAYBE! Seriously, SEE YA THIS SUMMER>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>OBX luvr
  -- scott miller  - Tuesday, May 6, 2003 at 03:35:38
• -You're checking the hatacam everyday just to make sure the beach is ok
  - you are actually under distress when you find out a brew thru burned down
  - you can see the crab legs in the wharf buffet in your sleep
  - you have the map all packed in the car for the july trip- in april
  -- cynthia heidtmann  - sunday, april 27, 2003 at 10:41:24
• Wanting to get hooked! Would someone please tell me if it is possible to go the last week of December - 1st week of January. What is the weather like. I have only been to the beach in the spring and summer. I really enjoy sweatshirt weather on the beach, but need to know if I need to go further south for a winter vacation. 
  -- Dee Ferree  - Thursday, April 24, 2003 at 18:59:46
• I have been going to Ocracoke every year since 1954. If you're thinking of going there, please don't. You won't like it and it is too crowded in season. Thank you.
  -- Richard Osman - Friday, April 18, 2003 at 17:06:18
• Every time I see my boss I rub it in that I've been to the Outer Banks more then he has in the passed 5 years then he has and he has a house in Kitty Hawk. OBX Lovers in Grand Haven, Michigan
  -- Mary Wright  - Tuesday, April 15, 2003 at 23:35:15
• Our trip (the third) isn't until September, it's a Friday night in April, and I'm staying home and checking out all the websites. Also, I have ALREADY been buying my personal toiletries AND putting them in my overnight bag for the trip!
  -- Barb Crocker - Friday, April 4, 2003 at 22:01:52
• After visiting all the other beaches I've been to, I can't wait to shower away the sand and ocean smell. Not so with OBX!
  -- James Jao  - Sunday, March 30, 2003 at 22:59:52
• -when almost everything read on this page u can relate to how you feel one way r another
  -when u and your best friend pack up 5 kids and head down for a long weekend in april and by sept. you have talked your boyfriend in to going down for a short 36 hour trip just to make him a believer that the outer banks is the best place in the world and then by the next july your back down to get married on the beach in front of the black pelican just to turn around and by mach your suprised with a honeymoon in kitty hawk and get to see the house you have already rented for youe first anniversary :) and before you get on the bridge you r already making a list of things u want to do in july with the kids :)
  -- helen pannell  - Thursday, March 27, 2003 at 00:52:31
• When your friends ask "Is that all you think of?" when you've mentioned the OBX for the tenth time in one conversation, and it's 8 months from vacation.
  When you start X'ing out the days on the calendar on January 1 each year.
  -- Kendra Robbins - Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 22:55:09
• - When you buy an SUV so you can haul the cat, dog, and all your stuff for just you and your spouse to Avon and be able to drive on the beach. 
  - When you collect the catalogs from all the realtors and carefully go through each one to find the perfect house with all the amenities you want. Once found, you continue to look through all of them for just the fun of it. 
  - When every room in your house has some sort of memento from OBX in it and both of your bathrooms are done in a lighthouse theme. Don't forget the car bumper stickers and the lighthouse welcome sign outside.
  - When you live in South Jersey only 45 minutes from the nearest beach but insist on driving 7 hours to Avon instead. 
  - When you spend all day at work looking at these OBX websites when your trip is still months away.
  - When you even go as far as looking at websites for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and such dreaming of the actual drive and all the sites you'll see on the way. Even though you've driven there a million times before. 
  I could go on and on. I know, call me nuts if you want. I love OBX! 
  -- Connie Clark - Monday, March 24, 2003 at 15:10:31
• You know you're hooked when you are already looking to maybe change your house for Summer and Fall 2004 and didn't even go on your 2003 vacations yet.
  -- K Z - Sunday, March 23, 2003 at 17:23:58
• When you daily check the weather for Hatteras Island even in the dead of winter. You visit the message boards and OBX webcams several times a day. You live in Kentucky, but have had your own personal OBX shirts printed up locally. You feel a unique brotherhood with anyone whose vehicle sports a OBX sticker or tag. You count the days until you can return to "your house". You allot all vacation days for the the Outer Banks, and no longer desire to travel to other destinations. You go in the dead of the winter and hang out at the beach in hat, gloves, heavy socks and sandals, and love it just as much as in the summer. You family has nicknamed you the "bonafidebeachbum". You feel "you have come" home as soon as you arrive there.
  -- Gail McCall  - Saturday, March 22, 2003 at 14:04:15
• Live in Grand Haven , Michigan, and have made 10 trips since 1996. Just returned 11:10 P.M. last night ( March 15,2003), 17 hours straight through.. Would go back today if I could. Car plate Michigan OBX NC.. See you in December for the 100th Anniversary of Flight. March 11, 2003 was our 23 Anniversary, Renewed our "Vows" at the Corolla Chapel..
  -- Philip T. Wright Sr,  - Sunday, March 16, 2003 at 10:10:15
• On the most important test in West Virginia History on the essay question (explain why WV is truly wild and wonderful) you write that West Virginia sucks and The Outer Banks is the place you consider home.
  -- Anonymous OBX luver  - Thursday, March 13, 2003 at 21:27:31
• You know you're hooked on the OBX when you have to buy a wave sound machine to put you to sleep at night cause "there ain't no waves in NYC". You buy 6 pairs of flip flops in February and pack them in the special "OBX BOX" not to be touched before trip. You bring groceries with you on trip as food shopping is a waste of sun time. Socks? oh be serious- not before the first snow. You actually LOOK for the Black Pelican. You burn special CD's full of The Allman Bros. and Buffett for the 14 hour drive- which is done in one shot so you can meet everyone else at the "Weeping Radish" for the "We're here beer"
  -- Cynthia Heidtmann  - Wednesday, March 12, 2003 at 12:00:15
• When you are land-locked in the middle west - the thought of Outer Banks Crab Cakes are the only thing that keeps you going....
  -- Karen Coffey  - Saturday, February 22, 2003 at 14:40:25
• Even though you live in Indiana, there is No Place Like the Outer Banks! And someday it will be Home! Eleven more weeks and we will be back!
  -- Carol Keeley - Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 21:48:55
• You are hooked even when your sister-in-law drops her checkbook off the Avon fishing dock and you spend 3 hours waiting for it to wash up on the beach (1995), or your brother's car dies at the gas station in Nags Head and you try to figure out a way to carry all their crap to Avon (1997), or when you decide to take a morning walk with your brother on the beach and leave him in charge for what beach access to go back over and ending up 1 mile past, forcing us to walk down Route 12 in bare feet to get back to the house (1997), or when your brother gets a speeding ticket in VA on the trip to OBX...doesn't everyone realize the cops are ruthless in VA (except my brother)!!!(1999) or when your brother runs over a cat in Delaware on the way to OBX, tramatizing his wife (2001)....And even after all this, you can't wait to go back the next year, with your brother. Sure hope his luck doesn't rub off :)
  -- April Andrioli  - Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 14:21:56
• ** When you live an hour from the Jersey shore and you prefer to drive 8 hours to OBX 
  ** When your husband tries figure out how to transfer to a Post Office on the Outer Banks and find you a good paying job ("you could teach, no, you could start your own business, ahh, you don't need to make that much money, try waitressing") so you can relocate.
  ** Or trying to answer the question of "if we lived in the OBX, where would we vacation?" or "would we ever need a vacation again?"
  -- April Andrioli  - Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 14:52:15
• You know you're hooked on the Outer Banks when
  1. You count down the number of days until the annual trek to THE BEACH because you receive frequent post cards from The Beach Fairy.
  2. You go down at least 3 times per year
  3. You consider the house you are renting to be your own home and you even drive by when you are down in the off season to peek in the windows.
  4. You have the Black Pelican webcam bookmarked so you can "go" there every night
  5. You have a collection of Adirondack beach chairs and pelicans that are taking up more and more space in your house
  6. Avalon Pier cam lets you go to the beach from your office
  7. You check the weather in the Washington Post each day and as soon as you see Kitty Hawk at 70 degrees you start whining to your friends and husband to go down
  8. You love to go down in the winter and stay in an oceanfront cottage in Kill Devil Hills that makes you feel like the winter surf is going to take you right out to sea
  9. When a great meal is walking to the Acme Drive In for a Shrimp PoBoy 
  10. You bury secret treasure and a welcome back note at your rental cottage so that when you return next year you have a treasure hunt for the kids-A map would help! Sorry Amanda!
  11. Your kids grow up with the Easter Pelican as they hunt Easter Eggs in the dunes! 
  12. Each time pelicans fly by your family yells Pelicans-Woop Woop Woop
  13. You're slightly neurotic about Your Beach-How dare those kids from next door play on the sand in front of YOUR oceanfront home!
  14. You read the Sentinal every day online
  15. You now rent 2 houses-a smaller one for the first week before you move on to your gorgeous, oceanfront home in Nags Head for week two....Go down for just one week??? Novice!
  16. You and your girlfriends sit on the beach during a heat wave in November in shorts and you are wearing crowns because we are the Beach Queens! Watch out for the off season SUVs!
  17. You bring Christmas decorations to the beach and make your Christmas card by taking a photo of a Christmas tree, beach chair, and shells/sand dollars/starfish positioned in the dune with the ocean behind! ( Should sell these!)
  18. When you cruise the for sale ads on a daily basis because now you just have to own your own place instead of renting
  19. You get a bit of a grin when you see the obx sticker on any car, anywhere and you want to talk to the drive about it
  20. When you shout "Im Here Pelicans" out the car window as you drive over the Wright Memorial Bridge to start your vacation.
  -- Debra Pearce  - Saturday, March 8, 2003 at 09:10:46
• When you take your spring break from school, drive 12 hours and share a house with your dad, your boyfriend, his dad and four of your friends in the Rodanthe at the beginning of March just so you have a beach fix even though the weather is horrible and you are going back in less then 12 weeks!!! DUCK HERE WE COME!!!!
  -- Courtney Sevier - Tuesday, March 11, 2003 at 16:24:54
• when you own a ludicrously huge s.u.v. that you have absolutely no business owning just so you can haul all of your stuff out to the hook during a one week vacation!
  -- Harry Hughes  - Thursday, February 13, 2003 at 23:12:18
• **Will go down for a weekend (anytime of year) and your from New Jersey.
  **You keep having to look at Twiddy's Beach Cam while at work.
  **You know most houses by their names.
  **You love to hear why others love OBX.
  **Know how to bypass the new $2.00 toll on the Chesapeak Expressway and do it just for fun.
  **You keep the Village Of Ocean Hill Parking Permit in your car window all year long.
  **Keep the sand in your roof top carrier for sentimental reasons.
  **Can Convince your Wife that you should by land and build a beach house when you really may not be able to afford it.
  -- Ralph Cavallaro  - Friday, January 24, 2003 at 20:43:22
• You know you're hooked on the Outer Banks when you spot an OBX sticker on a car in Tyler,TX during December and you follow it home so that you can ask the driver when he was at OBX, where he went, and how long he had been going! People with OBX stickers, regardless of location, KNOW and know that each other KNOW!
  -- John Haynes  - Friday, January 24, 2003 at 13:43:19
• When the temp hovering around zero here today... Dreaming of sitting on an oceanfront beachouse deck in Avon and the soothing sounds of the surf, rather than the howling winter winds outside. Makes it all worth the wait..
  -- Frank Smith  - Thursday, January 23, 2003 at 23:25:04
• When it's January and you've already ordered a travel guide for your vacation in July. You've already started packing and you get yelled at by your parents because that's all you ever talk about.
  -- Brandi McCormack  - Thursday, January 23, 2003 at 22:16:30
• When you have been to the Outer Banks 2-3 times every year of your 49 year life and still love it! I would just stay home and not have a vacation if it could not be there. My memories of vacations there with my parents and family, and friends, and now with my husband are priceless.
  -- Joan Meador  - Thursday, January 23, 2003 at 18:38:40
• When your crazy family scrips and saves enough for an OBX vacation. Even if it means bologna sandwiches 3 days out of the week. When your sister has a tear in her eye and your favorite nephews stew the first week in September because thisis the first week we have missedour trip in the last 6.
  -- George Edelblute  - Tuesday, January 21, 2003 at 09:50:09
• When you are 20 and have been there 15 times can't wait until the next time you can afford to go again, and you and your sister plan on retiring there (as soon as possible, forget waiting until I am 65) when you get excited to see another OBX sticker on a car in the parking garage at school, when you don't mind a little tropical storm (Gustave) because you are surrounded by friends and family and there is sea food in the freezer, when some of your best childhood memories are not of Disney World or a cross country excursion but the lazy week spent on the beach in Buxton, when for almost 105 nights straight you sat on the beach and watched the Cape Hatteras light house come on. When you are close personal friends with one of the rangers because you are there so much, when you drive 20 hours straight to meet your family there, when you don't mind black feet from the sand, there is so much more but I think that I have said enough
  -- Mary Logsdon  - Wednesday, January 8, 2003 at 21:38:31
• **PITTSBURGH & CLEVELAND cousins would rather be together in Corolla than anywhere else! Sunning, Brew-thru shirts, golf/beer, Mustang Sally's, biking, sunrise walks on beach, driving thru ocean on private beach (hoping to see horses- not yet for some of us), tennis matches, family dinners, shopping at Food Lion, planning how we can all stay forever! These memories are worth every loooong drive & cent we pay!
  -- Debbie McDonough  - Monday, November 28, 2002 at 10:30:26
• ...when you can describe how each house in Pine Island looks inside (because you've just about stayed in them all for two weeks at a time each year)...when you look back at the photographs of your child taken on the beach at the same time, on the same day, in the same spot every year...and smile...when driving off on the last day, you turn around and say: "See you again in 364 more days!!!" 9/21/2002-10/5/2002 
  -- NDM  - Friday, October 18, 2002 at 11:50:52
• you know you're hooked when you freeze a jelly fish so the kids can take it back to school for "Show & Tell"
  -- pixieluvin  - Monday, October 7, 2002 at 15:48:54
• When you just printed out all 38 pages of this site at 4 AM so you can read them to all your friends in less than 24 hours while sitting on the beach in OBX and laugh about how much they all sound like us...
  -- Nags Head Lover () - Saturday, August 24, 2002 at 04:18:17
• ...you look forward to fighting the crowds at the food lion for choice cuts of Steak.
  -- mike  - Friday, August 16, 2002 at 18:46:49
• ...It's only two weeks to go before you head there, and already you're trying to figure out how to get there during the off season.
  -- Tim  - Sunday, August 11, 2002 at 20:20:25
• You know you're hooked when after 30 years of visiting you look forward to at least another 30 more. You know how Bodie Island got its name AND you know how to pronounce it! You love exploring the side of the road graveyards on Hatteras. You remember Corolla before the McMansions took over. (August 2002)
  -- terry () - Saturday, August 10, 2002 at 15:48:31
• you know you are hooked on the Outer Banks when everytime you see the Cape Hatteras Light House you think of your father because he has taken you down there every year since you were born (1983)
  -- Beth  - Friday, August 9, 2002 at 21:40:14
• When, on your first day back to work after returning from your OBX vacation, you get in your car for the morning commute and realize you now have to start wearing shoes again.
  -- Tina - Wednesday, July 31, 2002 at 12:11:34
• You start mailing & faxing your resume to every potential employer on the OBX a week after you've returned from your vacation and have informed everyone you know that you'll soon be relocating to an undisclosed island (don't want anyone following you there!)
  -- Tina  - Wednesday, July 31, 2002 at 10:45:55
• when you start laundry after returning home and bury your face in the dirty towels, because you miss that "beach smell". Just returned today (7/28/02) from our 15th OBX trip!
  -- Deanna  - Sunday, July 28, 2002 at 22:04:53
• When you drive 12 hours on an early Saturday morning to have dinner that night at Owens, Kelly's, Awful Arthur's, (so many places to mention) or to do takeout at Dirty Dick's, spend the night and drive 12 hours back home Sunday and back at work Monday at 8:30 am thinking "when can we go again?"
  July 2002
  -- Barbara  - Friday, July 26, 2002 at 12:59:11
• You know you're hooked on the Outer Banks when you eat at The Rundown Cafe three times during your vacation week, driving down from Corolla, and every time you eat a fresh fish sandwich anywhere else in the country, you compare it to the catch of the day gamefish sandwich at the Rundown! Haven't found one to match it yet and we live in Chesapeake Bay country! 
  -- Denise Johnson  - Monday, July 22, 2002 at 11:46:14
• When you fly to St. Thomas Virgin Islands and Nassau Bahamas in the same year but the most important vacation still to come will be on the Outer Banks. 
  -- MeMe  - Sunday, July 21, 2002 at 07:40:29
• You know you're hooked when.....the minute you get back from the Outer Banks, you put in for your vacation time for next year! (5 days to go!)7/8/02
  -- Andrea  - Monday, July 8, 2002 at 17:17:55
• You know you're hooked when you've been going their with 18 relatives for 14 years straight and the family motto at the end of the two weeks is "Just shoot me and leave me on the beach!" and all the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren would rather spend their vacation with family than go anywhere else. 
  -- KuwalaT  - Monday, July 8, 2002 at 15:41:06
• When one month before your vacation all you can do at work is look at Outerbanks info on the internet all day when you have already been there 3 times. ..and you can't wait to go because it will be the first time my husband and my 1 year old will be there, but I am sure not the last. (7/2/02- will be in OBX 7/13/02)
  -- Melissa - Tuesday, July, 2, 2002 at 15:16:16
• When you quit your job because your boss won`t give you two weeks off in July to go to OBX.
  --  - Monday, July, 1, 2002 at 02:18:00
• You've been there once but HAVE to go back... went in 97, going back in 2003. I need help! Give me suggestions of where to MAKE SURE I go, best campgrounds, etc... anything you'd be interested in sharing would be greatly appreciated! Even if you just want to reminisce your favorite stories :-) my aol sn is steve7883... thanks!
  -- Steve  - Thursday, June, 27, 2002 at 12:41:31
• When you've been to the outer banks at least once a year for over 40 years ... and still miss it when you're not there. When you remember the beach before they built the bypass When it pleases you that your children love it as much as you do, and want to buy granddad's cottage back. - Allan  - 05/13/2002
• You know you're hooked on the Outer Banks when you start watching Hatteras weather in January to get ready for your July vacation.5/13/02 - Shirley - 05/13/2002
• You know your hooked on the Outer Banks....when your lease agreement for the property you have reserved for a week arrives in the mail on Saturday afternoon and your husband suggests driving it immediately the 5 hours down to the Outer Banks realtor to turn it in instead of mailing it, even though you already know that there are thunderstorms in the area and there are rip tide warnings out for the beach (because the OB weather is book marked on our computer) and we have no overnight reservations made anywhere and we GO anyway. - Sherry  - 05/06/2002
• Power walks at dawn to the gate on the beach in Corolla with your best friend, walking to Wink's so the kids can get some MORE candy, riding bikes around the Whalehead Club, an off season weekend when the tourists have left ""my beach"" and I don't see another soul, dolphins cavorting in the ocean, the beach smell as you come over the bridge, the Kitty Hawk fishing pier and your child's first catch. Cold beers and crabbing lines, great laughs, great tunes, great moments in OBX. - Julie  - 05/03/2002
• You no your hooked on OBX when the day before you go back your sick in the stomach and its not from drinking to much or the sand you leave all through the car and you no its real bad when you've been home four two weeks and you get up and get ready to go to the beach. vacs 2001 - scott fletcher  - 04/22/2002
• you know your hooked on the outer banks when you go there every other weekend to just sit on the beach - michael  - 03/16/2002
• when you have been going to the OBX since you were 7 (1990) and now 18 and can't wait till this year's trip!...when you can't wait to propose to that special someone on the beaches of Corrola!...when you know that Corrola isn't pronounced like the car...when you can't wait to take the trip with 2 other brothers, 2 parents and the family lab!...when you want to work the summer in the OBX so bad, you tell your parents you would pay for them to come and visit!...when you convince your parents to retire there! (Mike 2002) - OBX for life - 03/14/2002
• I fell in love with someone when I was at the Outer Banks when I was 16 years old. I guess destiny played a roll in it. We haven't seen each other in almost 3 years. But, we're going to in a few weeks and we didn't get in touch with each other until a few months ago. Even though we only knew each other a week I never forgot about him...always thinking about him. I guess my heart never wanted to let go. And, I'm thankful it didn't. - Heather  - 03/12/2002
• when you remember sitting around the beach fire at sunrise, with a hot cup of coffee, the wind blowing on your face, the sound of the waves crashing the shore, feeling the sand in your toes....pure SERENITY! Thank you HP! - The Fornofs  - 03/03/2002
• When you bring a cooler full of clams just to catch a striper or two - 02/26/2002
• you're hooked when you come down to Corolla to work for friends for 3 or 4 weeks and your still there 5 years later!! - jenn  - 02/19/2002
• Your hooked when you create a web page dedicated to your OBX vacation each year  -  - 01/23/2002
• When you never have a desire to visit anywhere else in the world because you've already found heaven on earth. -  - 01/22/2002
• When you roll down the windows as you cross the bridge from Manteo to the OB just to smell that smell. When during the 20 some mile drive south to your house in Salvo, you find yourself bouncing up and down in your seat like a child. When you get to your house after 14 hours straight drive time and you make a bee-line not to your room, but right to the beach. Can hardly wait for trip No. 4 July 2002. - Melanie Wagner  - 01/21/2002
• I have been goin to the outer banks since I was born, and I am not 18. I love it here enough to even consider moving there for the summers between semesters at school. - Tarah - 01/21/2002
• Been goin' since 73' and every year since I been married in 97- When the best prescription for happiness is; Squinty-eyed with sweat & suntan lotion slightly in your eyes, lookin' at the sun glare with oil-smeared sunglasses around 5pm. Slight sunburned feelin' on de shoulders, sand on your pavement heated feets. A nice wholesome beer buzz (no driving of course). an Ice cold beer in your can cooler & a hot wife feeling quite the same. That's the best repeating Hatteras Experience. Repeat as often as possible. PerryJ Fox Hill VA 2002 - PerryJ - 01/17/2002
• when you go to Nags Head with another couple and when you return decide that you will never go to Nags Head without your parents again. (June 2000).....when you go fishing and cut up blood worms and thinks that smells good just because you are on the Outer Banks Pier. - Nicki Gasper  - 01/08/2002
• when you father falls in a this'll bush trying to retrieve a Cove Realtor sign, while on his bike, to take home for a souvenir...(September of 2000, South Nags Head, MP 20, on the bike trail) - Nicki Gasper - 01/08/2002
• When you just can't wait to get your next Ugly at the Orange Blossom Bakery - 01/04/2002
• You know you're hooked on the Outer Banks when...You're from Columbus, Ohio, and after your first heavenly visit to the OBX (August 2001), upon returning home, you name your new chocolate lab puppy, ""Banks"". (And you start training him to like water in preparation for your next visit next summer!) - Amanda Richmond  - 12/17/2001
• Just got back from the beaches Oct.6th, 2001 and have reserved yet another house for Sept.21, 2002 for the entire family. All the while looking into a spring jaunt late April or early May for 2002 for 4 of us adults to get away to our special place in the Outer Banks. Hurry folks, it's getting so popular that the some realtors are taking reservations up to 2 years in advance! Don't miss out! The best place imaginable. - Robert kreigh  - 11/26/2001
• You know you are hooked on the OBX when...-You keep a suitcase packed just in case you get the urge to drive 8+ hours for a fresh seafood dinner and decide you might want to say the night...You have an email address that states your claim OBXluv2bthere...You decide that all the material things in the world are NEVER as important as seeing the sun rise and set on the Banks 6/2001....You want to quit your job, sell everything just to live in Peace and Harmony with the Earth, but you realize you need money to move there, so you half-heartily go to work each day waiting for the day when you can STAY FOREVER...Linda  - linda  - 10/15/2001
• when you're willing to move from central pato grandy, nc just to be that much closer to obx, but then think it about and realize 30 miles is still to far away )Hooked on the Outer Banks! - jma - 08/24/2001
• You know you're hooked on the Outer Banks when you can't wait to book next year's house in Avon and drive 900 miles in hot steaming traffic because you crave ""Apple Uglies"" from