The Outer Banks (OBX) had always been alluring to me. It’s one of those places that may not have made the *must-see* list, but sat firmly on the *would be really nice to see* list.
Until last summer, when I took a long weekend to visit a friend of mine in North Carolina! We stayed at her family’s condo at Emerald Isle, where the only thing separating us from the beach was a parking lot. We would lay out in the sand reading the 50 Shades Of Grey triloogy in the morning, frolic on the beach later in the afternoon, and sit at home drinking wine while watching trash tv/movies at night. It was glorious.
If we’re talking East Coast beaches in the US, my loyalties lie with Cape Cod – I grew up vacationing there every summer, so this is not likely to change. But!… the Outer Banks is a fantastic summer retreat. It’s comprised of islands just off the coast of North Carolina; Emerald Isle is at the south end of this island chain. The beaches are lined with massive houses, all with the multi-level wrap-around porches typical of North Carolina homes.
What’s resulted there is a unique geographical situation: you have the sand dunes, beach, and ocean on the east side; cross the dunes and you hit the main road and then Bogue sound on the west side, which separates the islands from the mainland and has water calm enough to take a boat out on.
It’s beautiful. I need to get back there!
