My friend F and I booked a trip to Outer Banks, North Carolina a couple of weekends ago in the hopes of getting away from the cold. Now, I know that it was going to be a hit or miss and it wouldn’t be that much warmer than Harrisburg or D.C., but we still decided to give it a shot.
Of course, the forecast called for overcast and rain 70% of the time but we made the most of it.
What made our stay great was picking a really nice AirBnb.
Our Stay
We stayed at a house in Kill Devils Hill with a view of the bay. The house was beautiful and beach themed. It was super clean and cozy.
Despite the weather, the views we enjoyed during breakfast time were incredible! The listing says they have some of the best sunset views, and although we didn’t get to see one, I would love to be back on a warmer summer days to experience them!
The hosts provided us with the essentials and access to Netflix, which helped because we definitely stayed in and watched a movie two nights in a row.
The house came with a kayak and two bikes which would have been great if the weather was better. Again, another reason to come back!
Our Adventures
Day 1: We literally just drove down the one main highway that goes through the Outer Banks and got to know the area a little better. We stopped in a few galleries that we saw along the way. They were all very unique and fun to see.
We even ended up buying souvenirs for ourselves from The Bird Store, a shop that I would never have thought to get anything from. The owners here were super nice!
We also stumbled upon Gallery Row. Which showcases art galleries, dining, unique shops, and cultural heritage ties. We stopped at the Seagreen Gallery and it was quite something! There were so many hand crafted and special items.
In the backyard, they also had a big art installation that you could walk through. It was made out of a bunch of scrap materials. In a way, it kind of reminded me of the Magic Garden in Philadelphia
We eventually made our way to the Tanger Outlets in Nags Head. This for some reason was very exciting for us as neither of us get the time to shop at home. And because of that the outlet mall was a fun thing to do. (Also, it was raining and we had to make the most of our time.) The customer service in all of the shops was great! People everywhere were really nice!
Day 2: The next day, we had planned to go on a mini lighthouse tour. There are several in the OBX but we decided to go to the two big ones.
But before we set off on that adventure, the sun came out for 2.5 seconds so we decided to stop at the nearby Avalon Beach for a bit.
Bodie Lighthouse:
The drive from our place in Kill Devil Hills to the Bodie Island Lighthouse was approximately 25 minutes.
As soon as we arrived and saw the structure in the distance, we fell in love with it and took a million photos! For some reason the overcast weather seemed to go well with this scene.
We also had the opportunity to go inside it which was really cool as I’ve never been inside a lighthouse before!
Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to go all the way up but that is something that you can do in the warmer months.
We were just as pleased to be inside and loved the glimpse of the spiral staircase from below.
Once we came out, we noticed a paved trail which we decided to take. It let us to more fantastic views of the lighthouse and appreciate it and it’s surroundings.
Hatteras Lighthouse:
The Hatteras Lighthouse didn’t appeal to me as much as the drive to it. This one had spiraling black and white stripes and was much bigger. I guess, with this one, it’s location was a little boring.
They did, however, have a nice little in-dept museum about the lighthouse and the area. We learned that this region is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic because numerous shipwrecks occur here. In fact, the most recent one occurred just a week before our arrival!
After a few more photos, we headed out back towards Kill Devil Hills and stopped to take photos of of one of the beaches that we saw along the way. The area was beautiful and eerie at the same time…and windy!
Dinning
Blue Moon Beach Grill
The gloomy weather called for some fish and chips so for one of our meals, we found Blue Moon Beach Grill. I ordered fish and chips and F ordered Philly cheese-steak.
The fries were good but the fish could have been crispier, in my opinion. It wasn’t anything that special. Neither was the Philly Cheese-steak.
Bros Sandwich Shack
Our dining experience was redeemed when we had burgers from here. I had a simple cheeseburger and friend had one with mushroom and provolone. We also ordered a side of chili cheese fries. Although the chili wasn’t anything extraordinary, we devoured our burgers and fries. They were delicious!
Slice Pizza
We had pizza from here (obviously) as our last dinner in the area. We ordered margarita pizza and cheese pizza. The cheese pizza was delicious and hit the spot. However, I think the margarita pizza could have been better.
Art’s Place
Art’s Place was recommended by the workers at Slice Pizza. It was a great suggestion, a cute and cozy spot before our trip back home.
I ordered French Toast with fruit and a berry compote. F got an omelet. All the food was good but the berry compote won it all!
It was the perfect last meal!
2 Comments
Salaams, i happened across your blog looking for inspiration for goodie bags for my son’s classmates and found your Eid mubarak postcards. They will be a great addition, plus I will print a little note about Eid and Ramadan on the reverse side. I am a hijabi living in NYC and would love to travel around the US but my hubby is fearful because of rising Islamophobia. However, your blog gives me hope. I’ve been looking for a muslim travel blog for ideas of where to go and what to do but I found almost none. I like yours but I’m curious about your choice of foods. Do you eat only halal foods or are you more liberal about food? No judgment at all. However, I am very strick about food to the point where I don’t eat from places that serve pork in any form so you can understand my dilemma about travelling and eating.
Salaam Yasmin, I’m happy that you found my blog. I do love travel and food! I am pretty liberal with food and tend to eat anywhere that looks like they have delicious cuisines. Food is my weakness! However, I believe these days there are several places where you can eat that are halal or do not serve pork. There’s lots if vegetarian only places as well. You just have to do your research ahead of time and it’s definitely possible!