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Outer Banks Locales Make The Cut In New Book

Frommer's "500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up" offers tourists several places in the Outer Banks to visit.

Writer and mother of three Holly Hughes knows children on vacation can lie around a pool or wander along a beach for only so long.

They're curious. They like to do things, touch things, experience things.

"Kids like a story," Hughes said. "They need activity."

The Outer Banks offers plenty of that. So Hughes included it in her new travel guide, Frommer's "500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up."

The book includes spots all over the world. There's Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Niagara Falls and Roanoke Island. Space Center Houston and Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Hughes, who lives in New York City, said she lacked the time and money to travel personally to all 500 places. Friends with children recommended the Outer Banks.

"They raved about it," she said. "It's set up right for tourists, but it's not mobbed all the time."

Family appeal and safety have long attracted vacationers here, said Carolyn McCormick, managing director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

"All our research shows those are the top reasons people are traveling here," she said.

McCormick isn't surprised the area landed in Hughes' book. In fact, the Outer Banks regularly shows up on lists and in publications, she said. It's a popular destination - about 5 million visit each year, making tourism the No. 1 industry.

Writer Patricia Schultz included the Outer Banks in her 2004 book, "1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List."

Ocracoke Island consistently ranks near the top of the best U.S. beach list from Stephen Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach. Family Circle's January edition called the Outer Banks one of the best autumn destinations, and Coastal Living listed it among the top 10 "romantic escapes."

McCormick attributes the press in part to the particular character of the area. It's not "Any Beach, USA," she said.

In "500 Places," Hughes notes the bird walks at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

She writes of the shipwrecks, the pirates and the colony that mysteriously disappeared. She writes of the Elizabeth II, the representation of a 16th- century ship open for exploration, and the Roanoke Adventure Museum at Roanoke Island Festival Park where children can pull on period costumes.

"They love to stand in a place where something really big happened," Hughes said.

That's why she recommends the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Orville and Wilbur Wright did something everyone told them they couldn't, and children can relate, she said.

"They can stand on the bluff, feel the wind and understand why they chose this place," Hughes said.

"They can imagine themselves being there."

By KRISTIN DAVIS, The Virginian-Pilot
© January 11, 2007