Which Outer Banks Town is Best for You?

Outer Banks vacation

No one has the same vision for the perfect vacation. Some may picture peace, quiet, and seclusion while others may picture plenty of activities close by. Regardless of what your ideal vacation looks like the Outer Banks has the perfect fit for everyone. READ MORE

Running on the Beach – Memory Monday 1/21/19

Running on the beach

We hope you are having a good holiday Monday. It is a great time to start thinking about your summer vacation on the Outer Banks. We won’t say time is running out, but January is by far our busiest month in terms of bookings and so today is a good day to make your plans. READ MORE

Father and Son – Memory Monday 1/14/19

Father and son

Greetings from a chilly Outer Banks. The winter weather has finally arrived, and we are really missing those warm temperatures we experienced over the holidays. This week we share a Memory Monday photo of a Father and Son taking a chilly walk on the beach READ MORE

2018 Wrap Up – Memory Monday 12/31/18

Wrapping up 2018
Greetings on this last Monday of 2018.  In fact it is the last day of 2018 as you well know.  How many times have you heard “Happy New Year” today?   Let us also put a wrap on 2018 by wishing you a Happy New Year as well.

Today we look forward to the new year, but at the same time, we look back in our treasure chest of Memory Monday photos from our valued guests here at Outer Banks Blue and want to share with you a number of photos that we did not get a chance to post this year.

We got so many photos from our guests that it was hard sometimes to find just one to choose.  But indeed we did choose just one each week which means we have a bunch that we did not get to.

So as we wrap up 2018 here’s a number of photo memories that we did not get to share prior to now.  Enjoy!

Sandra Hoban shares “Sunset on The Currituck Sound”

So that will do it for 2018.  We actually have more photos that we will share with you from 2018 in the upcoming weeks, but we wanted to get these out so everyone could enjoy them.

We have the greatest guests and we thank you not only for your patronage, but your loyalty to Outer Banks Blue.

We look forward to serving all of our valued guests again in 2019 and we also look forward to sharing more photo memories with you next week.

Until then, all the best from the beach, and Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve on the OBX – Memory Monday 12/24/18

Christmas Eve photo
Greetings from the Outer Banks on this Christmas Eve!  It is a beautiful Monday morning here on the Outer Banks.  I had a refreshing walk on the beach this morning as the sun was rising over the Atlantic ocean and what is left of the cold moon setting in the northwestern sky.   As my dog and I were exploring the beach for some treasures, we saw a pod of dolphins passing by making small waves in the otherwise calm ocean.

We are told the “Cold Moon” that we saw a few days ago will not happen again in most of our lifetimes.  The full moon dropping on the winter solstice is a very rare occasion.  Quite a sight!

What a lucky person I am to live in such a beautiful place and enjoy sights like an early morning walk on the beach with no one else in sight nearly every day.

Kelly Branch stayed with Outer Banks Blue this past summer, and tells us she was lucky to get this shot.   She provided us a great photo memory we share with you today.

Here’s a shot of a full moon from earlier this year setting over some houses in Corolla.

Wherever you are today and whatever you are doing we hope you are doing it with the people you love the most, and are creating great memories (photo memories or otherwise).  Enjoy the Christmas week, and keep in mind the reason for the season!

All the best from the beach!

 

First Flight Day – Memory Monday 12/17/18

First Flight
Good morning from a sunny and warm Outer Banks!   Today is a special day on the Outer Banks, and for us here at Outer Banks Blue as we celebrate the 115th anniversary of man’s first powered flight at the Wright Brother’s Memorial in Kill Devil Hills.

The annual celebration takes place each December 17th, the day that the Wright brothers flew their motorized aircraft for the first time in front of a handful of witnesses.  The official first flight took place at 10:35 AM and is immortalized in this priceless photo.

The Wright Brothers were actually accomplished amateur photographers, and so they set the camera up and when they rallied the nearby U.S. Lifesaving Station staff to come over and help in their attempt at flight.  Wilbur handed John Daniels a bulb and said “if anything happens squeeze this.”   Well something happened, John squeezed the bulb at the exact moment that the motorized glider took flight, and this is now an iconic photo.

The first flight lasted only seconds, and covered approximately 120 feet, but the accomplishment of getting a heavier than air motorized vehicle in the air was done at that moment and it would revolutionize how we travel from that point forward.

Did you know that one of the reasons the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks was that this is one of the windiest spots in the country.  Our average daily wind speed is nearly 13 miles per hour.   In the winter when temperatures dive below 40 degrees and the wind is up, is is a very cold place to be.   It is hard to imagine how difficult the conditions were in 1903 for the 2 fly boys from Ohio.

They lived in little more than what can be considered a shanty on the open dunes.  They had a wood burning stove, and lots of canned goods to eat, but they had little more than that.  Just a dream and the friendship of the locals who must have thought those guys were just full of crazy.

The story of the first flight will be told again this morning on this beautiful day, dignitaries will be on hand to celebrate the accomplishment, high school bands will perform, and exactly at 10:35 AM a ceremonial fly over will take place to honor the brother’s achievement.

This year will be even more special as recently a 5 year renovation of the Wright Brother’s visitors center was completed, and the exhibits were all modernized.

It will be a good day to be an outer banker today.

All the best from the beach!

Better days ahead – Memory Monday 12/10/18

Better days ahead
Good morning from a cool and blustery Outer Banks.   Winds have been very strong for the last two days with steady northeast gales at 25 to 35 miles per hour with gusts over 55 miles per hour.   Schools are on a 3 hour delay today (Monday) as we hope for better days ahead and this winter storm Diego heading off the coast and away from our paradise.

The weather channel has been in North Carolina the past two days getting ready for the arrival of winter storm Diego, and now documenting the effects of the storm.

Raleigh received several inches of snow, Greensboro, Charlotte, Asheville and points west all were even more heavily impacted, but here on the Outer Banks all we got was heavy wind and lots of rain.   Temperatures remained above freezing as usual (our proximity to the gulf stream seems to always keep things warmer along the coast), but we got wind like few have seen!  We are definitely living up to our reputation as one of the windiest locations in the nation.  Ferry routes are cancelled today due to the winds, we are experiencing some flooding due to the wind pushing water onto the roads as well.

All of this we hope is in the past for us as we look forward to better days, and sunrises like this one that was sent to us by Vonnie Cudd of River Falls, Wisconsin (I’ll bet Vonnie doesn’t want to hear our problems about winter weather with her living in Wisconsin huh?) who stayed with Outer Banks Blue in November in the Kill Devil Hills vacation rental “Sweet Escape.”

Vonnie caught this amazing fall sunrise while on the beach early one morning.  Check out the Sandpipers getting an early morning snack.

Thanks Vonnie for your fantastic reminder of the beauty of the Outer Banks with your Memory Monday photo.   We look forward to serving you and your family again soon.

All the best from the beach!

Schellenger Highlights – Memory Monday 12/3/18

Schellenger dogs
Greetings from the Outer Banks.  We apologize that it has been a few weeks since we have posted something here on Memory Monday, but life gets in the way sometimes.  We have lots of photos to post, and today we get things started with the Schellenger vacation highlights.

Mary Schellenger of Richmond, VA is one of our dedicated guests who stayed with us recently with her family at the Property “Carolinian II” in Nags Head and forwarded to us a number of photos to capture her group’s stay with us.

Mary is a dog person, and so she rented a pet friendly property with us and it appears that her four legged family members enjoyed the property and the stay immensely.

 Two satisfied customers

 

This is Princess Lilly.

The princess gives kisses to her subjects!

 

Then  there was the beautiful sunrise over the ocean for the family.

Followed by a sunset at Oregon Inlet

Sun breaking through the clouds at Oregon Inlet on the way down.

Followed by a spectacular moon rise over the ocean.

What a great photographic vacation you had Mary!   We love all of your photos and are so happy that you provided us snapshots of your stay with Outer Banks Blue.   We look forward to serving you and your family again soon.

With that said it reminds us to remind you to send in your vacation memory photos to Outer Banks Blue so we may be able to post them here for everyone to be able to see them.   Each Monday we post photos from recent guests, and then once per month we randomly select a winner for the monthly photo submission contest where we put a $100 credit towards your next stay in place.

Thanks again to you all for your patience, and please keep sending those photos in so we can post them here.

All the best from the beach!

 

Christmas on the Outer Banks

Christmas on the Outer Banks
Of course the Christmas season is special no matter where you are, but why not spend it in the beautiful Outer Banks? While you probably won’t see a white Christmas on the coast, there are plenty of reasons why the Outer Banks make the perfect family destination, no matter the season. The weather is chilly but not bone-chilling, vacation rentals are at the best value you’ll see all year, and when summer leaves, it takes all the traffic and crowds along with it.

While you’re in a beachy winter wonderland for the holidays with your loved ones and away from the monotony of home, here are some annual activities for the whole family to enjoy alongside the locals:

Annual Holiday Tour of Homes
December 1 @ 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm  –  $20 admission

Enjoy a holiday home tour of historic homes, inns and more on Roanoke Island in Manteo. Light refreshments and check-in are at The Outer Banks Distillery where the owners offer afternoon tastings for tour goers and a tour of the distillery. Your group will receive a brochure with a map of the tour route to help you navigate as you walk or bike through this historic area of Manteo. This tour marks the beginning of a day filled with holiday festivities, making it a full-day of fun-filled shopping, dining, and sightseeing.

Winter Lights at Elizabethan Gardens
November 24 – January 19, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Adults $11, Youth (ages 6-17) $9, Child (5 and under) $6. READ MORE

Memory Monday 10/22/18 Sunrise

Sunrise
We really don’t mean to be repetitive here at Everything Outer Banks, but it occurs to us, although most people don’t get up early enough to enjoy them, the majority of photos people have on their phones is a picture (or 12) of an OBX Sunrise.

We that live here on the banks get conditioned to seeing beautiful snapshots of nature on a daily basis, and taking them for granted, but every now and then we get reminded of how lucky we are to live where we live and deal with nice people like you.

So this week we share with you three breathtaking sunrises that we have in our hopper and share them with you to start your day the right way.  What better way to start the day with our most popular product here on the OBX – a sunrise.

So these photos come to us from three of our valued guests here at Outer Banks Blue.

The one on the top left comes to us from Darell Warbird who took that photo of the sunrising as he was on a charter boat headed to the gulf stream to fish one morning this summer.

The picture on the right side was taken and sent to us from Ricki Fairley who sent us a number of pictures that captured their memories of the OBX stay, but this one really caught our eye, and we think you will like it too.

The photo on the bottom left comes to us from Robert Delpercio who captured the clouds just perfectly in this snapshot.

Whatever way you capture a sunrise on the Outer Banks there is one thing for sure, it captures you too so we hope this gives your day a little boost.

As always we thank our contributors and we look forward to serving them all again soon.  We also look forward to serving you and your group too.

All the best from the beach!