A couple of nights on the Outer Banks

[SouthernFriedInfidel]

A few weeks ago, my wife managed to get a week of vacation arranged with her work. I thought it might be cool to spend a couple of my days off that are left to me, and head off to the Outer Banks. We hadn't been there in over 15 years, and HOPOMaster told me that he really enjoyed his trips out there over the last couple of years. So I made a reservation in Kitty Hawk and headed out.

A couple of nights is not a good idea for any trip that involves a lot of travel time. We ended up having almost exactly one full day to enjoy ourselves. We made it a long, tiring day. Thing is, we wanted to look into entertainment for the evening, and discovered that a lot of shows that run through the summer had not yet cranked up. My guess is that they were holding off on daily shows until local schools wrapped up their year. Still, we managed to find a local comedy club operating in Kill Devil Hills.

Now, I've only been to this area twice in my life. Both times were in June, and both times, the water at the beach was a bone-freezing 70 degrees. I think next time I have a chance to go, I'll plan on at least 4 nights, and go in mid-August. Hopefully, the water will be a bit more hospitable.

One last thing. The one new thing we visited this time was the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo. I have to say, for the $8 admission fee, it was a very nice morning visit. The grounds are lovely, and it's a wonderful place to spend a little time for some peace and quiet -- provided you avoid the huge bus-fulls of children zipping through on idiotic "scavenger hunts."

Overall -- a nice place to visit. I'll have to get out that way more often.

[A Person]

the water at the beach was a bone-freezing 70 degrees

that's room temperature!

Eh Ah used to dream of swimming in 70 degree water. The kids of today doant know how looky they are. When ah were a kid we used t'hafta scrape t'ice of the tin bath just t'wash me face.

Eh you was lucky, we would dream of washing in ice, we had t'wash in liquid nitrogen...

[Liv]

We loved the outerbanks. I'd like to find a nice campground (that isn't too busy) out there....

I wish they had camping on Tangier island.... was thinking about going there.

Here's our pics from Kitty Hawk in 06

[SouthernFriedInfidel]

the water at the beach was a bone-freezing 70 degrees

that's room temperature!

Eh Ah used to dream of swimming in 70 degree water. The kids of today doant know how looky they are. When ah were a kid we used t'hafta scrape t'ice of the tin bath just t'wash me face.

Eh you was lucky, we would dream of washing in ice, we had t'wash in liquid nitrogen...

We used have have to wash in liquid metallic hydrogen, mixed with gravel!

And our Dad used to kill us for not washing behind our ears properly, then dance aboot on our graves singin' Hallelujah!

Ah love Monty Python...

[A Person]

I have to say you're a wuss. I had a great time swimming off New Smyrna Beach in March and I doubt it's any colder in the Outer Banks in June. I won't mention swimming off the east coast of Vancouver Island in the galcier fresh waters of the inside passage.

That does look like a beautiful spot though.

[SouthernFriedInfidel]

I'm an old wuss, I'll have you know. There's a difference.

I managed to get into the water after a little acclimation. It was about the same temperature as the water I dove in last year at Cabo. It was uncomfortable but not impossible. I think 65 would be my limit without a wet suit. With the wet suit, I have been down to 50.

[A Person]

I've never been diving without a wet suit

Although I've been growing my own insulation in recent years

[SouthernFriedInfidel]

I've never been diving without a wet suit

I went for a couple of dives at Grand Cayman without any neoprene.. just my swim suit under the equipment. It was nice. But of course, I had to be much more careful of how close I got to the coral and the rocks.

On most dives around here, I use my 6-mil wet suit. I hate encountering the thermocline in our local quarry -- in both directions.

Although I've been growing my own insulation in recent years

I know that problem all too well.

[SouthernFriedInfidel]

That does look like a beautiful spot though.

I have to say that it really is a nice place to visit. It's being developed sort of aggressively, but not quite so much as some places along the coast. With the highest point of land being something like 20 ft above sea level, you know a Katrina-like storm would wash most everything away.

So there's a lot of open spaces where you can enjoy nature. The aquarium (which we didn't get to this time around... and I got thumped for that) is a great place to visit. And of course, the Wright Brothers Memorial is a must-see.

My real take-away note for the future: buy a kite and schedule some time to visit the Jockey's Ridge sand dunes.

[Hailey]

Ok, thanks for your experience. Anyway that's possible.