Looking for an Outer Banks adventure that’s fun for the family and won’t cost an arm and a leg? Take an idea or two from Jean Stancill’s great piece in the News & Observer and hit the road to Hatteras Island for a day trip! Explore some history, try kiteboarding, climb a lighthouse or two and follow it all up with some great chow.
“Hatteras Island is a wild, windswept strip of land jutting into the Atlantic Ocean, where shipwrecks rest in deep water as a testament to nature’s treachery.
It’s a fragile but resilient place that has been reshaped by hurricanes and nor’easters throughout history. Connected by ferry or bridge, N.C. 12, the island’s north-south road, hugs the coast, transporting visitors from the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge – a birder’s paradise – to the Ocracoke ferry landing.
The villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras have their own vibes, from artsy to down home. They offer simple pleasures. Go crabbing. Rent a horse for a ride on the beach. Fly a kite, or surf a kiteboard, but make sure your arms are strong enough to handle the wind.
Climb a lighthouse that warned sailors for centuries of the hazardous Diamond Shoals. Off Hatteras, the Atlantic is a graveyard of pirate artifacts, merchant vessels and 100 ships sunk by German U-boats in World War II, prompting the spot’s nickname as “Torpedo Alley.” The villagers of Hatteras often found themselves in the role of heroes, rescuing survivors from the angry waters.”
[box type=”bio”] Read the rest of the story on the News&Observer![/box]