Thursday at the Outer Banks

Tyrese

I spent Thursday and Friday of my North Carolina trip with Tyrese. Below is my favorite photo from my time in NC...hehehe It was great to spend time with her and we now have some fond memories to share. If nothing else, those two days with her made the whole trip worth it. So it was a bonus that the rest of the trip went well too...hehehe I'm already looking forward to future visits and she plans to come down to Disney World sometime as well.

Outer Banks

On Thursday, we decided to go to the Outer Banks. I had been there just over 30 years ago on a vacation with my family when I was in high school. This series of islands are beautiful and the main reason I was interested in moving to NC in the first place. 30+ years ago, I envisioned myself moving there one day...hehehe

The funny thing is, that isn't where I stayed for the week. I decided to stay in the middle of the state to be closer to where Tye lives and to be centrally located to all options for adventures. The ocean to the east and mountains to the west...hehehe It took us about three hours to get to the coast where the Outer Banks are.

When we arrived, I was quite surprised that everything looks exactly how I remember it from all those years before. Of all the places I've ventured to over the years, this is the only place I can think of that hasn't really changed at all. I absolutely loved that! It was like a warm hug from the good parts of my childhood...hehehe

Jockey's Ridge State Park

Our first stop was at the Dunes of Jockey's Ridge. This was one of the places I visited years ago. It is like a desert in the middle of one of the islands. People go there to fly kites, hang glide, and sand surf on boogie boards. It so beautiful. Photos and videos just can't do it justice.

There was an area of the dunes I hadn't been to before. I asked if she would be interested in exploring it as she hadn't be either. We walked over and discovered a hidden beach in the sound behind the island...hehehe There were some folks there enjoying the water. It was like a little hidden oasis in the middle of a desert!

I especially enjoyed seeing people fly their kites. It connected me back to fond memories of that time 30+ years ago. My parents supported my joy for the kites and allowed me to purchase a few professional kites on that trip. Just like it was back then, all sorts of kites were flying on Thursday. Kids and adults alike were flying kites. We even saw a few stunt kites zipping around. I'd love to get back into that here in Florida sometime.

Beach

After we were done exploring the dunes, we headed over to the nearby public access beach. This was the first time I saw and touched the Atlantic Ocean in about 20 years. I believe the last time was when I took a Disney cruise back in 2004...hehehe

I truly enjoyed our time there. We walked up to a pier about a mile away. We saw all sorts of people enjoying the beach that day. Despite a hurricane blowing through off the coast earlier that week, it didn't appear the beach in that area was impacted much.

After a bit, I started to get hungry and found a little pier (a different pier) eatery called Fish Head...hehehe I had the fish tacos. The food was fantastic as were the views.

Bodie Island Light Station

I was hoping to see a lighthouse on this trip. The nearest one was on Bodie Island. Unfortunately, they were sold out of tickets for the day. But we were at least able to go see it up close. We just weren't able to go up to the top...hehehe

The lighthouse is gorgeous. I took several photos there. One of them I believe I'll use as inspiration for a painting...hehehe There was also a nearby marsh as part of the property. So we went back and had a look at that. It reminded me of Florida, actually. And some of the birds I saw there are the sort of thing I see daily at home...hehehe

One of the photos, the one below with the yellow flowers, is one of my favorite photos of all that I've ever taken. One of the really cool facts about it is I used forced perspective. The flowers are actually tiny weeds in the grass next to the sidewalk. Each bloom is no larger than my thumbnails. The patch of weeds that make up those flowers is no more than a foot deep into the grass. But the photo makes it appear as though the entire field in front of the lighthouse is full of lovely yellow flowers...LOL A little Disney-like Greg magic...hehehe

Conclusion

Overall, it was quite a lovely day. I am so glad we were able to get over there. It was a really long drive back...hehehe But it was definitely worth it.

If ever I decided to move to NC, I'm most likely going to choose the Outer Banks. Although there is a risk for hurricanes, it is lower than my current home. And seeing as they still have that small coastal charm after all these years, I expect it will always have that charm for the rest of my life. Regardless of where I do end up planting, I'll at least visit the Outer Banks again. Hopefully soon...hehehe

That's it for today. This was all that we did Thursday. I'll write about Friday another day. Here is a photo dump of the highlights from that day.