I can think of no better place to welcome in the cool, clear mornings of fall than on the Outer Banks of North Carolina – one of the world’s great places.
My first visit to Nags Head on the Outer Banks left me unimpressed. I was in college at the time and it seemed like a dull place to be. Nothing much happening, just a laid-back cluster of cottages bordering the ocean and the single road in. Today, that’s exactly why I love the Outer Banks.
It is a family and beach cottage-kind-of-place, quiet, friendly and welcoming.
The Outer Banks of North Carolina extends a long way, over a hundred miles, beginning at Corolla and winding its way south to Cape Hatteras and even beyond to Okracoke Island. Nags Head is right in the middle and that’s where Nancy and I like to settle in.
At Nags Head, you can travel north or south for scenic rides if you choose or hop across the sound bridges to historic Manteo on Roanoke Island, where early settlers once spent a little time on the Outer Banks. The Lost Colony, you know.
The bustling town of Nags Head is rife with world-class restaurants, fun places to shop and great fishing – from the piers, in the surf, back in the sounds or in the deep violet waters of the Gulf Stream.
And now it’s fall. The humidity is gone, the crowds are gone, the long lines and long waits to the restaurants are no more.
We just returned from four wonderful days enjoying fall on the Outer Banks. I’ll describe it as best I can.