Last week, my blog was a bit inactive because my family took our biennial trip to Greensboro and the Outer Banks in North Carolina. This year, we stayed on the very edge Hatteras Island – we needed a ferry to go any further out. It was beautiful and relaxing (aside from the flesh-eating greenhead flies), most likely due to the less-populated nature of this island. I didn’t do the best job of staying on top of taking pictures but I managed to snag a few! Today, I’m sharing the highlights of our trip, in case you find yourself taking a trip to the Outer Banks!

THURSDAY – SATURDAY

Thursday through Saturday, our family stayed in Greensboro. My parents practice a form of martial arts called Tang Soo Do (they’re black belts) and every other year, there’s a world championship/convention held in Greensboro and people from around the world come to watch creative routines and to compete. This year my parents were judges. We left Saturday afternoon to head to the Outer Banks.

SUNDAY

Sunday was our first full day in the Outer Banks.

We started off the day with a nice service at Our Lady of the Seas Catholic Parish. It’s a small parish with a beautiful view of the ocean from inside.

After Mass, we drove around and stopped for lunch at Frisco Sandwich Co. I couldn’t decide between two things that were both very “safe” – a Hawaiian wrap with ham and pineapple or a crab cake sandwich. Some switch flipped and I decided that for the rest of vacation, I wasn’t going to play it safe like I always do – I was going to branch out and try new foods. I’m not much of a seafood gal, but I tried a ton of new things and loved them all! At Frisco, I ended up going with the Mahi Wow wrap with blackened Mahi, rice, black beans, pineapple and strawberry-kiwi sauce. It was SO good! I definitely recommend it!

After lunch, we went back to our villa and relaxed in the pool for a bit. After, we explored the shops around our area, hoping to find some ice cream for National Ice Cream Day ; )

That evening, we went down to the beach. The beach was pretty desolate, which was nice. We played around in the ocean for a while as the sun set.

MONDAY

On Monday, we spent the day in Ocracoke. Ocracoke is an island not too far from Hatteras, but you need to take a ferry to get there. You drive your car up onto the ferry and you’ll end up in Ocracoke 45 minutes later.

We spent the day on the beach, jumping around in the waves. Ocracoke is beautiful – the sand is fine and white, and the water is a pretty blue-green. There are full, gorgeous shells all over the beach.

After the beach, we drove down the island and stopped for dinner at Howard’s Pub. Trying to stick to my plan of branching out, I ordered the Build Your Own Seafood Platter with fried oysters, scallops, crab cake, hush puppies and red potatoes. Probably not the healthiest thing I could have ordered but life’s all about balance, right? I was actually terrified to try the oysters and scallops since they were completely new to me but they were both great and I may have even developed a new love for scallops!

After dinner, we hopped back on the ferry to head home. Coasting down the sound during sunset was a beautiful sight for sure!

TUESDAY

On Tuesday, we visited the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. It was pretty interesting to learn about how many shipwrecks there have been and how “life at sea” has evolved.

After the museum, we went back and explored more shops in our area. I ended up buying a super cute mug, only to drop it and break it a few days later </3

That night we went to the beach again to see what high tide looked like (I had the song “The Tide is High” stuck in my head the entire time). It was super relaxing walking along the beach as the sun was setting.

WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday, we spent the day in the sound. We rented some kayaks and a paddle board and just relaxed by the sound. We saw quite a bit more hermit crabs and fish in the sound than in the ocean and we even had a few sting rays swim by us.

For dinner, we went to Pop’s Fish House. I got the Grilled Tuna Tacos with Tortilla Chips and Salsa. I LOVE tacos but wasn’t quite sure how tuna would taste on a taco… I was pleasantly surprised! After, Josh and I split a slice of Key Lime pie. Yum!

THURSDAY

On Thursday, we did a little bit of traveling. We stopped in Rodanthe at a little coffee place called Beads and Beans. I got the “Nutty Monkey”. We explored Rodanthe a bit, looking at some of the local shops.

After our visit in Rodanthe, we continued on our way to Manteo. We stopped for late lunch/early dinner at the Lost Colony Brewery. I ordered the Roanoke Shrimp Melt. Normally, I despise shrimp. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always hated it. I have no idea what on earth possessed me to order something with shrimp on it but whatever it was, I’m glad it did. I LOVED this shrimp melt! It was so yummy! I still probably won’t eat shrimp by itself, but on a sandwich, it’s bomb.

After dinner, we walked around Manteo for a bit and visited some cute little shops.

Our whole reason for visiting Manteo was for The Lost Colony play. I expected the play to be good, but I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was! If you’re ever in North Carolina, I ten out of ten recommend The Lost Colony!

FRIDAY

Friday was our last full day. We went to a nice little Native American museum in Frisco, and then explored more after. Apparently no restaurant likes to stay open between 3PM and 5PM (what weirdos eat lunch at 3?) We finally found Quarterdeck Restaurant and stopped by for lunch. I ordered the crab bisque and hush puppies (again, not the healthiest but when it’s your last day, you order hush puppies!). After, Josh and I split the world’s greatest slice of Key Lime pie. I’m drooling right now just thinking about it.

That evening we just relaxed and swam some more.

SATURDAY

Finally, Saturday was our long haul back to Ohio. We ended up just driving the entire 12 hours back home.

All in all, it was a nice, relaxing vacation! It definitely made me feel refreshed after working so much this summer. Although I’ve just barely adjusted to being back in the “real world”, I’m ready to dust off my blog and get creative with you all!

Naturally,

Ari.