with the pandemic upsetting some of our plans, extra time was then suddenly available for some spontaneous activities. phillip and i decided to take advantage and road trip to the outer banks of north carolina. i’d say for about a year now we’ve considered vacationing there but only recently made it happen and are so glad we did.

rather than the standard day-by-day format for my travels, i’m going to do a little something different and share our trip with you by category. so, if you mostly care about what we eat, you can focus there. if you’re more interested in what we did, that’s all together for you, too. enjoy!

the lodging

even though phillip and i knew we wanted to go to the outer banks, we hadn’t yet really planned on where we would stay. well, the good news is that aaa came to the rescue. my mom was browsing through their member magazine on one of her visits and found a quick blurb about the sanderling resort in duck, nc. she didn’t have to do much convincing, as we quickly agreed to splurge on a couple of nights at the four-star resort.

even during the pandemic, the sanderling did not disappoint. it’s hard to complain when you are within a two-minute walk of the beach or when the bar is just a few steps away from the lobby or when you have the perfect view for a sunrise or when the concierge provides complimentary s’mores packs to roast in the fire pit or when the staff takes extra measures to ensure the common spaces are clean. i can only imagine how the service is elevated when restrictions are not in place.

the eats

what did we eat while visiting the obx? i think the question, instead, is what did we not eat?

between decadent, made-to-order, mouthwatering donuts at the original duck donuts

and jumbo shrimp cocktails with moscow mules and a lovely sunset view at the lifesaving station

and incredible mahi bites and frosty beers at coastal cravings

and doughy, cheesy pizza at duck pizza company

and the crabcake sunrise sandwich and three little piggies back at cravings to a final stop at kill devil’s custard on our way out, i’d say we got our fair fill of food.

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the activities

i felt a little less guilty about what we consumed since we somewhat balanced it out with some sightseeing and walking. i definitely recommend strolling the boardwalk with your coffee (and donuts!) in the morning as you take in the sights of the currituck sound.

you can also get a workout by climbing the steps of the currituck beach lighthouse and strolling along the sandy beaches.

a little less strenuous but just as enjoyable is cozying up with your sweetheart to star gaze. it’s amazing how much you can actually see when the city lights aren’t in the way.

finally, if you’re really ready to get in some more steps, i cannot recommend enough the wright brothers national memorial. i was emotional as i truly understood that right there in kitty hawk the brothers tested and trialed and successfully executed the first flights. it is a breathtaking thing to see.

and that was that! the outer banks were certainly worth the long haul from home in georgia, and i am confident we will find ourselves back here before too long. before we go, i’d like to say that even though some of our stops were self-discovered, many were recommended by our friend anne and other friend mark. this trip would not have been nearly as fun had they not shared their expert opinions. 🙂