Outerbanks

In May 2016 we drove from Michigan to the Outer Banks.  We arrived late on our first day but could hear the ocean from our rental house. We booked through VRBO (vacation rental by own) we paid  $768 for a 5 bedroom house with direct access to the ocean for 6 nights.  We were in Avon, North Carolina.  We enjoy vacation and lots of times fill our trips to the brim with activities. This was not one of those times.  We enjoyed leisure sips of coffee in the morning played at the beach and enjoyed a good glass of wine at the end of the day.

We ate all of our meals in the rental house.  They had a grill and we went to the local fish shop where the sale chart changes based on the fresh catch of the day and bought fresh fish and cooked it at the house.  We also went got fresh veggies and other groceries for a very affordable week.

We enjoyed playing at the beach near our rental but we also enjoyed taking a trip to the local fishing pier one afternoon.  It was fun to walk out to the end of the pier and see what the fishermen were catching.

We also picked up ice cream at the grocery store and had ice cream every afternoon when we came in after playing at the beach.  Serving it up at the rental house was way cheaper and easier than going out.  The kids talked about this for some time after our trip as we are not a dessert everyday kind of family.

One of our favorite things to do on this trip was to go down to the beach at night. Once it got dark we got out our flashlights and would go ghost crab hunting.  You just yell out found one when you shine your flashlight and see a crab moving.  We got 100 in 2 minutes one evening. 

getting ready for ghost crab hunting.

We only had 1 planned activity for the whole week.  We drove to Nags Head and went on a dolpin watching tour.  Our tour was booked through the Research Center.  There are marine biologist on board who have the kids help collect their data.  It was awesome.  We went in May which is when the dolphins come into the coast to have their babies.  We started seeing them as soon as we left the docks.  It was a very cool experience. The best $15 (per kids) I've ever spent.

Helping to collect data with dolphins jumping in the background.

Talking with the marine biologist. 

watching dolphins in their natural habitat. 

 My son and I 

Another afternoon we went to the Cap Hatters light house.  It's the tallest light house in the USA.  My youngest son was too little to climb so my husband took our big kids to the top. There is also a great beach near the light house that has the remains of an old pier.  When the waves hit the pier the water sprays up.  The kids played there for a long time.  It is also a national park so my kids got the junior ranger badge there.  The national park is free to enter there is a little museum but if you want to climb the light house is $8 for adults and $4 per child.

 stairs to the top

waving to me from the top

Proud owner of a new Junior Ranger badge

While we were at the ranger station we say the ranger lead programs and one of them was meeting a ranger and the beach and learning how to use the seining method to catch fish. The all caught multiple creatures.  The kids had a lot of fun with this and it was free. 

Being in the Outer Banks is for people who love nature and a quite experience with the ocean.  There are not a lot of things to do there which was it's greatest appeal to us.  We didn't want an obnoxious board walk with games and rides.  We wanted to play in the ocean and enjoy a week at the beach. Mission accomplished!