Nags Head Nirvana

Just returned from my 20-somethingth vacation in Nags Head and I never tire of it. A friend asked me about it and so I thought I'd share my observations/opinions in case others are considering an Outer Banks adventure.

As a Nashvillian, I grew up going to the Gulf, but my husband's family had purchased a house in Nags Head back in 1960, so of course that's where we started going as a family.
It's a looong drive from Nashville - about 700 miles - but now we only need to travel about 200 miles due east from Raleigh on Highway 64.
FYI: Raleigh and Norfolk both have good rates from Nashville on Southwest.

Driving east from Raleigh, one passes through the "inner banks," mostly small villages that have been farming and fishing/crabbing communities for decades. It's a scenic drive, going through some waterfowl preserves that run along the coast before reaching the sound. If you go this way, and if you are a history person, I would recommend a stop at Somerset Plantation - at one time the largest in NC. It has quite a reputation for its interpretation of African American slave life, as well as the economics of large-scale planting in the antebellum era.

To get to the Outer Banks from here, you cross the Alligator River onto Roanoke Island. Once on the island, a slight left turn off the highway puts you in Manteo, a lovely town on the Albemarle Sound (or it may be Pamlico Sound -- they come together somewhere right along here). Manteo is where Andy Griffith lives, and he could live pretty much anywhere. It was the site of the original Lost Colony (as I'm sure you know) and one of NC's several outdoor theater productions tells that story. It's fun to see.
Also, there's also a small aquarium here and a really great independent bookstore, plus a picturesque harbor with sunset cruises available, etc. (We took an early-evening sailboat ride a couple of years ago that turned out to be one of my favorite experiences.)

Cross one more bridge and you're in Nags Head, which used to be accesible only by boat (which I guess is true of all the Outer Banks). Nag's Head is a family-vacation sort of place with everything from the obligatory putt-putt to the highest sand dune on the east coast, which you can climb at Jockey's Ridge State Park. The First Flight/Wright Bros. Museum is just a couple of miles away in Kill Devil Hills. A few miles south is Bodie Island Lighthouse (can't climb, but it is in a beautiful setting between the ocean and sound, with boardwalks across the wetland grasses), and Coquina Beach, a scenic natural beach (open to the public for swimming etc.) with remains of a wrecked ship from early last century.
Our favorite places to eat include Tortuga's Lie on the beach road (small, quaint really good seafood), Mama Kwan's (Asian influenced, casual) and Sam and Omie's (a local hangout that has great soft-shell crab and fried vegetables and other regional dishes).

In case you're interested, the rental company we use is NagsHeadRealty.com. You can check out the website to see the available properties, prices, amenities, etc. They range from small historic cottages like ours (built in the teens) to modern manses with palladian windows and the like. There's a very specific type of cottage that is known as the Nags Head cottage, and it has a big wrap-around porch with overhanging roof, usually two stories or a story-and-a-half with a long rear ell, shingled in cedar shake. You can see several that are part of a historic district along Virginia Dare Trail (the beach road) between about the 12-14 mile markers.

To the north of Nags Head is Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Southern Shores, Corolla and Duck. There's another lighthouse in Corolla, which visitors can climb - it's quite a hoot - and also a hunting club founded by the railroad tycoons back around 1900 or so. Its pretty cool and they do give tours.
Duck is quite upscale, with fancy cottages and resorts -- and some nice shops.

The weather can be a little hard to predict on the banks. This week, we had two days of 95-degree weather, a rainly 68-degree day and then two perfectly sunny 78-80 degree days. The water is usually warmer later in the summer, but it was quite nice this week, as well.

That's my pitch for Nags Head. A lot of folks from Raleigh like to go further south to Hatteras and Ocracoke (more lighthouses) or further, to what is called the "Crystal Coast" - Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, Cape Lookout, etc. I'm sure those places are wonderful, too, but I haven't had the experience since we always go back to Nags Head.

If you're interested in seeing all of the the banks - about 200 miles or so - Highway 12 runs the length and requires two ferry rides. Lots of interesting small seaside towns and other sites to visit along the way.