The Outer Banks - North Carolina

OBX - The Outer Banks

When you look at a map of the east coast of the United States, it's tough to not have your eyes drawn to the topography of the Outer Banks, a long thin sliver of barrier islands that guard the coast of North Carolina. I'd always wanted to visit, and my wife planned a trip out there for me for my birthday.

I spent a few days out on Ocracoke, one of the inhabited island far to the south, and it was beautiful and quirky and, to overuse a cliché, magical. It's also infamous as the location where the pirate Blackbeard met his end.

  

And in order to make a big loop, as well as squeeze in a day trip to a northern island, we took three of the ferries that lend access to Ocracoke: we took the Cedar Island Ferry out to Ocracoke, took the Hatteras Island for fun, and returned to the mainland on the Swans Quarter Ferry.

The beaches are gorgeous, though not unlike the pirates that roamed their water, somewhat treacherous with dangerous riptides, which feel as strong as a river's ebb and flow. Growing up on the Atlantic, I'm accustomed to undertows and riptides and perilous currents, and it was enjoyable to be back in the ocean's embrace.

  

beach on Ocracoke

 The sunrises are beautiful.

Ocracoke Sunrise

And the Ocracoke Lighthouse comes complete with cats, satisfying no less than two national fetishes.

Ocracoke Lighthouse & Ocracoke kitty

Visit. The Outer Banks make for a stunning destination.