Tag Archives: OBX

OBX Sandbars and Board Shorts Day Seven: Total Tourists

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obx_foj13_d7_23After two full days on the beach and an awesome evening of fireworks, it was time for a recovery day. Sort of. Welcome to day seven on the Outer Banks, Friday, July 5. We were going to be tourists today, and there’s nothing wrong with that. On Monday, we did a day trip to Ocracoke and Hatteras Island, which was a great time despite the rain. It was time to check off a few of those attractions that you always drive by, but never go to. Today was our day. Continue reading →

Another great Outer Banks Half Marathon

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OBX November sunset

OBX November sunset

Happy belated Veteran’s Day. We spent Veteran’s Day weekend on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I was ready to run my second Outer Banks half marathon. Race season kicked off last weekend with the City of Oaks marathon. I ran the half in 1 hour and 43 minutes. This weekend, I was looking for a better time, but was concerned because of a leg and foot injury that’s been nagging me.

We arrived on the OBX Friday evening, November 9, 2012 to a freak blackout. As we drove through Mann’s Harbor, we noticed it was really dark. The radio was talking about widespread power outages from the Virginia border all the way to Hatteras Island. We noticed Roanoke Island was pitch black except for the airport, as we traveled over the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge. Continue reading →

And the Fall 2012 race season has begun

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The Fall race season kicked off this weekend with the City of Oaks Marathon. I ran my 15th half marathon, The Rex Healthcare half marathon.

This race is always interesting because of daylight savings—usually plenty of rest! But daylight savings seems pretty pointless in the 21st century, but regardless, we still have to deal with the false sense of time change. (That’s for you Damon!)

Caitlyn's first half marathon

Caitlyn’s first half marathon

At about 5:00am in the morning, the sound of thunder woke us up. Who ordered the race day thunderstorm in the early morning? The rain kept the temperatures up. The predicted 38º ended up being 42º – which was fine by me.

Mom, MB, and Caitlyn were on-hand to watch the race. They saw me start under the NC State Belltower, then were at the 10k finish line (6.2 miles) to send me off for the remainder of the half marathon. Continue reading →

September Surf Sessions on the Outer Banks

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A week of surf on the Outer Banks will do wonders for your soul. I headed out to Kill Devil Hills, NC on Tuesday, September 4, leaving Raleigh, NC after dinner and arriving at the beach just before midnight. The swell forecast from Hurricane Leslie was looking very promising. And the wind (direction) looked like it was going to cooperate over the next few days.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkCuMCZXt_w’]

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Life in Board Shorts Day Eight – Pea Island

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Pea IslandThis was our last full day on the Outer Banks for the week of Fourth of July. I can’t believe our week on the beach flew by this fast. We had a blast. For our last day, we decided to take a trip South to Pea Island. After a long night seeing Southern Culture on the Skids, we were up fairly early and heading for a full day on Hatteras Island. Continue reading →

Life in Board Shorts Day Seven – SCOTS

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After a great recovery day, today was going to be a scorcher! We had an outline for our day, but no firm plans other than a few hours of work this afternoon and a concert tonight. We wanted to get to the beach early, then get off the sand before it got into the high 90’s. We were heading to Port ‘O Call this evening to see Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS).

We grabbed a quick breakfast and headed over to Raleigh Avenue for a few hours in the sun. We kept it pretty minimal today. Zander was skim boarding, Merri Beth and I were in our beach chairs. The sun was shining and the wind was light out of the West. The water was beautiful. We were on the beach for a few hours, then headed back to the beach house. Continue reading →

Life in Board Shorts Day Six – FOJ Recovery

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We had an awesome Fourth of July on the Outer Banks. It’s got to be my favorite holiday. When else can you hang out on the beach all day, enjoy a few beers, then see some awesome fireworks after a long day in the sun and surf? Memorial Day and Labor Day come close, but FOJ is where it’s at.

On day six of our vacation on the beach, we were planning on relaxing at the pool for a few hours. But just as we were getting ready to leave the house, I noticed some smoke coming from the Sound. At first, I thought it was a storm, but upon further inspection, it was smoke from a marsh fire near Collington. Continue reading →

Life in Board Shorts Day Five – Fourth of July

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View from the beach chairOops, we slept in today. Not typical for us. We were out a little later than expected last night at Elizabeth’s Cafe. We’re usually pretty eager to get on the beach early on the Fourth of July. Merri Beth, Zander, and I managed to get to the beach by 11:00 am—not too bad considering our lack of alarm clock.

We packed up the Jeep, lunch included, and headed out. At first, I was thinking Nags Head would be the spot. But as we drove down the beach road, the beach accesses were packed. We turned around and headed back to Kill Devil Hills for the day. We found a great spot that just had a few cars at it. Within the next two hours, it was full. We got lucky. Continue reading →

Marsh Fire Smoking Out Outer Banks

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The family was getting ready to head to the pool for the day and while letting the dogs out around 10:30 am, I noticed large billows of smoke. At first, I thought it was a storm, but then it looked like a bomb had exploded in the air. The smoke was coming from the Sound so we hopped in the Jeep and headed to Bay Drive for further inspection.

According to WAVY-TV 10, “A marsh fire burning in Colington Harbor on the Outer Banks of North Carolina was reportedly sparked by fireworks.” Continue reading →