Travel: Below the Outer Banks, North Carolina

~ Laura

Steve’s folks live on one of the southern barrier islands in North Carolina – Emerald Isle. Originally from Cleveland, they moved down there permanently after retirement. We have visited his folks many times over the years, usually driving down the remote DelMarVa (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) peninsula to get there. Some years, we have taken really wide detours like the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia.

Here are some cool things to do along the way and when you get down to Emerald Isle:

  • The Lewes Ferry is a nice ferry ride between Delaware and Cape May, New Jersey.
  • In Wachapreague, VA, the Island House Restaurant is our favorite spot for crab cakes and for an hour break to stretch legs.
  • Edenton, NC is another place fora good break. On this trip, we stopped at the Old Colony Smokehouse for some seriously awesome North Carolina BBQ with a tang of vinegar. We ordered meat by the pound scooped out on metal trays with sides of beans, cole slaw, Mac and cheese, green. It’s right along the highway. The pit master appeared in Food Network’s Chopped. 
  • I am haunted by the sad story of the lost colony at Roanoke, Va. There’s a nice museum there. Worth a stop.
  • Steve and Jonah spent the day on the Carolina Princess in Morehead City. For $72 per person, they got a 6 hour boat trip that included licenses, poles, bait and tackles. They paid extra for cleaning the fish. Jonah also enjoyed some legal (just turned 21) day brews.
  • On Emerald Isle, we had some crispy pizza and beers on the water at Anchor Beer. Jonah ate the biggest tuna sandwich ever at the Fish Hut Grill. For the one dress-up meal that week, we went to Amos Mosquitos for nice grilled local shrimp, scallops, and tuna.
  • There aren’t many cool shops down there, but Jonah liked South Swell Surf Shop for the surfer boy t-shirts, long board stickers, and the I-just-smoked-a-fat-one vibe.
  • Emerald Isle is all about the beautiful, empty beaches and bathtub warm sea water. It’s a great place to go with an extended family or large group of friends. Much less crazy than Jersey shore, it’s a perfect place to go to appreciate nature and a good book.

Published by Laura

2 thoughts on “Travel: Below the Outer Banks, North Carolina”

  1. Edenton is where the author and abolitionist Harriet Jacobs lived until she escaped enslavement. She tells her story in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and it is one of the most kick-ass books of the 19th century.

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  2. That ferry must be the one we took a couple of years ago. Went from Rehoboth to Cape May and then basically risked death to reach Philadelphia.

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