I might jump into my car around Friday and take off to the Outer Banks just for laughs. The main goal is to take some hang gliding lessons. Anything else worth checking out along the way? I'm on a budget here. Camp sites will probably be used unless someone has a better idea.
I can't speak directly for things to do, as I was there with the fam. Other than the Wright Brothers stuff (which was fantastic) it doesn't matter - the place is great.
Fishing and lighthouses you can go up in. Most of the area is really pretty, so sight-seeing is always fun.
Kitty Hawk was fun, the dunes are great. North, around Duck and Corolla are more quiet than Nag's Head...which has all of the tourist traps. Between Nag's Head and Rodanthe are some very nice, secluded beaches. Further South, past Hatteras,you can catch the Ferry to Ocracoke...which basically has nothing but beaches until you reach the town at the south end of the island.
It was fun. The Wife loves it there.
I have stayed in Avon and Ocracoke. As a non-fisherman, it is a great place to go to do NOTHING and relax.
We usually rent a house a week before the official tourist season starts.. so the weather is warm, but no hurricanes and no tourists.. perfect
went there as a kid (9 or so)... is what I recall other then all the sand dunes, the 18" long tent stakes (family vacation was always done at a camp ground sleeping in a tent) was kitty hawk and and Black beard (pirate) stuff...
would love to bring my kids up there at some point...
It is chilly this time of year - dress accordingly. It is still very much off-season - which is good or bad depending on what you want.
Been there several times. Found it to be the most boring place on earth. Kansas was more interesting and exciting.
As everyone else has said, it is super quiet there. Complete opposite of Myrtle Beach. Local food was great when I went. This time of year there will probably be 10 people on the busiest beach. Take something to read. 
Good place to get away and do nothing, as noted above. The notable exception being fishing. Dunno what's biting this time of year, but they run a lot of charters out of Oregon Inlet. Stayed in Corolla last summer. First time I've ever caught anything while surf fishing. North of Corolla, you can drive anything 4WD on the beach. Kids loved walking the beach after dark and catching sand crabs, which were plentiful and quite speedy.
The bridge over the Oregon Inlet was wiped out this year, and I'm not sure of the rebuilding status.
Also, on your way out to the outer banks, stop by here: http://www.ncaquariums.com/roanoke-island
I was in Corolla a few years ago. Beautiful, peaceful, just watch for the wild horses. I was there to do a service call at a house, and the horses had decorated the car port. Land crabs are crazy, skittering all over. Beach really nice. Would like to go back.
It's a unique and beautiful area. As noted, the Wright Brothers monument and museum is a must.
If you want to go hang gliding, check out Kill Devil Hills and the school based there. No personal experience, but they claim to be the best.
GO TO DUCK DONUTS!!!!!!
They are teh best berkeleying things you will ever put in your face!
I have been ther probably 20 to 30 times in my life. It is a great place to relax. It IS NOT a great place to go to have an "exciting" time.
It will be windy this time of year. Be prepared for that.
Check out the lighthouses. You can walk up to the top in some of them (the one in Corolla is my favorite).
You can drive north of corolla on teh beach and check out the wild horses (don't approach, feed, or scare the horses).
at Jockey Ridge (where the Wright Brothers actually flew, not Kittyhawk) is the flight centre and memorial. Adjacent to it is a small landing strip. Last time we went down, we got a ride down the beach in an open cockpit biplane. If the weather is nice, I recommend
foxtrapper wrote: Been there several times. Found it to be the most boring place on earth. Kansas was more interesting and exciting.
If it was so boring, why did ou go back several times ?
I don't know if it is open year-round, but stop at John's Drive for a Dolphin Boat with Fries and a Chocolate/Peanut Butter Milkshake. (Beach Road, Mp.3 or so) Awesome!
iceracer wrote:foxtrapper wrote: Been there several times. Found it to be the most boring place on earth. Kansas was more interesting and exciting.If it was so boring, why did ou go back several times ?
Because the way people would rave about it I thought surely I'd missed something. Nope.
After something like three tries, I quit.
Perhaps, since I never got seduced by the sea either places like this just aren't for me. Spending days on a ship going "look, a wave" wasn't my idea of serenity, it's just boring.
Trying to pick between OBX and NYC. I might leave OBX for when I'm off for summer. Should I make another thread for NYC?
This time of year, I vote NYC.
if you want to see wild horses.. go to Ocean City MD and hang a right to assatigue
mad_machine wrote: if you want to see wild horses.. go to Ocean City MD and hang a right to assatigue
Assateague will be easier to find.
pardon my spelling 
Don't get stuck on the beach cost couple hundred for tow truck and don't buy the OBX sticker
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