Outer Banks Trip Planning ??

[3boymthr]

So we have the house booked and paid for and will be heading down to the Outer Banks the end of August. We'll be staying on the sound side on Colington Island which I guess is an area of Kill Devil Hills. I have read thru as many of the other threads as I can here on the DIS and thru all the info on the official websites but I still have a few questions I'm hoping someone can answer.

We usually go to the Cape Cod National Seashore. Usually DH gets up early and will ride his bike to beach to watch the sun rise. We plan on taking our bikes. DH wanted to know if it would be possible to ride his bike to the ocean to see the sunrise or would he be risking his life?

We are scheduled to arrive on Sunday. We live in MA but we're stopping to visit MIL in Delaware (who lives right off of Route 13) on the way down so we're planning on traveling via Route 13 to 60 to Route 12. Is the traffic this route impossible and we'd be better off going either via 158 or 64?

How crazy busy are the grocery stores on the weekend and/or how empty are the shelves on early Monday? I saw an ad for grocery delivery. If the grocery stores are as busy as the ad implied (I believe the ad started out "don't want to spend an hour in line?") it might be worth the cost to have the groceries delivered. If I can get thru the lines in much less than an hour with the food I want then I'll bring enough food for dinner on Sunday and go first thing Monday morning. And if the grocery delivery is worth it can anyone recommend a good delivery service?

and finally my reason for asking these questions so early... Is the Aquarium in Roanoke worth the price of admission? If it is I'm going to get a museum membership here next week during school vacation which would pay for itself after one visit and make the Aquarium visit free. If not, then I'll find something else to do with the kids next week.

 

[skater]

I can answer a couple of your questions. The grocery stores are very busy on the weekend - only you can decide if its worth it to you. Standing in line for lunch meat is the worst part of it - we don't buy lunch meat down there anymore. I think the rest is doable - they usually have a lot of lines open.

We enjoyed the aquarium. Its small, but very nice and in a good location. We went on a rainy day which made it crowded, but its probably not bad on a warm sunny day .

 

[msjprincess]

Grocery stores are usually crazy late Saturday. We usually go Sunday and it's not too bad

 

[M.A.D.aboutDisney]

and finally my reason for asking these questions so early... Is the Aquarium in Roanoke worth the price of admission? If it is I'm going to get a museum membership here next week during school vacation which would pay for itself after one visit and make the Aquarium visit free. If not, then I'll find something else to do with the kids next week.

We always travel 158 so I'm not sure about the traffic the other way. And we stay in the Corolla area and shop at the Harris Teeter which is usually calm on the weekends. The Food Lion gets a bit crazier but that's up there in that area...not sure about KDH area.

However, I will respond to the aquarium question. I personally did not think it was worth the price. However, Festival Park is really cool and worth the price and we love to walk around Manteo. If you have younger kids, there is a really fun Pirate Adventure in Manteo. You can Google Pirate Adventure, Manteo to find more about it. have a great trip!

 

[Lisa D]

We have only stayed in Corolla but I think I can help. Traffic can sometimes be busy in KDH, but probably not right at sunrise so I think DH would be okay on a bike. The grocery stores are mostly Food Lions. You may want to order a Shopper's Club card (free) to take advantage of their sale prices, Grocery stores are crazy on Saturday but die down a bit on Sunday. Same way with Route 12 - most people arrive on Saturdays.

How old are your children? Mine enjoyed the aquarium when they were in elementary school. We also did a dolphin cruise and the Cape Hatteras lighthouse which they really enjoyed.

We haven't been to OBX for a few years, but only because some good friends of ours bought a house at Ocean City MD and have been kind enough to invite us there.