Outer Banks Trip Planning ??

[3boymthr]

I also posted this on the community board, but figured I'd also post here because it is budget related.

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.

 

[Mickeyorbust]

Spring Break for the area I live, southside of VA, starts this weekend. That being said, traffic will probably be bad getting into OBX. It's a popular vacation spot here.

The Aquarium is ok, but it'd be a good option for a rainy day.

Duck Donuts is my favorite place to visit. There's one in Duck, of course, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and a new one opening in Corolla if it's not already open. The donuts are made when you order, delicious.

As far as your husband biking across the state road, I don't know. If it's early morning I think he should be fine, there's not much traffic on the roads in the morning, except check-in/out day (Saturday).

 

[luvmy3jewels]

Most schools in NC go back during the last week of August (on or around the 25th) so if that is the week you are going, there should be a few less people on the OBX.

As far as grocery shopping goes, if you want to spend a little less time (and money) shopping there is a Food Lion in Moyock on Hwy 168 that you will drive by on the way down. It is about 45 mins - 1 hr away from the beach and will be a lot cheaper and less busy than any of the beach grocery stores.

Your dh could ride his bike to the beach, but he needs to be really careful crossing Hwy 12.

I agree with the previous poster that you have to try Duck Donuts. I am not a huge donut lover, but they are absolutely wonderful hot and freshly made to order!!

Colington Cafe should be nearby and that is also a great place to eat. Another favorite of ours (their filet is out of this world good) is Prime Only.

The aquarium is nice. I wouldn't go expecting it to be as large or fancy as the ones in Baltimore or Atlanta, but it is worth the price of admission. They have a touch tank that the younger kids will enjoy and there is also a dig for fossils activity outside that I always have to drag my kids away from. Your 15 year old may be bored by it though.

 

[acenorm]

To save money, bring as much food as you can with you. The grocercy stores in OBX are way more expensive. Just buy the essentilas there that you would need, e.g. milk, eggs etc.

We have been going for ten years now and stay in Frisco, and we have 4 cars that go down that are all full. This year we bought a 4x7 trailer because we lost a minivan and to give everyone a little more room.

Best Regards,
Norm

 

[moongirl]

If you go early on Sunday or Monday morning to the grocery store, you won't have any lines to worry about. It is crazy on Saturday so we always bring dinner for Saturday and make a stop at a convenience store near our rental to get milk, bread, and beer. I then get to the store on Sunday morning early (8 or 9 am ish) to get most of our groceries.

My in-laws drive from Northern Delaware each year and meet us at the beach. They take the most direct route and leave very early on Saturday morning (like 7 am) so they avoid the beach traffic to the Delaware beaches. They have not had any issues as long as they leave early.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

We rent a house in Duck at the OBX every year.

Some of our favorite things to do:
- bike riding - if you take a drive up to the Duck area with your bikes, there's an awesome bike trail that parallels the road and is a lot of fun for cruising.
- we visit the aquarium each time as our kids are between 3 and 6 and they always have a blast there. I think it's well worth the admission price.
- very close to the aquarium is the Elizabethean Gardens which is simply beautiful. I drag the family there every year for pictures and the kids don't mind as they give out scavenger hunt cards to the kids (free) so they're busy looking for all the various statues and such.
- if your kids are into Monster Trucks, Digger's Dungeon, home of Grave Digger, is only 30 minutes north of the OBX and is a big hit with our boys.
- Duck Donuts - ditto the yumminess!
- every other year we take a day trip down to Hatteras to climb the lighthouse and we bring a picnic to enjoy at Bodie Island on the way back.
- you can take the ferry to Ocracoke Island if you do go all the way south but you need to get there VERY early as the wait to get onto the ferry can be several hours (at least that's been our experience - I'm sure others will have hints on how best to get to Ocracoke without the crazy wait).

Have fun!!

ETA - I've never had a problem with the grocery stores or long waits. We go to the Food Lion that another poster mentioned and it doesn't seem much different that shopping at home. We bring the basics to get us through one day as no one wants to go food shopping after such a long drive (we're in NJ) and it's our tradition to get takeout from Dirty Dick's for our first night there and then hit up the grocery store the next day.

 

[3boymthr]

Thanks for all the replies.

We are going to be there the 21st - 28th. Because the drive is so long and because it's on the way, we're leaving on the 19th stopping to visit MIL on Friday night and leaving on Sunday morning to check in at the house.

We love a good donut. When we go to the cape DH will stop and get donuts for breakfast one morning so I'll have to remember about Duck Donuts.

We'll not be taking too many groceries with us, just staples like ketchup and salt, etc., as it will be 5 people in the car plus all the luggage and linens and other supplies like beach toys and because I don't want to be keeping perishable food in the car for two days. The option of the grocery in Moyock sounds good. I'll have to google it to see if I can find it on the directions.

I'll let DH know that he'll have to cross the highways. He may not care as when we're on the Cape he usually has to cross and/or ride down Route 6 and it's 4 lanes of traffic.

The aquarium sounds like a go then. We were also going to check out the Roanoke first settlement site as middle DS just studied it in school. I'll have to add the gardens as something for that afternoon. Make the kids wear something nice and take some pics. My kids are a little older, but while we love to go to the beach, we also don't go for all day, usually only for 2 or 3 hours, so I like to have things to do in the AM or PM before/after we're thru at the beach.

Which leads to another question. I've heard that in some parts of the country you have to go down and stake out a piece of the beach really early in the AM if you want to even stand a chance of sitting on the sand. Is this also true on the Outer Banks or will we be okay arriving mid morning or mid afternoon?

Also, can anyone recommend a good public beach? We're staying on the sound side so we're going to have to drive to get to the beach. I know there's the national seashore and if those beaches are anything like the ones on Cape Cod they'll be beautiful, but I'm wondering about town beaches.