day 12: virginia to obx, nc

day 12: virginia to obx, nc

BEACH OR BUST!

As I mentioned in my last post, it was clear a few days ago that the Honda Facebook poll and all of you readers here had voted in the winning place for me to visit by a landslide (Statue of Liberty.) I looked at the two runners up (Kitty Hawk, NC and Cape Hatteras Lighthouse) and thought- why not go to all three? So North Carolina or bust!

Just rolling in, I am one Happy girl:

(Great face I have right where YouTube froze me in this video, right? If you can’t laugh at yourself…)

Kitty Hawk welcomes me and the loaned BLR-Mobile!

(Have I mentioned how much I love this Hybrid Civic and the fact I am getting on average 42.9 mpg? You know I love saving $ on gas and being thrifty in general. This car rules on saving me and helping me afford this trip! I can’t believe I only have 5 days left on the road. Tear…)

I went straight to Jockey’s Ridge State Park:

…to hang out on the sand dunes for a while:

The endless dunes don’t even look like they could be real! From the top you can see the ocean and the sound- which feels surreal:

See those long skinny white things on the bottom-left of the photo? Yep, those are for hang gliding lessons that are available to take on the dunes. How cool and fun does that sound?

I sat and stared at the ocean and the sound for a while just taking it all in. The sun started to set:

…and got more and more pink:

Jockey’s Ridge is a must do and the sunset in person is so much better than any photo or video could be! Next time you plan a beach vacation put OBX, NC on your list of to-go-to’s if you haven’t been here before. This undoubtedly my favorite beach area in USA. There’s something to be said for how clean it is, the fact that it hasn’t been taken over by a million neon lights, and that there’s mile after magnificent mile of uninterrupted sandy space for relaxing and playing. I heart OBX forever!

After sunset, I finished my day at the Outer Banks Brewing Station:

…with a pint of their Olsch:

…and a fresh veggie press sandwich on homemade bread. (Oops! I gobbled it up and forgot to take a photo. I guess you’ll just have to trust me that is was delicious. So delicious that I forgot about my camera.)

WIFI, microbrew, and eats recommended by a local was the perfect night office  I needed so I could get some of my work done. (Thanks Steph!)

Tomorrow it’s more beach exploring: Kitty hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, and making my way to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The weather is supposed to be even more warm and sunny than usual in September here so perfect timing…

Thanks for all the votes to send me here!

***Total miles driven today, day 12: 215

***Total miles driven since trip start (9/2/11): 1,960

***Total blue lollipops gifted/left behind since trip start (9/2/11): 20