Visiting the Outer Banks (OBX) was a practical decision this year, based on all of the Covid restrictions preventing us from traveling internationally in addition to the precautions many retirement communities have in place to protect their residents. It became the perfect destination to visit with my parents, whom we had not seen in over two years due to both Covid and previous illness preventing us from getting together. Here are a few photos we snapped from our travel to and time in the Outer Banks.

First, photos from the Williamsburg area. We visited Williamsburg, the home of William and Mary, last summer when dropping our son off for college. It’s a great town, and a convenient stop on the way.

While in Williamsburg, we visited Kingsmill Golf Resort and found out that the Pure Silk Championship golf tournament for the LGPA was scheduled to start that week. Danny, who began playing golf seriously this past year, had an opportunity to play on the course prior to to the event. It is now one of his favorites.

Next stop, the Outer Banks, barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina with beautiful unspoiled beaches that stretch on for over 130 miles. There are many different towns to stay in, including Nags Head, Duck, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, and Hatteras. We chose the lesser known, and lesser populated Corolla, which sits at the northern end of the Outer Banks. It is still being developed, so while it offers great shopping and dining, it also has wide secluded beaches with wild horses, sand dunes, and beaches with no roads. Any further north of where we were staying would actually require a 4×4 vehicles.

One important thing to keep in mind about the Outer Banks is that while it offers many fun, active beach town experiences, there are very few hotels and resorts. Instead, you can find a great many large home rentals with numerous bedrooms and sometimes even multiple kitchens and living spaces. Many come with ocean views or their own pools, hot tubs, game rooms, or home theaters and accommodate large, multigenerational groups. Most are walking distance from the beach as well as the Sound. Ours was located both walking distance from the ocean as well as from the local grocery store, restaurants, and shopping centers, which made it a great location for us.

There is so much to see and do in the Outer Banks area. You can be as active or as immobile as you like.

Since this journey was focused on spending time with family, we stayed close to home, swimming in the pool and at the beach, shopping, walking, playing tennis, and enjoying a few restaurants close by. And of course we ended most nights with ice cream from the local creamery across the street. We would definitely like to visit again and maybe next time we will come back with photos of wild horses, lighthouses, and or hang gliding. Until then…