2021 OBX Trip Recap


Happy Friday! Today I'm recapping our our Nags Head trip from last week. The Outer Banks has to be my favorite place to visit, I've been going there my whole life and it holds so many amazing memories. I love writing trip recaps for my own memories, but also to share everything that Kenny and I did and loved in the places we've visited because I love reading others' posts like that before going on a trip! If you're looking for even more recommendations, check out my Outer Banks trip recap post from last year - I also include a bunch more details about the hotel we stayed in and their Covid protocols in that post. 


Read through the post for all the details, but here's everything we did at a glance: 


Where we stayed: Holiday Inn Express Nags Head Oceanfront


Where we ate: 


What we did: 

Monday

We left for the beach early on Monday so we could get a full day in. Last October when we went, we didn't leave til after noon and basically checked in at our hotel just in time for sunset, so we wanted to make sure to get an earlier start this year. We arrived a little before 2:00 and headed straight to the beach! We stayed at the same oceanfront hotel as last year ecause we really loved the location - read my previous post for more information about the hotel! They still had Covid restrictions in place, the only difference from last year was they were a little looser with mask rules, and they had a traditional continental breakfast available rather than grab-and-go.



After the beach, we went up to our room and got cleaned up for dinner. We had planned on going to TRiO because we went last year and loved it, but they were closed for part of the week to give their staff a break for Labor Day (as were many of the other restaurants), so we headed over to tried-and-true Tortuga's Lie! They had a wait, so we headed to Wings while we waited to pick up some beach essentials in the meantime (read: flip flops and fun floral swimsuits for Kenny).




We got the white garlic pizza as an appetizer which is SO good. I ordered the hummus wrap and Kenny got the black bean burger, and we ended up trading halves so we could both try each! As always, everything was great. (If you're new, Kenny and I are both vegetarians, so you won't find any seafood in this post.) I also got a classic Tortuga's Lie tee shirt because it felt necessary! I immediately wore it to bed that night. 😂


Tuesday

On Tuesday, we got ready and headed out to grab some breakfast and get some groceries. We like having LOTS of drinks (sparkling water, Coke Zero, waters, and sea breeze/Shirley Temple ingredients 😜) on hand, plus some salty beach snacks!




After getting provisions, we headed down to the beach for the day. At one point. Kenny and I embarked on a beach walk and ended up walking all the way to Jennette's Pier, which quite surprised me as it was Kenny's idea. If you read last year's post, then you'll remember that I was the one who made Kenny walk all the way to the pier at sunrise last time we were at the beach, which ended up being a 6-mile round trip walk. That was far longer than he expected we were going to walk and was far further a distance than I was expecting to walk, so we were both a little caught off-guard but committed to making it to the pier and back. 😂 It looks way closer than it actually is!! Either way, I enjoyed our CONSENTUAL 6-mile walk this time, and I was glad Kenny was down for it. We scheduled a sunset sail for that evening, so once we got back from our pier walk we headed back to our room to get ready.





Last time we were in the Outer Banks, we booked a sunset sail with Downeast Rover and it was such a good time, so we wanted to do it again! The captain and the first mate are fun and knowledgeable, and always make it a good time. We had a lovely sunset and got to see a bunch of dolphins at the end, which was so cool! Part of the reason we wanted to do the cruise again was to have an excuse to go back to darling downtown Manteo. Manteo is only about 15 minutes from Nags Head, but I had never been before last year! It's the cutest little storybook town, and it's definitely worth spending a day (or at least an afternoon) there if you're in the Outer Banks.




After the sunset sail, we had some time to kill before our dinner reservations later that evening, so we got some soft serve at Frostie's and walked around downtown.




Last time we were in Manteo we met the most beautiful fluffy orange (Maine coon?) cat named Shamus, and we wanted to find him! We walked around the area we had seen him the before for a while with no luck. It was getting dark and we had all but given up on seeing him, when out of the corner of his eye, Kenny spotted him sitting in the pavilion in the middle of downtown! We were so happy to see him again, and he was happy to see us too! We spent as much time as we could petting him until we had to leave for dinner.




We had made reservations at Blue Water Grill which is the most beautiful waterfront restaurant located in the middle of the Pirate's Cove marina. They also have a tiki bar, which I would love to come back and try sometime! For dinner we both got salads and black bean burgers, which were wonderful. I got the seasonal salad which came with pistachios, goat cheese, red grapes, red onion, cucumbers, and red grape vinaigrette, and it was quite unique and yummy! I also got a dirty martini which was great, and I also learned what "up" means in martini language, which I had never heard before. 😂 The atmosphere of this place was so lovely, and I'd definitely go back. I'd love to go during daylight next time so we could see out onto the water better!


Wednesday

On Wednesday we had another beach day (of course!) We're not hugely into swimming a ton at the beach (I get too cold!), which is good because for the rest of the week from Tuesday on, the "no swimming" flags were up and lifeguards were patroling the beach on four-wheelers because the waves were big and super choppy. It brought out the surfers, paddle boarders, and kite surfers, though!





In the evening after the beach, we got ready and walked Jennette's Pier. We didn't see many fishermen, but we saw 17 surfers at a time under the pier, which was crazy! We loved watching them, and saw a couple of them catch really good waves all he way to shore. 




We planned on going to Jockey's Ridge to watch the sunset, but it was a little cloudy. Still beautiful, though! Jockey's Ridge is such a cool place, and such a workout to walk across. 😂 Every time you crest another dune you think you'll be all the way across, but then there's always another! 


There's an old man-made sandcastle-looking thing that's about five feet tall close to the entrance, and when we were on our sunset sail the previous day, the first mate told us that it used to be part of a mini golf course that got overtaken by the dunes, and before it got covered up it was 30 feet tall! What's even crazier is that there's an entire HOTEL underneath the dunes that was built around 1840 and got swallowed up by the sand! The state spends millions of dollars each year moving sand from one end of the dunes to the other to make sure it doesn't start moving into developments, which is crazy.


After Jockey's Ridge, we headed to Dare Devil's Pizza for dinner. We had tried going there last year for Kenny's birthday (pizza is his FAVE) but it was closed, so we were excited to go this year! It was super good and kind of a dive, it definitely felt like somewhere that locals go even though it's right on the beach road. We got salads and white pizza and it hit the spot!



After dinner, we realized we still had time for mini golf (you can't go to the beach without doing mini golf!), so we headed to Professor Hacker's to play a round. I ended up getting a hole-in-one on a super hard hole (which you will find a lovely professional photo of above), so I basically felt like I had won the Masters Tournament.

 

Thursday

Thursday was supposed to be the one rainy day of the week, but it ended up being really nice into the afternoon, so we got a surprise beach day in! Once the clouds started rolling in, we went back to the hotel and showered and went out to so some shopping.





There are a ton of cool surf shops and boutiques in the Outer Banks (I listed my favorites at the beginning of this post!), but we ended up just hitting a couple of my favorites - Gray's and Mom's Sweet Shop (along with the outlet mall). Mom's Sweet Shop is new to me as of last year, and I freaking love that place! They serve smoothies, acai bowls, milkshakes, and ice cream, as well as candy, skate supplies, clothing, jewelry, home goods... pretty much everything! They sell their products online, so you can order merch from anywhere. Kenny got the Moore shore mudslide milkshake and I got the mango unchained smoothie, and both were wonderful. Kenny also got a cool Nautica x Diamond Supply tee shirt, and I got a Mom's tee and these adorable pearl hoop earrings that I had seen on their Instagram. I highly recommend stopping there next time you're in the Outer Banks!



It sprinkled rain for part of the afternoon, but cleared up around dinnertime which we were grateful for because we had reservations for dinner at Avenue Waterfront Grille back in Manteo! We got a table by the window and got to watch the light pink sunset over the sound with a front-row view of the Roanoke marhses lighthouse, which was beautiful. We ordered the fingerling fries as an appetizer which were amazing, and then for dinner I got the shala shala salad and Kenny got the new hippie sandwich, both of which were pretty good but nothing amazing.

After dinner, the rain had rolled back in. We walked around a little looking for Shamus, but he was nowhere to be found in that weather, so we headed home! There was a football game on, so Kenny watched that when we got back to our hotel and I fell asleep. 😂 Last year at the beach we fell in love with watching Family Feud before bed, so that's what we did all of the other nights.

Friday

Friday was our last full day, so we had one last beach day! I had been reading The Other Mrs. so I finished that up, and it was really good! It has rave reviews and I definitely enjoyed it, but I thought it was a tiny bit predictable and there were some elements of the story I think that could've been better addressed/wrapped up.

After I finished my book we went on a little walk, and Kenny ended up running into a bunch of guys from his hometown that he had gone to school with! I swear he sees people he knows wherever we go, so that was really funny and so Kenny.



After the beach, we were ready for a treat and I wanted go go to Surfin' Spoon because we had passed it several times last year and it looked really cute. They have self-serve frozen yogurt, but what I was really interested in was their cookie ice cream sandwiches! Kenny got the classic which had chocolate cookies and vanilla ice cream, and then I got the macan’ pistach’ which was vegan and made from chewy coconut macaroon cookies and pistachio coconut milk ice cream, and it was SO good!


 




Since it was our last night I wanted to walk the beach at sunset, and it was SUCH a beautiful evening. It was so bittersweet knowing it was our last night, but the sunset made up for it!



For dinner, we had made reservations at The SaltBox Cafe. We had gone there for brunch last year and loved it, so we wanted to go back for dinner. It's only about 15 minutes from Nags Head but definitely off the beaten path, and feels like a place that locals eat. It's in Colington which is a super charming area with several of other charming-looking restaurants that I'd love to check out sometime! For dinner we ordered the veggie spring rolls as an appetizer, and I got the Thai peanut curry which had the most delicious garlic broccolini, and Kenny got the Beyond burger with a custom preparation of chevre cheese, roasted red peppers, and crispy fried onions. It was such a fun, intimate last dinner - the cafe has a small dining room, as well as a pretty porch. I highly recommend trying it out, it's a hidden gem and the staff is friendly and accommodating.


Saturday

For our last morning, we decided to do a sunrise walk. Call me dramatic, but the mere thought of having to leave the beach is absolutely devastating for me (hahaha) so we had to go out with a bang! We had a beautiful sunrise and I was surprised by how many people showed up for it!



We were happy to get an early start and have plenty of time to get packed up, so we grabbed a little breakfast back at the hotel and went back to the room, but ended up going back to sleep for another hour or so before ACTUALLY packing up and getting going. 😂



After we got checked out, I wanted to do ONE last beachy thing, so we went to Waverider's to grab a quick lunch before heading home. I had wanted to check it out last year but we ran out of time, so I wanted to make sure to go this year and it did not disappoint! It definitely felt like a place that locals go, and it was SO cool there. They serve a ton of types of sandwiches, salads, smoothies, coffees, beer, and other drinks and goodies, including a vast selection of vegan and vegetarian options. They also have all kinds of beer and wine for sale in their back room that you can take on the go. I was really impressed by Waverider's and we'll definitely be back! I got an iced oat milk latte and the Bob's wrap, and Kenny got the motz sandwich to go and we ate on the way back home!  


If you're an Outer Banks regular, let me know your favorite spots! There are SO many wonderful places to go and things to do down there, one week is never long enough! Is it too early to plan our next trip?? I don't think it is... I'll go start working on Kenny. 😉

xoxx, Laura

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