Speaking the OBX Dialect
Just about everyone on the planet (or the East Coast, at least!) knows that OBX is another way to say Outer Banks. But you'd have to be a local--or at least a frequent visitor--to catch on to some of our other colloquialisms.
Here's a brief guide to sounding like (and understanding) the local folks:
Beach Road - or as it is written on your map, Virginia Dare Trail
The Bypass - the common name for US 158 (some also refer to it as simply "The Big Road")
Milepost - those are the rectangular green signs you see marking your distance as you travel down both the Beach Road and the Bypass. They mark every half mile, and most businesses give their location in reference to what Milepost they are near. No one says mile-marker... that's a dead give-away that you don't know where you are!
The Causeway - this is the span of road and bridges between Manteo and the Bypass in Nags Head. You're officially on the causeway when you pass the light where you can turn to go towards Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Here's a brief guide to sounding like (and understanding) the local folks:
Beach Road - or as it is written on your map, Virginia Dare Trail
The Bypass - the common name for US 158 (some also refer to it as simply "The Big Road")
Milepost - those are the rectangular green signs you see marking your distance as you travel down both the Beach Road and the Bypass. They mark every half mile, and most businesses give their location in reference to what Milepost they are near. No one says mile-marker... that's a dead give-away that you don't know where you are!
The Causeway - this is the span of road and bridges between Manteo and the Bypass in Nags Head. You're officially on the causeway when you pass the light where you can turn to go towards Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
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