Outer Banks North Carolina Beach Blog by Joe Lamb Realty

Outer Banks Marathon This Weekend!

2009-11-06T14:42:00Z

The Outer Banks is preparing for the wave of runners sprinting to our beaches this weekend for the fourth annual Outer Banks Marathon and Half-Marathon. The marathon starts in Kitty Hawk and ends on Roanoke Island, taking runners on a journey past the Wright Brothers Monument, Jockey's Ridge and over the Washington-Baum Bridge to historic Manteo. The cash purse for the winner of the marathon, half-marathon and 8K is $26,900. Festivities begin today with a race Expo at the Dare County Youth Center from 1PM-7PM. On Saturday the 8K, the Kelly Hospitality Group Fun Run and 5K are scheduled. Sunday is the Marathon Day, with the race beginning at 7:20AM on the Woods Road in Kitty Hawk. The Half-Marathon starts at 7:00AM at Baltic Street in Nags Head. For more information, visit www.obxmarathon.org.

Dare County Election Results Are In

2009-11-04T15:50:00Z

The results of Tuesday's election are in! Thanks to all who came out and voted. Bob Oakes defeated veteran Mayor Renee Cahoon to win as Mayor of Nags Head. In Southern Shores, Hal Denny defeated Don Smith to become Mayor. All of the other local towns had mayoral candidates running unopposed. For more election results, visit: http://www.co.dare.nc.us/depts/BOE/Results.pdf.

Special Beach Apparatus Drill at Chicamacomico Next Week

2009-10-30T17:06:00Z

The Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station in Rodanthe is performing its Beach Apparatus Drill on November 4th at 2PM. Don't miss this fascinating and historical reenactment of the Breeches Buoy Rescue, as this is the last scheduled reenactment of the year. The event is part of the "Chief's Initiation", and over 100 USCG Chief Boatswain Mates are expected to attend. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for students and seniors. Admission includes a self-guided tour of the Life-Saving Station. For more information, visit chicamacomico. net or call 252-987-1552.

Blackbeard's Anchor Recovered in North Carolina Waters

2009-10-22T19:59:00Z

And the Legend of Blackbeard continues...

Just this yesterday divers salvaged an anchor from what is thought to be Blackbeard's flagship, The Queen Anne's Revenge, from waters off the coast of Beaufort, North Carolina. The Queen Anne's Revenge was originally a French slave ship name La Concorde that had a crew of 150-200 and was 100 feet long. Blackbeard captured it in 1717, renamed the vessel and eventually ran it aground near Beaufort. Archaeologists and divers had initially planned on waiting until next year to recover the anchor during a full scale expedition, but they realized that the anchor had become unstable after 300 years underwater and was in danger of being washed away. Two divers brought the anchor to the surface in what was called a "smooth" recovery. The anchor will be on display at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

The State Saltwater Fish - The Red Drum

2009-10-19T20:16:00Z

In 1971, the NC General Assembly named the tasty red drum our state saltwater fish. North Carolina is known for producing large and plentiful red drum; in fact North Carolina holds 10 of the 16 world records for red drum. The largest ever caught was right off the coast of Hatteras, weighing in at a spectacular 94 pounds and 2 ounces! If you've never eaten red drum, now is the time of year to eat it. I always hear my husband and his fishing buddies say "the drum are runnin'", meaning they're near the coast in schools, just waiting to be caught! They most commonly are reddish-bronze in color, but can be almost black to nearly silver.

Fall Is Here!

2009-10-19T13:46:00Z

It's a crisp October morning on the Outer Banks today, and I'm bundled up in my first wool sweater of the season! I know that the "official" start of fall was late last month, but you'd never know it around here with the eighty degree temperatures and the omni-present flip-flops. But today--actually this weekend--brought the first blast of real fall weather, and I'm loving it! Halloween never seems quite right to me if it's too hot for the kids to wear their costumes without sweating, so I think the cool air is coming at just the perfect time. Hello, fall!

Duck Jazz Festival a Huge Success!

2009-10-16T14:19:00Z

The Duck Jazz Festival was this past weekend, and I'm finally getting around to blogging about it! After some iffy weather in the early part of the day, the sun poked out from behind the clouds and made for a GORGEOUS afternoon of jazz, dancing and lounging on the lawn of the Duck Town Park. This year I went in the later part of the day, unfortunately missing some of the early acts (a mom has to work around naptime!), but I was able to enjoy Jackie Scott & The Housewreckers. Housewreckers indeed... this band brought down the house! They had the entire front half of the lawn on their feet, groovin' to the music. We stuck around for most of headliner jazz saxophonist Kim Waters, who was also amazing. We would have stayed longer, but three rambunctious toddlers kept begging for the playground and our time was getting short. Speaking of the playground, if you happen to be in Duck and have some time on your hands with kids, check out the playground in the Duck Town Park. Sam and his two little buddies did not want to leave! Mark your calendars for next year's Duck Jazz Festival, October 10, 2010. See you there!

Pumpkin Patch & Hayride in Grandy

2009-10-09T18:58:00Z

This morning I (along with a few other moms and grandmas in tow) packed up six toddlers and headed to the Grandy Greenhouse, about ten or so miles north of the Wright Memorial Bridge, for their annual pumpkin patch and hayride. Right when we got there, we loaded up the kids on the back of a tractor for a hayride through the forest to the pumpkin patch. What a treat! The kids LOVED the bumpy ride through the woods. The hayride took us to a pumpkin patch decorated with scarecrows where the kids were allowed to pick their own pumpkin. Sam picked one so big that he needed me to carry it! The tractor pulled us back to the Greenhouse where we got a chance to stuff scarecrows with hay, sing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", wander through a pumpkin maze in the store and watch a demonstration on how to make apple cider. We ended the morning with a light lunch on the picnic benches, followed by delicious frozen yogurt brought to us by the Grandy Greenhouse staff.

If you're looking for something fun--and in the spirit of Halloween--to do with young children, I'd highly recommend a morning or an afternoon at the Grandy Greenhouse. The whole morning was only $6 per person, and that included everyone getting their own pumpkin. Call (252)453-2658 for more information.

Lace Up Your Shoes!

2009-10-07T16:43:00Z

It's running season again on the Outer Banks. Now I'm sure that serious runners jog year-round, but for those who opt for more pleasant temperatures and less traffic, now's the time to beat feet. The folks who plan the Outer Banks Marathon must feel the same way; it's scheduled for early next month. The 5K Turkey Trot and the Outer Banks Gobbler 5K are right around the corner, too--on Thanksgiving Day, in fact. While it may be too late to begin marathon training if you're not already a serious runner, it's certainly not too late to sign up. And there's plenty of time between now and Thanksgiving to begin training for one of the upcoming 5Ks. So if you happen to be down during Thanksgiving Week and you want to burn a few calories before gorging on sweet potatoes, turkey and pumpkin pie, check out active.com or outerbanksrunningclub.org/thanksgiving.html for more information on these holiday races.

Oink 'N Oyster Roast This Weekend!

2009-10-06T18:10:00Z

Don't miss the 8th annual Oink ' N Oyster Roast sponsored by the First Flight Rotary Club this October 10th. The event is from 11am-5pm at Sunburn Sports Bar in Kitty Hawk and features all-you-can-eat oysters and NC style BBQ. The First Flight Rotary supports the Food Pantry and the Community Care Clinic of Dare, among others. Tickets are $20. For more information, visit oinkandoyster.org.
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