2011 St. Patrick’s Day Celebration on the Outer Banks

Posted on March 8, 2011

Outer Banks St. Patrick's Day Parade

Kelly’s 22nd Annual St. Patrick’s Parade
Sunday, March 20, 2011
1 pm/Rain or Shine
VA Dare Trail/The Beach Road

2011 Parade Theme: A Celebration of Anniversaries

Town of Nags Head, 50th Anniversary
Soaring 100 Centennial Celebration of Orville Wright’s 9 minute 45 second World Record Glider Flight

Parade Tradition - The Route and Post Parade Party @ Kelly’s

The parade returns to its traditional route beginning at Bladen Street, MP 11.5, continuing to MP 10.5 and ending with parade entries exiting via Driftwood.

Dual parties in the Tavern and out back under the Tent (weather permitting).

Outer Banks Leprechaun Run

3rd Annual Kelly’s Running of the Leprechauns 8K

Saturday, March 13, 2010 9 am

Runners and Walkers will chase the Kelly’s Leprechaun to get their hands on the pot of gold! Runners will determine the charity (ies) receiving proceeds.

Race Info and On-line Registration.

This event is presented by the Outer Banks Running Club

Karen Warlitner
Race Director, Outer Banks Running Club

Photography Classes with Renowned Outer Banks Photographer Brooke Mayo

Posted on March 8, 2011

: Brooke Mayo Photography

Brooke Mayo is a local Outer Banks photographer, but her reach goes well beyond of the OBX. Brooke is ranked number 7 worldwide by The Artistic Guild of Wedding Photojournalist, and she recently published a hardback book of photographs called Diving Doggies: A Celebration of Play Underwater. Using underwater camera equipment, she takes pictures of pups diving and playing in the pool from a ground up perspective; i.e. lying on the bottom of the pool.

Brooke is offering three great photography workshops in the next few weeks.

In addition to a wealth of photography related information, Brooke has such a fun personality that a workshop with her will hardly feel like a class…more like hanging out with a best friend.

Making Effective Use of your Digital SLR Camera

Sanctuary Vineyards
March 13^th, April 3^rd, & April 16^thOne day workshop, 12 – 4

This is the perfect workshop for those who feel they could use a few pointers to get the most of their digital camera.

Using your camera effectively
Framing shots
Aperture, ISO, & shutter speed controls
Use of natural light
Learn to use your camera in manual mode to get the shots you want every time

Class time from 12 – 1, shooting from 1 -2, critique and re-shooting from 2 – 4.

Workshop is $250

Space is filling quickly. Email brooke@brookemayo.com to register.

Outer Banks - Brooke Mayo Phtography Class - 2011

I have to admit, we are a bit partial to Brooke. Due to her amazing work and great reputation, Seaside Vacations has partnered with Brooke to offer a free sitting with Brooke through Club Seaside. You can find more details at: http://www.outerbanksvacations.com/club-seaside.htm

Amazing Outer Banks Photography

Amazing Outer Banks Photographer

Pedal, Foot, Paddle Triathlon on the Outer Banks

Posted on March 8, 2011

Currituck Outer Banks - Whalehead Club

Mark your calendars. The Whalehead Club is hosting a special kind of triathlon beginning Saturday, April 23- 8:00am-11:00am at the Currituck Heritage Park.

The “Pedal-Foot-Paddle” event will begins with a 7-mile scenic cycle through Corolla followed by a 2-mile run on the beach at low-tide, wrapping up with a 1-mile kayak paddle on the Currituck Sound.

If you consider yourself more of a leisurely-minded person, there will also be an event for you! The “Land and Light” tour will allow you to enjoy the views as you climb the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, followed by a stroll through the park ending at the front porch of the historic Whalehead Club.

Great events for individuals or families, to register go to active.com or whaleheadclub.com/events.php.

OBX Pic O’ the Day: Pretty Day at Avalon Pier

Posted on March 8, 2011

Outer Banks - 3.8.11 - Pretty Day at Avalon Pier

Pretty day. Bright sun, blue skies. The wind is a little chilly blowing out of the north at 15 mph. Surf Thurs and/or Friday? @ Avalon Fishing Pier

Outer Banks “Night at the Races”

Posted on March 7, 2011

Outer Banks - Night at the Races - 2011

Great food, great friends, and a great cause!

Get a group together and join the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, as they present their 2^nd Annual Night at the Races. The event will host former Jockey, Jeffrey Carle, for a fun-filled night including heavy hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, prizes, raffles and more.

With 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Colonial Spanish Mustangs, come out and help keep them wild and free.

Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report – 3.7.11 – More sun on the way…

Posted on March 7, 2011

Outer Banks - 3.7.11 - Here Comes the Sun

Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Monday, March, 7, 2011.

This video was shot just north of the Avalon Pier at the Hayman St. beach access in Kill Devil Hills at 8:30 AM.

We’re coming off a beautiful weekend with temps in the 60′s, but the temps dipped a bit last night, and we’re starting the week off a bit chilly with overcast skies. Temps will be in the low 50′s today, and the sun will peek out any minute now. The sun will be with us all week, and the temps will warm throughout the week towards the 60′s for next weekend.

We have some swell in the water, but the surf is messy today due to a north wind at 10 – 15 mph. The swell will be with us all week in the chest high range, and it looks like the surf should clean up on Thursday and/or Friday…maybe even into Saturday.

A mix of good news/bad news for the OBX fishing. It seems like the rock fish season may be drawing to a close. The last reports we’ve gotten are from last Thursday and Friday, and the boats had to run all the way to Corolla to find the stripers. Seems like the rock are back in VA at this point. However, the bright side is that blue fin tuna fishing is starting to heat up off shore. There have been a lot of reports of large schools of blue fin, and some big catches tipping the scales at over 200 – 300 pounds.

Enjoy!

Save Turtles…and the Environment. Help Keep the Outer Banks Beaches Clean.

Posted on March 7, 2011

Outer Banks N.E.S.T

The North Carolina Aquarium encourages Outer Banks residents and visitors to help keep the OBX beaches clean and save the endangered sea turtles by picking up trash. In an effort to raise money and awareness, the NC Aquarium is accepting specific pieces of trash in exchange for funds directed towards the endangered sea turtles.

With limited volunteers The Network for Endangered Sea Turtles (N.E.S.T.) has already raised over $100 by sending in granola bar wrappers and Frito-Lay chip bags.

If you want to help out review the list of acceptable items to be donated and once you have saved up a stash, send them to Christian Legner at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island.

P.O. Box 967 Manteo, North Carolina 27954.

Please make sure wrappers and chip bags are separated from each other. Thanks!

Here is a list of items that can be donated:

• Any granola, power, nut, or Clif bar with a foil lining.

• Any Frito Lay bag. No other chip companies.

Donate Wrapers

• No candy or cookie wrappers.

Cannot Donate Wrapers

Whales on the Outer Banks

Posted on March 4, 2011

The Outer Banks offers an endless array of nature; mile upon mile of empty beaches, miles of national conservation land, shifting sand dunes, a plethora of birds, and unlimited sea life. A nature lovers paradise.

The ocean is a great sight to see on a daily basis. It reminds you of the true size of the world with its endless horizons, and it is always moving, always changing. The winter months seem to offer an increase in ocean activity. Winds are blowing, storms are brewing, and sea creatures are on the move.

I won’t pretend to understand the oceanographic or biologic reasoning behind the sea creatures activities, but there is an increase in activity during the winter…I suspect migration, but I’ll leave that to the experts. I’m more focused on how cool it is to see these amazing animals in their natural environments. It is not uncommon to see seals taking a rest on the OBX beaches (please don’t attempt to touch them), and large schools of dolphin in the distance playing, but my favorite sitings are the whales!

Whales are amazing. So big, yet so graceful. Check out the picture below of a whale leaping out of the water in front of our friends on the Rock Solid fishing boat (www.RockSolidFishing.com). Amazing!

Whale on the Outer Banks

Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report – 3.4.11 – Pretty day. More on the way.

Posted on March 4, 2011

Outer Banks - 3.4.11 - Pretty Day, Stiff Wind

Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Friday, March 4, 2011.

This video was shot in Kill Devil Hills, south of the Avalon Pier at 8:30 AM.

March weather has been quite a roller coaster so far. Luckily today is shaping up nicely. Bright sun with temps in the 50′s. There is a stiff wind at 15 mph off the ocean, but it should slow as the day goes on, and this nice weather will be with us for the weekend with sun and temps in the 60′s.

No surf today. The ocean is active from the east wind, but nothing rideable. Based on the forecast, it doesn’t look like we’ll have surf until later next week, but the surf changes quickly, so we’ll keep an eye on it.

The OBX fishing is still going strong. Our friends at Rock Solid Fishing (www.RockSolidFishing.com) reported that yesterday they were catching stripers all day. However, they need to run quite a bit to catch up with the fish. We are nearing the end of striper season, and the fish have started to head north. Still plenty in the area, but the boats need to cover quite a distance to get to them. The Rock Solid reported that they ran 50 miles back to the dock at the end of the day, but it was great fishing with catches up to 50 pounds.

Rock season might be on the way out, but we have blue fin tuna to replace it. We are getting a lot of reports of big schools of blue fin tuna off shore. There have been a bunch of small catches and two large catches out of Oregon Inlet that tipped the scales at 200 and 300 pounds!

Great weekend to be on the Outer Banks!

Enjoy.

The Vacation Rental Market is Expected to Grow 4 Times Faster than the U.S. Economy!

Posted on March 4, 2011

Seaside Vacations - Sandy Oasis

Vacation Home Rentals recently named the Outer Banks one of the top growth markets for vacation rentals in the United States. Studies show that the vacation rental market is expected to grow 13.1% in 2011, more than twice the rate of the travel market and four times faster than the U.S economy. About 85% of vacation rental property owners expect 2011 to be as good as, or better than 2010. The OBX is projected to have a 20% increase from last year alone!

Vacation rental property owners believe this growth may be attributed to the fact that vacationers are looking for small, reasonable destinations they can drive to, rather than fly.

With this news coming from one of the most visited vacation rental sites in North America, there is a lot to look forward to this year. Whether interested in buying a potential vacation home or searching for a weekend getaway Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty and Seaside Vacations can help you find your own beach oasis.