A beautiful morning has shifted to a cloudy afternoon. Thick, dark clouds are threatening to drop some moisture on our OBX day.
The dreary afternoon is sending me in search of a bright spot, and I know just the cure. A double-dose really; some awesome art from Jordan, and my one of my favorite subjects, waves.
Enjoy Jordan’s view of the Toys from God…
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Jordan's Lens: OBX Sunset
It’s been a few days without a dose of Jordan’s art to brighten our day. And here is the perfect remedy; a gorgeous shot of an Outer Banks sunset that Jordan captured the other day. The colors are amazing – deep orange through purple in one sky! Awesome.
In addition to snapping that fab pic, Jordan put together a fun video of some Toys from God; fun Outer Banks winter surf. Great song choice Jordan…and I love the description of the video/song choice:
song goes with the feeling of surfing “first time” ….every wave gives you the feeling of joy you got the first time you caught a wave – it never gets old…….me catching some waves.
Keep hunting those Toys from God and sending along your beautiful art. You are adding a great, big bright spot to our day. Thanks Jordan. 
Have you heard of these super cool picture/video thingys called “cinemagrpahs?”
They’re awesome. Basically a still picture with a subtle touch of motion…a picture with a tiny piece of video. Very cool.
Here’s the definition from Wikipedia: Cinemagraphs are still photographs in which a minor and repeated movement occurs. Cinemagraphs can give the illusion that the viewer is watching a video.
I’ve been trying to get all of the pieces in line to create one, and I finally figured it out. At the risk of being less than humble, I have to say that I think it’s pretty groovy.
Below is our first of many Outer Banks Cinemagraphs. It is a picture of a beautiful day at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head with the wind turbines spinning to generate some OBX wind energy. Rad right?!
Stay tuned; we’ll have more OBX Cinemagraphs headed your way soon. And if you have a special one that you’d like to see, please let me know in the comments below…I love to hear from you.
Oh yeah, and let me know what you think of the Outer Banks Cinemagraphs…cool or what?
PS – You may have the click on the picture to get the full effect of the movement.
Outer Banks Cinemagraph: OBX Wind Energy at Jennette's Pier
Outer Banks Link Love
This week’s edition of Outer Banks Link Love is a bit of a potpourri; a big question, a book review, amazing pictures of the Sound, some free music, and a new school.
A mixed bag of love, but some good OBX jewels. Enjoy…
Earth Snapshot - Outer Banks - Pamlico & Albemarle Sounds
Outer Banks: 11.28.11 - Amazing Bird Migration at Avalon Pier
I strolled up to the beach this morning for my daily picture/beach report, and I was wow’ed by a pretty cool sight. Hundreds (maybe 1000+?) of birds moving around Avalon Pier and heading south. Very cool.
This is some conjecture, but I think they were ducks (with some pelicans and sea gulls mixed in), and it seemed like they were migrating south. They were bouncing from the water to the air, but they weren’t taking the time to fish, so migration seems to make the most sense. Regardless of the reason, it was awesome to watch nature doing its thing.
Hope you had a great Turkey Day. The weather was perfect on the OBX, and that great weather is continuing today. Sun and 60′s. Unfortunately no surf, but we could see some nice waves tomorrow. Piers are closing down for the season, but the fish are still biting.
Were you on the OBX for Thanksgiving? How did you spend your time when you weren’t gobbling down a delicious Turkey Day feast? We’d love to know. Please share in the comment section below.
Have a great day!
Outer Banks Biplane
The Outer Banks is full of an endless supply of magic. We like to refer to it as “Everyday Magic”…hence the theme for our 2012 Outer Banks Vacation Guide.
A dolphin leaping from the ocean, the first glimpse of the sun over the horizon or the last spark of light as the sun melts into the Sound, the most perfect piece of sea glass, a day full of great surf and you’re the only one in the water, hauling in your first catch at a pier, a wedding with toes in the sand, or family reunion. The OBX has no shortage of magic moments.
Since we have the awesome fortune of renting gorgeous vacation homes to our fabulous guests, we have the luxury of hearing a lot of great stories and living vicariously through some amazing magic moments…sometimes we even get to play a part in the magic, and we LOVE to be a part of magic moments!
Here is an AWESOME example as told by our Director of Guest Services…
In my position as the Director of Guest Services, I am afforded the opportunity to build relationships with all kinds of people. Some guests need special accommodations, some need extra towels, some want to have their concerns heard when they check in after a hurricane to find some sand in their pool. I am happy to hear them all. And sometimes, I get called upon to do something out of the box…magic even! Here is one of our OBX magic tales.
Bruce, and his girlfriend, Kristen, were our guests in August 2011. Bruce’s father, Fred, was a very successful lawyer, an unbelievably attentive father, and an avid pilot.
Father and son discussed aeronautics at every turn while he was a small child. As Bruce grew and went away to college, he and his father began writing letters, each one ending in, “See You in Kitty Hawk.”
Father and son planned to one day visit the Outer Banks to re-create the excitement of the first flight.
The passing of time allowed for plans to be made! Yes! A trip to Kitty Hawk to fly in a bi-plane, together!
Unfortunately, life has a tendency to throw curve balls, and Bruce’s father passed away before they could realize this dream.
Kristen urged him to continue on with the original plan, and the vacation was planned for the week of what would have been his father’s birthday.
Kristen stated in her Guest Review, “I started looking at properties through Seaside Vacations and stumbled upon Luckie Tides!! The house was beautiful….perfect…everything we could need for the week. It’s right on the beach and the sunrises are to die for!! We DID NOT miss one!! Dolphins swimming through the pink and orange hues of the sunrise…..it honestly couldn’t get any better!”
What Kristen didn’t know was that work was going on behind the scenes!
Tim, Bruce’s employer, decided that he wanted to do something special; to make this trip end in happiness rather than melancholy. He had a plan. And luckily, he included us in his magic planning.
I was asked to help get them reservations at a restaurant that doesn’t take reservations (Thank you, Owen’s Restaurant!), and plan to pop-in on their romantic dinner to present them with an anonymous gift.
If Tim called me twice, he called me fifty times! “Are you sure? Can you do it? If this is too much, I’ll figure something out.” Let me tell you – there was NO WAY I was going to miss being involved in this amazing act of kindness.
Then Hurricane Irene showed up! The massive storm forced a mandatory evacuation and threatened the presentation, but I was determined to follow this to fruition. Dinner was cancelled due to the evacuation, but I kept the Kitty Hawk office open late so our happy couple could stop by to check out. (By then, Kristen was in on the gesture, but not the details.)
Choking back my excitement (and maybe a few tears), I mumbled, “Thanks for stopping by. I’m sorry you missed out on your special dinner tonight. But before you leave, I have something for you.”
Imagine the look on his face!
I presented them with a VERY heavy box and watched with excitement. Once unwrapped, a painting was revealed – father and son, flying in a bi-plane over the beautiful Outer Banks.
Kristen, Bruce and Tim gave me a valuable gift that day. It reminded me that people come to the OBX for many reasons, and almost all of them are inspired by their version of everyday magic.
The OBX is not just for surfing and shell collecting. It is a place where 50th anniversaries are celebrated, people are remembered, vows are taken, along with many other milestones. Sometimes a vacation is “just a getaway.” But, sometimes, it is much more.
I thank each guest for choosing Seaside Vacations, and allowing us to be a part of their magic.
Sincerely,
Colleen Almoney
PS – check out the unveiling…
Outer Banks: 9.22.11 - Perfect Fall Day in KH
Perfect fall day. Sun, 80′s, light southwest wind, water at 72 degrees.
The swell has dropped a bit, but there are a lot of fun waist to chest waves rolling through. Perfect day to soak up the fall sun, enjoy the warm water, and catch some fun surf. And a great day for the ESA finals at Jennette’s Pier.
Take a peek at the live action at the beach in Nags Head with our webcam.
Fall fishing is going strong. Tight lines all around – spot, croakers, speckled trout, black drum, puppy drum, pompano, stripers.
Hope to see you soon. Have fun!
Outer Banks: 9.12.11 - OBX Fall at Avalon Pier
OBX fall is here. 80 degrees, empty beach, fun surf, & fish are biting.
Fall on the Outer Banks is about as good as it gets. And we are just getting started.
A little overcast to start today, but the sun should make an appearance soon, and the week looks great with temps hovering around 80, water temps at 75 degrees.
Looks like we’ll be able to enjoy some clean, chest high OBX fall surf over the next few days. Some fun waves out there this morning, and it should get better as the tide fades towards the afternoon. The swell is going to jump to overhead by the end of the week as Tropical Storm Maria rolls through the Atlantic sending some big waves our way.
Fall fishing is in full swing as well – speckled trout, flounder, blue fish, pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum.
Hope to see you soon. Have fun!
Here’s the Outer Banks surf forecast from Swellinfo.com:
Outer Banks Surf Forecast - 9.12.11
Outer Banks: Hurricane Irene, After. Dad & child take in the devastation.
Hurricane Irene has come and gone. And she left quite a path of destruction in her wake.
There was a lot of hype leading up to Ms. Irene’s arrival. A potential Category 3 or 4 storm eventually landed on the OBX as a Cat 1. We were all very happy to see Irene’s intensity diminish as she drew close to shore, but the realism of a major storm was always in the back of our minds. Unfortunately, even that realism did not prepare us for the destruction that was about to arrive.
Last Friday (Irene arrived late that night), I took a trip to Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head to get a pre-Irene beach report. It was a nice day, but the conditions were worsening, and it was clear some funky weather was on the way. So, I asked a professional OBX photographer to tag along to capture some of Outer Banks: Hurricane Irene, “Before.” Luckily, Whitney of Whitney Norko Photography agreed to come, and we got some amazing before pictures.
Our plan was do to a “before” and “after” shoot of the same OBX landmarks. In a typical Outer Banks hurricane a before and after route along the “Beach Road” would make sense. But Hurricane Irene was not the typical OBX hurricane. This beast decided to attack the Sound instead of the ocean.
Around midnight on Friday the winds and rain began to pick up, and it was clear Ms. Irene had arrived. The winds and rain remained high throughout the night, but not overwhelmingly so. Around lunch time, my family and I decided to take a trip to the beach to see how things were, and to be honest, they were not terrible. The wind was whipping, and the sand felt like it was piercing my skin, but the beach and “Beach Road” were not seeing too much damage…some siding and shingles coming off homes, but not much significant damage. Here’s a link to my UStream video of the beach…not much to see, but you can get the effect of the wind.
After the trip, we adjourned home to take in the sites and sounds of the afternoon hurricane on the Sound. And the sites and sounds were eerily quiet. Foreshadowing of what was to come?
We took a walk out to the Sound, and it was amazingly empty! When Hurricane Irene began, here winds were blowing hard out of the East, and as a result, she blew almost ALL of the water out of the Sound. We walked 200 – 300 yards past the normal water line and THERE WAS NO WATER!
Here’s a link to my UStream video on the Sound. Unreal is all I can say.
Within a couple hours after I shot that video, everything changed for the worse. Fast! And with force!
Once the eye moved passed, the winds switched to the west/northwest, and all of that Sound water that was pushed out came back, with a vengeance.
Sound-side on the Outer Banks took a beating for about 6-8 hours before the water – and 4-6 foot waves – started to recede. As a result, there is extensive damage on the Sound-side.
Here’s my UStream video of some of the relentless water (storm surge) attacking the OBX…unfortunately, it cuts off, but you’ll get the point.
As a result of the Sound-side destruction from Hurricane Irene, our plans for a “before” and “after” photo shoot needed to be adjusted. Luckily, Whitney Norko Photography agreed to tag along again, and we were able to capture a lot of the OBX damage and devastation first hand.
I’ll warn you upfront, it’s ugly. Let the healing begin!
Outer Banks: 8.23.11 - Peaceful in Kitty Hawk
Such a great summer day. August is winding down, but we still have plenty of great OBX summer days ahead. September and October are amazing on the Outer Banks – warm air, warm water, empty beaches, great fishing, fun surf…welcome to the OBX “shoulder season.”
Today is picture perfect. Sun, 80′s, light onshore breeze out of the east. No surf, but the fish are biting.
Despite the perfect day today, the question on everyone’s mind is: what will Hurricane Irene do? Is this just the calm before the storm?
It is still far too early to know if/when the Outer Banks will be affected by Hurricane Irene. Hurricanes tend to be pretty erratic and unpredictable. It seems like we are still about four or five days from the potential impact from the storm, so there is plenty of time for the beast to change it’s course significantly.
At this point, the forecasts do indicate the OBX could see some impact, but based on the six computer models, only one projects a direct hit. So there is still a lot of hope for limited impact.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed for some much needed rain and some fun waves, but hopefully Mother Nature will keep the storm out to sea.
Here are the projected Hurricane Irene tracks:
Outer Banks: Hurricane Irene Projected Path - 8.23.11
Here’s the Outer Banks surf forecast based on the impact from Hurricane Irene:
Outer Banks Surf Forecast - Hurricane Irene - 8.23.11
