Outer Banks Link Love

This week’s Link Love is chock full of all sorts of good OBX info. Good wild horse news, multiple top 10 lists, breaking news on the beach driving issue, nature, gardens…lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

Lets get to it!

As I mentioned last week, I like to get the not-so-great news out of the way first so we can focus on the positive.

• It’s part of nature, but it’s always sad to see a beached whale. This story doesn’t offer too much detail, but you can get the basic gist; a deceased whale washed up in Nags Head this week. I guess it’s the Circle of Life, but always a bit heartbreaking.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s move on to some goodies…

• The Outer Banks lands on two Top 10 lists this week…
  • Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Coastal Living named the Outer Banks to their list of “Top 10 Romantic Escapes.” Their description is great: “The Outer Banks offers the most elementally “out there” experience of any bridge-accessible U.S. destination. Standing on a thin ribbon of sand, with the mainland out of sight over the western horizon and burly Atlantic Ocean waves thundering in from the east, you truly feel untethered from your everyday world. Such towns as Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, and Kill Devil Hills offer plenty of tourist pleasures. But it’s also easy to sneak away and find your own private stretch of beach, with vivid stars overhead, moonlight-silvered surf at your feet, the sea breeze tousling your hair―and magic ready to happen.”
  • The OBX also made Coastal Livings list of “Top 10 Shelling Beaches.” This one is particular to Ocracoke…But we’e all one big, happy family on the OBX.

How about a little wild horse love?

• Check out this cool documentary video about “Alonso,” a Corolla wild horse that is being moved from the Corolla herd to the Ocracoke herd to help improve diversity.

• In some other fantastic OBX wild horse news, the US House of Representatives approved a bill to expand the Outer Banks wild horse herd. The bill must still pass the Senate, but this is a big step in the right direction.

Let’s stick with the nature theme…

• Are you garden lover? History lover? All around lover of the OBX? Have you ever been to the Elizabethan Gardens? No?! It’s a must. So worth the trip. Here’s a great article that gives you a brief history of the Elizabethan Gardens, and as the title says, it “offers far more than greenery.”
• The Outer Banks is one of the premier locations for birding. The OBX sits in a prime location that cross the migration paths of a wide variety of birds. This has been a slow year for birding though – I can’t speak from experience, but the article I’ll link to mentions it is probably due to the warm winter weather. However, even with a slow birding season, the OBX offers some rare gems, including a Golden Eagle!

Here’s a pretty interesting idea for all your OBX vacationers that return year after year…

• Tired of lugging all of that OBX beach gear in your car year after year? How about a convenient storage “beach box” to keep your goods on the Outer Banks? Brilliant, right? Add that to the list of “why didn’t I think of that.”

Let’s close out with the heated topic of Outer Banks beach driving…but there’s a twist…some breaking news…

• I agree that the new beach driving rules are no fun. I love the freedom to drive on the OBX beaches – it’s one of the many aspects that make the Outer Banks so special. However, here are some thoughts to consider…
  • The rules are similar to those already in place at other seashore parks.
  • Those fees — and an accompanying requirement to watch an educational video — aren’t unusual.
  • Tourism figures don’t reflect a downturn in overall visitors to the Outer Banks, despite the recession and a couple of wildfire-plagued summers.
  • The plan acknowledges the importance of beach driving and fishing to the local economy. Popular areas such as Cape Point, South Point and Bodie Island Spit will have ORV routes that are open at least seasonally.
  • Special-use permits will be available for commercial fishermen to reach some areas ordinarily closed to vehicles.
  • Park officials also plan to seek funding for additional ORV access ramps and to consider allowing businesses to offer beach and water shuttles to fishing areas.
  • The Outer Banks is still open for business.
• Now, with all of that said, check out the news that just broke late yesterday afternoon; an OBX beach access group just filed a law suit to stop the Park Service’s ORV (off-road vehicle) plan. There’s still hope yet.

Time Capsule

Here are some popular posts from last year at this time:

• Outer Banks Golf Among the Best You Can Play
• New York Times Loves Vacation Rentals Too!
• Experts Race to Save Outer Banks Shipwreck
• Outer Banks Snow Day! - Still loving the beast of a beard!