Hey Copper and others who know NC beaches
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We want to do a quick 3 day getaway over Memorial Day weekend, goal is to get TF outta dodge but also to have the boy get on a proper beach for the first time in 15 months.
I'm thinking the beaches near Wilmington. Decent enough waves, easy flight from LGA, quick drive from the airport to Wrightsville beach or maybe Carolina beach.
Another option would be near Kitty Hawk, the boy loves planes and they have a museum. But I'm thinking getting there and back from a would suck on Memorial Day weekend, and that we would be better off doing that for a week some summer, maybe in a big house with extended family and such.
What are your thoughts?
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Know very little about North Carolina beaches. Many moons ago, I knew a pretty nice one from South Carolina.
That probably doesn't do you any good...Sorry...
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Can't speak to NC, but the Delaware Shore is quite nice, 4.5 hours by car. I highly recommend the Residence Inn there. Pricey, but everything will be. Everything in a couple blocks walking distance. You could take a day trip down to Assateague Island to see the wild horses. Nice hiking there and enormous beaches.
https://www.marriott.com/reservation/rateListMenu.mi?defaultTab=prepay
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I like Carolina Beach. Great boardwalk.
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We have probably had 9 or 10 OBX vacations between Corolla and Hatteras, I haven't been down to Wrightsville.
We like Corolla for the 4X4 beach north of where route 12 ends, 12 is the main drag through the OBX. The 4x4 beach is 4x4 only - Jeep Wrangler or Pickups.
Nice white sand beaches run from Virginia to South Carolina - the whole NC east coast.
I have stayed in salvo - it is pretty remote and not very crowed, nice white sand beaches.
Kitty Hawk and kill Devil Hills are more built-up and have more accommodations and restaurants. North of Duck is mostly large homes where you can have great vacations with up to 20 people in a large home. Most of these would have 4 or 5 master suites, elevators, swimming pools, pool tables, hot tubs.
You can be water front or a few blocks away depending on budget.
If you are within a few miles of the Whalehead Club you will be a the newer homes - down near Kitty Hawk is older.
I have flown into Kitty Hawk First Flight Airport several times. It is a big deal for pilots and I have taken several there as an instructor.
The first day there were 4 flights. Then the wind wrecked the plane and it didn't fly again.
I really like standing at the spot where those 4 flights began. There is a monument at each of the 4 landing spots. I think it is cool to think that every powered flight since then began there.
Here is a video a student in the back seat got as we took off. As instructor I was front/right.
Just after we took off you can see the monuments that show where all 4 flights started and then a monument for each landing. You can se the 4th flight was longer.
Just after takeoff you get a good look at the waterfront and beaches. That is about the widest point in the OBX - not very wide.
In the wider shot you can see the Wright Brothers monument on top of the hill.
Link to video -
Seriously...
Not North Carolina, but if you get just a bit further South...
https://www.exploregeorgia.org/article/cumberland-island-from-camping-to-the-carnegies
Been several years, but I always like Cumberland, just for the feel of it...
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I guess my aversion to kitty hawk at the moment is that it’s a short vacation and I don’t want to spend four hours of it driving.
There are no commercial flights from LGA to kitty hawk. I’d have to go to Norfolk and drive. Imagine that on Labor Day right at lockdown’s end
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Yes, Kitty Hawk is a long commute, Corolla even more.
If you want the big house near the beach with extended family, take a look at Sandbridge, VA. It is maybe an hour from Norfolk and the beach is basically an extension of the OBX.
A nice thing about Sandbridge is that there is only one road into town, from the north and south of the town is a wilderness preserve with limited access. So there is no through traffic.
I had a family reunion there 10 years ago for about 80 people that stayed in several large homes. It was perfect for that group with a lot of adults and children.
Virginia Beach is under an hour if you need some miniature golf, go-carts and a more crowded area. Sandbridge is basically just residential beach front.
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I had a horrible traffic experience getting in to Duck on a Saturday in July (with all the other people whose house rentals started on Saturday). Because we had dogs with us, we couldn´t arrange to get there earlier and just wait around in town until check-in. If you do Kitty Hawk, take extra efforts to avoid arriving during those peak traffic hours.
I also did VA Beach on Memorial Day weekend one year, and traffic just that far was really bad.
I like Mik's idea of DE and Assateague! Memorial Day weekend is short, and you want to spend more of it at your destination than in the car.
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@optimistic said in Hey Copper and others who know NC beaches:
Duck on a Saturday in July
Yes
Either rent on Sunday or figure on a 2+ hour delay between Kitty Hawk and Duck
One policeman directing traffic just south of Duck could fix that. Why don't they do that? I don't know. I have sat in that 2-hour delay more than once.
There is more than one lemonade stand because there is one stretch about a mile long that takes roughly an hour, plenty slow enough for people to stop for a drink.
I think they let the traffic get messed up because they want the a bridge from the north to come into Duck. And if people hate the traffic enough they might get it.
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@copper said in Hey Copper and others who know NC beaches:
Yes, Kitty Hawk is a long commute, Corolla even more.
If you want the big house near the beach with extended family, take a look at Sandbridge, VA. It is maybe an hour from Norfolk and the beach is basically an extension of the OBX.
A nice thing about Sandbridge is that there is only one road into town, from the north and south of the town is a wilderness preserve with limited access. So there is no through traffic.
I had a family reunion there 10 years ago for about 80 people that stayed in several large homes. It was perfect for that group with a lot of adults and children.
Virginia Beach is under an hour if you need some miniature golf, go-carts and a more crowded area. Sandbridge is basically just residential beach front.
Cool! See you tomorrow for lunch... We’re visiting CNU tomorrow. Just arrived in Newport News.
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2 weeks until second shot then 2 more weeks and I'll be ready to declare freedom.
The governor may not agree but I will be going to restaurants soon, not yet. If he goes to CNU we'll get together
The area around CNU will remind you of Fairfax, all the same chain stores. It is a nice campus, my daughter works in the hospital across the street.
A couple places we might meet sometime when the weather is warmer
Battleship Wisconsin, if you haven't been on a battleship, it is worth the visit. There are a number of restaurants there on the water front
https://nauticus.org/admissions-info/
Williamsburg, of course, it is a ferry ride across the James River for me
I have seen the VA symphony at the Ferguson Center on the CNU campus. I'll do that again if they ever get back in business (they say they will soon)
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Decided to stick with Carolina beach. Fly nonstop from LGA and be right there. In on Thursday afternoon, out Monday evening.
DON’T let them eat cake.
- RFK Jr -
@jon-nyc said in Hey Copper and others who know NC beaches:
Decided to stick with Carolina beach. Fly nonstop from LGA and be right there. In on Thursday afternoon, out Monday evening.
I like the choice. It’s a nice town. If Luke didn’t want to do something different this summer we would be there ourselves.
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Good to know. I’ve never been there.
DON’T let them eat cake.
- RFK Jr -
It’s been a couple years, but they used to do fireworks every Thursday night.
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We get there the Thursday night.
Which also happens to be our anniversary. 20 years.
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I think I’ve mentioned this once but a really nice little not very well known getaway down there is ocracoke island.
Look it up.
Spent a weekend there once many a moon ago.
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Booked a nice looking place on Carolina Beach.
