Our original plan was getting away to the mountains of Virginia for our first wedding anniversary.
However, with a mid-November wedding, we didn’t realize how expensive the accommodations were at this time of year!
So, we switched to Plan B: The beach!
The Outer Banks of North Carolina are basically a 90-minute drive from our house. We’ve been through Corolla, Nags Head, and Bodie Island on previous trips.
Al hadn’t been farther south than that.
We decided on Hatteras.
It was a three-hour car ride, but it was well worth it.
We found a really nice place, the Cape Hatteras Motel, in Buxton. It’s right on the beach. It was literally half the cost of any place in the mountains, mainly because it was the off-season.
One of our first stops was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse! It was just a few miles from the motel.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. We couldn’t climb it – Their season runs through Columbus Day – but we could walk around and enjoy the park.
I love these wooden signs.
I love how it’s in the shape of an arrowhead.
I think this was my favorite photo of the whole trip!
The next day, we drove down to Hatteras Island and explored the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. It explores the rich history of the area – Fishing, diving, shipwrecks, the USS Monitor, and its role in the Civil War and other events.
The museum is right next to the Hatteras ferry terminal, so we decided to take the ferry across the sound to Ocracoke Island on Sunday.
We passed this ferry on the way to Ocracoke.
I love how all the wooden signs are different.
It’s one of the smaller lighthouses, and no one can climb it. But, it’s still a beautiful sight.
Ocracoke is a charming island. We ate lunch at the Ocracoke Oyster Company, and had delicious seafood. The next time we travel down, we’d like to check out some more of the islands and lighthouses.
The view from our hotel balcony during sunset and the full moon.
This was taken the night of the supermoon. It was huge as it was rising, but this was the best I could do with my camera.
This was such a relaxing vacation!
We tried several local restaurants during our trip, and everything was delicious!
- Diamond Shoals
- Orange Blossom Bakery & Cafe
- Bros Sandwich Shack
- Angelo’s Pizza
- Dirty Dick’s Crab House
- La Fogata Mexican Restaurant
- Uncle Eddy’s Frozen Custard
Al is also creating a video about our trip! I’ll post it as soon as it’s finished.
We had a great time on our first vacation since our honeymoon.
Next year: We’re thinking about the Grand Canyon!
Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂
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Love the pictures! So glad you had a great time.
Thank you so much!
Love that you guys took a little trip to celebrate your anniversary! & I would’ve done the same thing and changed plans if yhe rates were so bad lol
Haha! Definitely. It was crazy, LOL. We’re starting to plan our 2017 trip now so we can save as much money as possible!
I’m so glad you guys had a good time. This place looks lovely, I might just have to check it out myself! 🙂
You should! It was cheaper because it was the off-season, but it was definitely chilly!