OBX - At Your Own Risk

From Virginia we drove to the extreme eastern shore, the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina. It is made up of 320 km's of a long string of barrier islands with endless beaches. The average wind speed is 20-30 km/hour and while the area receives almost no snow they still have a significant number of plows which are used to clear sand from the roads that is continuously deposited there from wind blown beaches on both sides of the narrow strip of land. The regular wind, and sandy landscape, were the primary reasons that Orville & Wilbur Wright travelled from Ohio to Kitty Hawk to successfully complete their first engine-driven flight at the beginning of the 20th century. We spent an afternoon at the very interesting Wright Museum while we were there.

Unfortunately, these same conditions make the area very prone to significant hurricane damage. All the way down the OBX we were constantly reminded of the carnage inflicted by Hurricane Irene (Aug. 27). Many sections of the highway were washed out by the hurricane but with recent re-paving efforts and a temporary new bridge, the roadway was re-opened just 2 weeks before our arrival, otherwise we would not have been able to take this route. On top of that, the side of the highway was used as a dumping ground for damaged household items (furniture, mattresses, rugs, decks) that the owners had been instructed to leave there for pick-up. The county could not keep up with the garbage volume.........and it was clear that many property owners (2nd homes) had not been there yet to deal with the devastation. In talking to the locals we were told that Irene wasn't even in their top 5 nightmares so it was evident that their love of the area was greater than their fear of hurricanes. One of the campgrounds we stayed at, operated by a wonderful couple in the 70's, had incurred a flood 5 feet above the level of the sites, and a foot above their home and office floors (every property is elevated with no basements). They still had items stored up high, which we offered to help them put back, but they refused saying they had plenty of neighbour support which always happens when these types of disasters occur. Great people, and a lovely area especially if one loves to fish, but with our weather patterns becoming more irregular and severe each year, it seems much more of an emotional decision rather than a logical one to remain a resident in the OBX.

From the OBX we took at 2.5 hour ferry back to the mainland of North Carolina and we have continued driving down the coast. Lots of Civil War history and a few nice beach strolls along the way but we are now ready to find out if our golf swings are still part of our muscle memory. Myrtle Beach beckons and we are about to find out.