The outer banks is a special place that doesn’t feel natural. Leaving Raleigh, you can get to the coast in roughly two hours. You are met with the sound, but then you take a series of bridges to arrive in the actual outer banks. This is a sliver of sand on the ocean side of the Atlantic creating barrier islands that protect the mainland from the sea. It is wild and exposed.

You can tell this area is alive. Being constantly battered by wind, storms, and the sea, it is a place of natural beauty, but also untamed land. Humans have successfully populated and unsuccessfully tamed this land. Vacation rentals and homes on stilts dot a lot of the islands and you can tell they are repeatedly being rebuilt.

We spent a day during the off season checking out the lighthouses and trying to find the elusive stretch of beach with the wild horses. this exposed, storms quickly roll in and can turn a beautiful day into a rainy one very quick. We experienced rain, wind and plenty of sun throughout our short trip.

Of course any trip to the coast is not complete without an unintended dip in the ocean. Our daughter caught the end of a wave and ended up tasting a little too much salt water than she wanted.

If you are ever out east, add the OBX on your list. It is worth the trip!