Menu

Outer Banks National Scenic Byway

Outer Banks National Scenic Byway

Take the road less traveled. Take the time to experience the actuality of North Carolinas Easternmost parts along the coast of the state’s barrier islands. Currently the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway is made up of nine barrier islands – or banks. The islands protect the mainland coast from the Atlantic Ocean’s, at times, compelling winds and water.

The length of the secluded road is 142.5 driving miles.

The driving time is 6.5 hours – including 3.5 hours on two ferries.

The byway begins in the Outer Banks region and ends in the Crystal Coast region. The Outer Banks National Scenic Byway passes through one of the nation’s great coastal landscapes, tidal marshes, wind-swept dunes, and alluring sounds border the roadway. The byway also includes two national seashores, Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout. There is two national wildlife refuges – Pea Island and Cedar Island. The barrier islands are separated away from the mainland by six different sounds ranging from three to 40 miles wide. From North to South they are: Currituck, Albemarle, Roanoke, Pamlico, Core and Bogue.

       

The oceangoing culture of the 21 coastal villages along the road is what makes this route so unique. Each maritime village shares a common cultural heritage which is shaped by the well know barrier islands and three shallow sounds – Pamlico, Core and Back. During the drive visitors will notice that the tiny villages are held together by locally owned businesses with barley a chain business in sight.   The residents of these villages build boats, fish and hunt, operate ferries, guard the coast, tell stories and provide services to visitors. Fishing and hunting as livelihoods are keys to this culture that goes along with living on the coastal edge. Byway villages are held to a significant national history, a collection of the nation’s earliest civil works. This includes four historic lighthouses and eight early U.S. Life-Saving Service or U.S. Coast Guard stations. The four lighthouses along the byway are Bodie Island Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Ocracoke Village Lighthouse, and Cape Lookout National Seashore Lighthouse.

Take the drive on The Outer Banks National Scenic Byway and get a feel for how life was like before the hectic schedules and tourist-driven cities. The Outer Banks National Scenic Byway begins in the north at Whalebone Junction. The joining of US 64-264, US 158, and NC 12 in Nags Head, Dare County, North Carolina. Travelers following the Byway’s NC 12 south can see the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Pamlico Sound on the west. The road crosses over Bodie and Hatteras islands in Dare County, Ocracoke Island in Hyde County and Down East in Carteret County to end on the west side of North River at the intersection of US 70 and Merrimon Road. The byway includes two ferry rides. One free, between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. The other, between Ocracoke Island and Downs Easts Cedar Island. The Scenic Byway ends in Beaufort in the Down East region of North Carolina.

http://www.visitnc.com/trip-idea/outer-banks-national-scenic-byway-1

http://gardenandgun.com/blog/back-road-trip-outer-banks-scenic-byway

New findings on The Roanoke Island Missing Colony

New findings on The Roanoke Island Missing Colony

One of the first few thoughts that come to mind when you think of the Outer Banks includes Roanoke Islands Lost Colony. Chances are if you have ever visited Manteo or the OBX in general, then you have seen the outdoor drama The Lost Colony produced by the Roanoke Island Historical Association. This is a non-profit association created to help celebrate the history of the first English colonies on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. The play is was generated to honor the founders of The Lost Colony through drama, education, and literature.

For those of you that don’t know the story about the disappearance of The Lost Colony, let’s bring you back to the 16th-century. In July of 1587, 117 English men, women, and children came ashore on Roanoke Island with a commission from Elizabeth I to establish a permanent English settlement in the New World. An Englishmen named John White helped lead the settlers to Roanoke Island, which is located inside the chain of barrier islands that is today called the Outer Banks. It was Sir Walter Raleigh’s second attempt to colonize North Carolina, but the first to include civilians and families. White’s granddaughter, Virginia Dare was the first child born in the New World to English parents just weeks after their arrival. A resupply trip sent White back to England that same year. A naval war with Spain delayed his return. Three years later in 1590, when English ships returned to bring back supplies, the settlers had vanished. The only clue left behind was the word “Croatoan” carved into a fence post, and the letters “CRO” on a tree. Many believe these referred to what is now Hatteras Island, 50 miles south of their settlement.

On and off for the past three years, Nicholas M. Luccketti and his archaeology team have been working along the coast of the Albemarle Sound trying to uncover more clues on this mystery. Mr. Luccketti and colleagues with the First Colony Foundation have been digging up parts of the shores and hillsides of the Albemarle Sound hoping to find traces of the colonists. The dig site where they have been working is located in a secluded cove off of a creek in Merry Hill N.C., they call the spot Site X. The archaeologists have not found evidence of structures there, but have found ceramics and other material of European origin that might have come from Roanoke colonists. In an article posted by The New York Times Luccketti says “I’m trying to make sure that I say this correctly. We have evidence from this site that strongly indicates that there were Roanoke colonists here.”

New findings means more questions and more excitement. Some scholars who have seen the evidence are supportive of the findings, but at least one sees the evidence as not enough to draw solid conclusions. All agree more digging is needed in order to determine the findings at Site X. The latest findings include fragments of earthenware and pottery, a mashed metal rivet, and a piece of a hand-wrought nail. All were found in a shallow pit on a hillside above the Albemarle Sound.

In 2012 was when the most alluring clue was brought to attention by the British Museum when they re-examined one of White’s coastal maps for the First Colony Foundation. X-ray spectroscopy and other imaging techniques revealed that a patch hid a four-pointed blur and red star on the western end of Albemarle Sound.  That certain spot, near the outlets of the Chowan River and Salmon Creek, more or less corresponded to White’s reference to a site 50 miles inland, Croatoan (now Hatteras Island). Eric Klingelhofer, a vice president for research at the foundation and a history professor at Mercer University in Macon, GA says “We need to know more. This whole story is a blank page, a blank chapter of history, and I think archaeology is the only way to come up with answers.”

If you would like to read more about the new findings of the Roanoke Island Colony check out this article the New York Times posted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/science/the-roanoke-colonists-lost-and-found.html?_r=0

Book Early And Save in January

There is little more than a week left to Book Early and Save on participating properties for the 2015 season! Simply book and confirm by making your first payment by January 31st to receive the discount.

Remember, our phone lines and Live Chat are open till 8pm EST weekdays & 5:30pm EST on weekends.

Call: 800-338-3233 or email info@outerbanksrentals.com  info@outerbanksrentals.com

 

Live Traffic Cameras in the OBX

Any one who has braved the Bypass (US158) or the Beach Road (NC12) during the summer months knows all to well that traffic on the Outer Banks is highly unpredictable. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has live traffic cameras and speed detectors online to make the easy life easier! This year, 2 new cameras have been installed at the Hatteras/Ocracoke ferry docks. These new additions will help keep travelers and locals informed 24 hours a day.

All the cameras in the area can be seen here.

Silicon Travel Vacation Attendant In All Homes with Internet

Established in 2004, Silicon Travel is a locally based company specializes in internet and advanced technologies specifically applied to the vacation rental industry and currently serves over 2,000 rental properties on the Outer Banks. The Vacation Attendant allows Silicon Travel to remotely diagnose and/or rectify issues in the event that a renter experiences connection problems during their vacation. Guests must simply call the toll free number for the Help Desk, which provides over-the-phone tech support 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Internet is the number one requested amenity for vacation rentals. It is not uncommon for one or more guests staying in a home to work while on vacation, and an interruption in internet service can lead to very upset renters. “Providing tech support for connection issues can not only restore service for guests, but conveys to them that we understand the importance of this amenity to their vacation” says White. “Even when the problem cannot be solved during their stay, guests appreciate our willingness to try and help, which is why we want our guests to have access to professional tech support representatives.”
Vacation Attendant, the next phase in Silicon Travel’s wireless Internet service, also serves as a concierge-style web portal that is accessed by vacationers every time they use any wireless device in their rental property. This new platform assists vacationers in effectively communicating with the rental company, and also connects them with the best businesses in the area. In true concierge fashion, Vacation Attendant is the perfect vacation assistant, and for potential advertisers, a direct advertising opportunity.
Installation began in Spring of 2013 with homes south of Kitty Hawk and was completed in November for Duck and Corolla properties. 2014 will be the first season in which the majority of rentals will feature the Vacation Attendant.
Visit our Advanced Search Page here to see homes with Internet.

©2017 Stan White Realty & Construction. All Rights Reserved.

Website Design by InterCoastal Net Designs