OK, we made it...we are here at the OBX (DUCK) and it%26#39;s FRIGID. Needless to say all of our water plans have been cancelled. Soooooo...now what? We did the aquarium today. My kids are devistated. Live and learn I suppose. Next time no sooner than end of June. Any ideas of how we can salvage this vacation?
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Devastated? Let%26#39;s get some perspective, this not a terminal issue. The weather should not have been a big surprise, it is spring. A day in OBX is better than a day at home. We had fun at the beach New Years and it was 30 degrees.
Not sure of your kids ages, but take a trip a little further south to Nag%26#39;s Head-stop in Kill Devil Hills at the Wright Memorial-continue to Kitty Hawk and climb Jockey%26#39;s Ridge. Up North in Corolla, climb the lighthouse and visit the village.
Go to Kitty Hawk kites or Wings and buy a kite to fly. Can always take in a round of mini-golf too.
Cheer up-the weather is suppose to get warmer as the week goes on!
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Head up to Corolla one day and visit the Currituck Lighthouse, Whalehead Beach Club and Nature Center. It%26#39;s all in an adjoining park and entrance is free. Nature Center is new and has programs for kids to participate in. Lighthouse is fun to climb and view is awesome - nice gift/book shop as well. Whalehead Club is a nice tour of the mansion. If you bring a picnic lunch, there are places to sit and eat on the grounds. You can walk along and see all kinds of nature in the sound.
Also in Corolla, TimBuck II is open with lots of nice shops, go carts, bumper cars, and a game room. Plus they have nice restaurants like North Banks Raw Bar (great for family).
And lastly in Corolla, you might try a Wild Horse Tour to take you up to where the wild horses live - it%26#39;s beautiful up there and the kids have a blast riding in a jeep or 4 wheel drive vehicle. Little pricey, but for devastated kids, it may be worth it.
You%26#39;ve already been to the aquarium, but did you know about the Manteo Waterfront and the Roanoke Festival Park. The festival park is a hands-on museum for kids that my guys all love. They get to climb aboard the Elizabeth II ship in the harbor there and walk around the Lost Colony talking to re-enactors. Worth a few hours a lots of memories. Check out the Manteo booksellers for kids as well as the coffee shop there that sells milkshakes. There%26#39;s also a pirate adventure there if the kids are young - that%26#39;s a huge winner for the 9 and under crowd! All of that is right in Manteo, follow the signs to the Historic Waterfront. It%26#39;s worth a whole day. Have lunch at Big Al%26#39;s on the way in - very fun meal for kids.
Few more suggested activities:
Avalon Fishing Pier - http://www.avalonpier.com/piercam.html in Kill Devil Hills. It%26#39;s at milepost 6. Take the whole family and go into the shop there. They will equip you all with rental rods and rigs and tell you exactly what to do to catch something right off the pier. Kids have a blast hauling in their own catch and you don%26#39;t have to take them out in a boat which can be chilly in this weather and risk seasickness.
Duck Donuts - You HAVE to try their fresh made donuts!! http://www.duckdonuts.com/ They are right in the Osprey Landing Center in Duck. Good coffee too.
Jockey%26#39;s Ridge - just reaffirming the previous suggestion. http://www.jockeysridgestatepark.com/ When you%26#39;re done there, head across the street to the Kitty Hawk Kites store - it%26#39;s huge with lots of distractions for the kids.
Some of the communities in Duck have community indoor pools and even community centers . . . not sure if you checked into that.
I understand what you%26#39;re going through. We used to come the last week of May for a few years and learned to push it out to at least mid-June to ensure a good time in the water. Even there, the past 2-3 years have been so cold in the spring, it%26#39;s been very unpredictable as to when the water is warm enough to swim versus not. There have even been weeks in the past 2 years all summer long with the tides shifted and few ventured into the chilly surf. So much for global warming . . . in my opinion, things have really been cooling off lately.
While there is that gulfstream and can be temperate playing golf even in January...that%26#39;s with clothes on and not wet.
You need to go further south...latitude as close to that of s.fla... for a guarantee of getting in the water in the spring...and walking around wet:)
Fall and spring are our favorite times at the beaches. Yes, most of family and friends, especially when school age children are involved, do haul us in summer and...that%26#39;s not a problem. But it%26#39;s extra special outside of summer we think. Any time of year, mostly we enjoy the aspect of becoming closer with others, some one-on-one time here and there with the kids.
Here are a few ideas. Some will overlap on what others have already said I%26#39;m sure.
OhLynne did a treasure hunt on the beach for her kids:
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g616326-i10763-k21…
Serious kite flying on the beach in the great breeze.
Rent bikes?
I forget the ages of your children but they might find some of the museums cool...the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the Native American, the Lifesaving station,, etc
Nags Head Woods ecological Preserve. About 1100 acres of forest, dunes, marshes, wetlands, all kinds of trees and waterfowl but just being there might be cool to your kids. For you, interestingly during the 19th century to earlish 1900s, this was a village with a store, school, homes, etc. Some things from that period remain like foundations etc.
nature.org/wherewework/…art5618.html
Check this out:
http://www.outerbanks.org/
Here%26#39;s a handy site from a real estate company on %26#39;fun for free%26#39;
www.sunrealtync.com/sitepages/pid113.php
Not sure where you%26#39;re located but I do recall you had plans to see a lot of the outer banks. This following lists various locations of miniature golf, parks, etc.
http://www.outerbeaches.com/OuterBanks/Kids/
Here%26#39;s two suggestions that work for not just frigid temps but also rain:
#1 There are two new laser tag establishments in OBX this season. Can%26#39;t advise as to which is better b/c they%26#39;re both brand spankin%26#39; new.
#2 My last trip down it rained all day one of the days. I threw my guests in my SUV and headed up to where the road ends and the sand begins in Corolla. I drove all the way out to the NC/VA line and cut up around MP 22.5 on the offroads. 45 mins of searching and we found the wild horses.
Last when it warms up some this week, ask someone where you can access some sandy beach on the sound. The difference in water temp between the sound and ocean is drastic right now.
To add to some of the other suggestions, you might consider renting some bicycles. You have a good bike path right there in Duck. Or consider renting kayaks and paddling on the sound.
The weather forecast looks to be trending warmer as the week progresses. 65 degrees tomorrow and 80 by Saturday. I don%26#39;t think your week is ruined. Even if it was much warmer than it is down there now, the ocean would still have been too cold to swim in.
The Outer Banks is always full of surprises! Very unpredictable.
MB
I think there%26#39;s a ghost tour of the Hunt Club in Corolla. Reading all these ideas about things to do make me jealous. It%26#39;s cold in Ohio, too! Have fun!!!
We are heading to Corolla this Sunday and I was also a little concerned about the weather. I%26#39;ll have 4 kids ages 8-17. As long as it%26#39;s in the upper 70%26#39;s-low 80%26#39;s we%26#39;ll be fine. The kids will swim in cold water. We also have a hot tub at the house we rented. Now I know why the prices are so cheap this time of year ;-)
No worries, vacation is vacation and I hear OBX is awesome!
Not wanting to disappoint anyone, especially kids, but the surf temps are around 58 degress right now. You might want to prep them for a non-swimming vacation. Temps can shift somewhat abruptly there, but not usually this early yet. Though I have vacationed the last week of May in Duck and been able to swim, it%26#39;s just the past few years have been colder than usual. We were watching the surf temps for our vacation last year in the 2nd week of June and it shifted up to 70 degrees almost over night which made it nearly perfect for us when the air temps were in the mid-80%26#39;s. It all has to do with the jet stream and it%26#39;s impact on the gulf stream. Once the gulf stream shifts in toward shore, warm temps abound.
Ocean temps will be too cold but my young ones will swim in a cold pool,lol.
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