Top attractions near Corolla, North Carolina (Outer Banks): Wright Brothers National Memorial, Jockeys Ridge State Park, and the Waterfront Shops
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| Corolla, North Carolina during sunset |
Orville Wright: “If birds can glide for long periods of time, then…why can’t I?”
How could you not be amazed by seeing gigantic steel and aluminum bodied airplanes taking off effortlessly into the skies? It is without a doubt, one of man’s greatest achievements of the 20th century.
The whole idea of humans mimicking birds has always fascinated me. I always found the story of Icarus, who foolishly flew into the sun on a glider made by his father Daedalus, engrossing and inspirational as a young teenager. Seeing various airplanes (fighter planes, bombers, helicopters, etc.) always gave me thrills as a kid, and still to this day, I’m still that same little kid at heart, who loves cool planes.
How is it possible for these large aircraft to be able to travel among the skies, just like birds, majestically gliding at speeds that would make them jealous? As mundane as commercial aircraft and flying these days can be, I personally think of the idea of man being able to fly, as nothing short of spectacular.
We certainly owe a great deal to the inventors of modern day aviation, Orville and Wilbur Wright. The Wright Brothers, was a name I learned about growing up in South Korea. To a humble kid growing up in a then developing country that was South Korea in the late 70’s, it seemed incredible how most modern inventions were made in the land of opportunity, the United States.
From Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, to Wright Brothers, America seemed to be the land of innovation and technological advancement. It baffled me to no end to try to figure out why that is as a young kid. America seemed to be this land of opportunity where anything was possible.
Wright Brothers to me, were mythical American figures who brought man into the age of flying, and it always fascinated me then, and also now, to want to explore bit more about them. I wished some day I can finally visit the location in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, where the Wright Brothers worked on their monumental invention.
That some day finally became a reality when we booked a 3 nights/4 days trip in Outer Banks, in a town called Corolla, North Carolina, a mere 18 miles north of Kill Devil Hills.
We chose Hampton Inn & Suites Outer Banks/Corolla as our hotel, and we were glad we did. We checked in around 4 p.m., then settled in. We liked the size of the room with a nice sized sofa to relax in. Having a balcony was an added bonus, and it definitely made our stay even more enjoyable.
We of course, went outside to check out the views of the ocean and the hotel right afterwards!
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| Hampton Inn & Suites Outer Banks/Corolla |
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| View from our balcony |
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| Nice sunset that evening |
We got a nice and rejuvenating sleep for the next 3 days, listening to the gentle sound of waves hitting the shore each night. We are seriously enjoying being near the ocean these days…
Using the hotel as our base camp, we explored the Outer Banks area. These are some of our favorite attractions below:
- Wright Brothers National Memorial
This was, without a doubt, our number one reason for visiting the Outer Banks! We booked our trip knowing if there’s one attraction we must see, then this would be the one.
We left for Wright Brothers National Memorial and drove roughly 30 minutes south to arrive at the attraction. Because we had the America the Beautiful Pass, we got inside without paying the $10 per person entrance fee.
We headed straight for the visitor center to get a feel for the place. We found out there was a ranger-led tour right inside the visitor center within the next 20 minutes. We checked out the exhibits until then, learning about the history, really enjoying many of the interactive displays.
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| Really informative exhibits inside the visitor center |
We gathered around the atrium where the replica of Wright Brothers airplane was located, ready to learn little more about them and their magnificent invention. Our ranger was absolutely fantastic. The tour was informative yet fun, delivered with a dry sense of humor that is so cool about many fellow Americans.
We learned so much more, really imagining how the brothers lived their lives. It was better than us exploring the exhibits alone. The ranger would’ve made a great teacher with his skillful delivery of this fun tour!
We thanked him afterwards, then moved outside the visitor center to check out a replica of their storage shed, workshop, house they stayed in, and the historical markers where they made their successful first flight. It gave me goosebumps looking at the very same place where mankind first took to the skies.
Our favorite had to be the historical markers of each of their successful attempts, starting with #1 marker, where they flew for 12 seconds at a distance of 120 feet. With each successive attempts, they flew longer and farther. Wow, what an incredible place!
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| View of the memorial from afar |
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| Workshop |
The wind was blustery and it was really cold! We decided to walk at a brisk pace to see the memorial at the top of the hill for our finale. As cold as it was, the place was awesome.
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| View from the top of the memorial |
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| Climbing the hill |
If you must see one attraction in Outer Banks, make this place the top of your list. It will give you goosebumps if you love modern aviation and/or history.
- Jockey’s Ridge State Park
Located in Nags Head, Jockey’s Ridge State Park is the home to Atlantic Coast’s tallest living sand dune system and it provides an ideal location for hang gliding, flying kites, and watching epic sunsets. The sand dune system is listed as a National Natural Landmark, which is always cool. Looking at some of the pictures of the park, it reminded us of White Sands National Park.
We arrived at the park on a beautiful sunny morning, excited to check out the cool sand dunes. We headed straight for the Boardwalk Trail, which is a very short .1 mile trail with nice views of the sand dunes and its surroundings.
We got our hiking boots on, ready to get some decent exercise and took off, very sluggishly I might add, thanks to the aforementioned sands everywhere. The trail began with a wooded area right off the parking lot, and we took in our surroundings.
It was good to be walking among beachside plants common to the east coast of the United States, specifically pine trees, bushes, grasses, and common gorse. We walked few minutes inside the pine forest, then finally came out to the super bright sands everywhere.
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| Out of the pine forest, and into the sands… |
We got to the boardwalk/overlook in under 10 minutes and checked out the views. It was magnificent…
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| Looking back at the overlook |
We wanted to push further, so we continued our hike along the much longer Tracks in the Sand Trail, at a distance of 1.2 miles. We decided to climb one of the tallest sand dune nearby along the way, almost climbing at a 45 degree angle to get to the top of the dunes.
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| Very steep trail! |
Once we got on the top of the dunes, the trail flattened quite a bit, making our hike that much easier. The views were eerily similar to those of White Sands National Park!
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| This felt the most like White Sands National Park, nothing but sand… |
We were loving it! We were excited to see otherworldly scenery like the ones we saw on the west coast. We wanted more.
We pushed on, hiking further, while noticing a slight increase in elevation as we did so. Once we crested the top of a gigantic dunes, we saw the Atlantic Ocean in the distance, all blue and beautiful.
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| Peek of ocean |
As we approached what looked like hang gliding area, we stopped to take in the tremendous views. It was windy, as it should be on an early February morning, but even so, we couldn’t help but be impressed by the juxtaposition of some of the whitest sands with the bluest ocean and the clearest, bluest skies above.
It’s moments like these that we live for. What’s early retirement if you don’t get to enjoy life???
We spent few minutes there, then decided to hike a bit more, eager to see what awaited us at the dunes’ end. What we found were awesome, elevated viewing spots with a bit of civilization nearby. Nice views!
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| Awesome views! |
We were loving the hike and the views. We took in nice lungful of fresh winter air while getting some vitamin D from the sun. We felt healthy, and happy…
We wrapped up our hike by slowing making our way back to the parking lot. We won’t easily forget this place…
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| Slowly making our way back… |
- The Waterfront Shops (Duck, NC)
Located in the town of Duck, the Waterfront Shops is the premier outdoor shopping venue in Outer Banks. It has over 27 unique shops/restaurants/eateries and more, with excellent views of the Currituck Sound. This place was conveniently located right along the only road to get to our hotel, so it made sense for us to check it out on the way.
We stopped by on a sunny but very windy and cold morning in early February, on our way out of the Outer Banks, with our next destination being Williamsburg, Virginia. On a weekday, the place was quiet with not many people.
It’s one of the things we’re used to seeing, traveling as early retirees on most weekdays in most places. In fact, we kind of like the extra solitude and quietness this brings. With less crowds, we can easily find parking, and we sometimes have the attraction all by ourselves. How often can you say that when traveling on weekends when everyone else does?
We parked close as possible to the boardwalk and walked towards it. We liked the location of the place, being so close to the waters.
One of the first things we noticed were the waterfowl on the sound, easily numbering over 20. It was a cool sight to be able to bird watch on a weekday.
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| Waterfowl everywhere! |
We took a leisurely stroll along the boardwalk, enjoying the chilly breeze but loving the cold fresh air going through our nostrils. We, despite traveling to warmer weather during the winters like snow birds, still love the cold but crisp air when the temperatures drop. We know we prefer the changing seasons. We lived in Hawaii for over 2 years, and it was just too much of the summer like climate year round…
I think most humans savor a little change. We are definitely some of those humans…
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| Views along the boardwalk |
We found cool looking statues of horses in front of shops and also browsed couple of shops that were opening up at that time of the day (10:30 a.m. or so). It’s what people do when traveling. They window shop and browse through.
We decided to walk the entire length of the boardwalk (not more than about a quarter mile), and made it in no time. We loved the views, that’s for sure.
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| Walking towards the southern end of the boardwalk |
At the end of the boardwalk, we backtracked, looking to go to the other end of the boardwalk. We made it in less than 5 minutes. We settled in on two of the Adirondack chairs near the northern end of the boardwalk, in front of a not-yet-opened bar, to enjoy the beautiful views of the sound.
The rhythmic lapping of the waters hitting the wooden boardwalk was putting us in a trance like state, us wanting nothing more than to simply enjoy what’s in front of us, with all of the exciting stimuli both familiar and unfamiliar. It was awesome to be able to enjoy simple joys of life on a weekday as early retirees.
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| Walking towards the northern end of the boardwalk |
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| Sat here for several minutes enjoying life… |
I walked out to the end of the dock by myself as my wife doesn’t usually enjoy walking on docks that are so close to the frigid waters during the winter months. No worries. I still enjoyed the views, with so many waterfowl nearby!
In conclusion:
Our first trip to the Outer Banks was a success! I finally explored the Wright Brothers National Memorial after all these years. It was without a doubt, the highlight of our trip there.
To be able to experience where modern aviation started, and to be able to walk the field where they tested their incredible invention, was transcendental. Most of us never really think about airplanes and how they all started, but maybe we should. Maybe we should all pay a little tribute to the Wright Brothers for what they did, to make flying possible…
Besides the memorial, Outer Banks has so many other amazing attractions as well. Places like Jockey’s Ridge State Park and the Waterfront Shops are just two of the attractions we got to personally experience, but there are so many more.
We will surely be revisiting this area in our future travels. Thank you for reading and happy trails!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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