Outer Banks on the Cheap

Author: mark c.
Date of Trip: August 2009

“It depends on what you find fun” I told my twelve year-old son as we packed lightly for a few days in Nags Head. He asked what was there to do at the beach as I squeezed old clothes and flip flops among the couple of boogie boards and stout coolers in our Mazda.

We booked four days at a delightful fishing motel near milepost 16, just my son and me. Nothing fancy at the Tarheel Motel, but the room was clean, comfortable, close to the beach and around a hundred bucks a night.

Our days were spent with boogie boards in the surf interrupted only by brief respites in the sun tent for cold sodas. Afterward, cool dips in the Tarheel’s stainless steel lined pool added to our appetites hungry for something other than our beach snacks.

Tale of the Whale, a nearby restaurant, while not cheap, was well worth the reasonable price. Their fresh yellowfin tuna steak was phenomenal. The Reisling wine was sweet, cold and the service excellent. I’ll be back soon, and more importantly, my son wants to come back with me.