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Attractions
Duck |
Best Kid Stuff
The Lost Colony
Where: The Waterside Theater at Fort Raleigh National
Site, Roanoke Island, NC
Phone: (252) 473-3414
(800) 488-5012
The
Lost Colony
Rates: Tickets range from $8 for children to $20 for
adults, depending on seating. Monday is Kid's Night and
children's tickets are half price. Advance purchase is
recommended.
Hours: Showtime is 8:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday from
June through August.
Located 25 miles south of Duck, Roanoke Island in 1587
became the site of the first permanent English settlement
in America. It soon proved to be not-so-permanent,
however. Just three years after the settlement's 117 men,
women and children were deposited on the shores of the
Outer Banks, they disappeared without a trace. Four
hundred years later, the nation's longest-running outdoor
performance re-creates what is known of their story.
Visitors can also tour the remains of the settlement at
Fort Raleigh, although the "fort" is really just
some scattered ruins.
Best Day Trip
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and Visitors Center
Where: Highway 12, Buxton, NC
Phone: (252) 995-4474
Cape Hatteras
Lighthouse
Rates: Free
Hours: The visitors center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
except Christmas day.
The nation's tallest lighthouse — towering at an
impressive 196 feet — is a two-hour drive south of Duck
on NC 12, but there are enough small-town stops and
coastal views to make the trip half the fun. During the
summer months, visitors can climb the 268 steps to the top
of the lighthouse for a spectacular view of the national
seashore. But even from ground level, the lighthouse is
well worth a look. The visitors center details the
island's maritime history, and a nature trail makes for a
pleasant walk.
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Best Place to Fly a Kite
Jockey's Ridge State Park
Where: US 158 Bypass, Milepost 12 1/2,
Nags Head, NC
Phone: (252) 441-7132
Kitty Hawk Kites
Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., November through
February; 8 a.m.
to 7 p.m., March and October; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., April, May
and September; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., June through August
If you've always wanted to fly, this might be
your chance.
After all, what better launch point could there be than
the largest natural sand dune on the East Coast? Hang
gliding
is permitted on certain faces of the dune by
anyone who has the appropriate rating, and lessons are
offered for those who don't. And
of course, there's the
much more grounded option of simply flying a kite. And if
flying whatever it may be holds no interest, a hike to the
top of the dune — while a little strenuous — offers an
outstanding view of
the 400-acre Jockey's Ridge State Park
and surroundings. |
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By Christina Breda Antoniades,
February 2002
Stretching for 130 miles along
the Atlantic
coast, North Carolina's Outer Banks are a
skinny
strip of barrier islands whose
hallmark high, sandy dunes front
frothy surf
on one side and a gentle sound on the other. The
area's slogan is "A secret worth keeping" and while
the droves of tourists who head here in
summer are a hint that
the secret's out,
some areas have managed to keep their
claim on
quaint and quiet longer than others. Perhaps none more so than
Duck, an upscale residential
rental community along the northern
reaches of the Outer Banks.
Development of Duck — which
owes its
name to the hordes of fowl who stop here
during
migration — didn't begin until the
1970s. And it has since
stuck faithfully to
residential construction, with just a few
small commercial strips to provide the
necessities — a
last-minute bikini buy,
sandwiches for the kids or even a
candlelit
dinner for two. Duck's relative solitude and
its vast
array of neatly constructed rental
homes make it ideal for
families. That is,
unless your family likes to go bar hopping
until the wee hours, in which case you may
be out of luck. The
same is true if you can't
imagine a vacation without a bellhop
and
someone to pick up your dirty towels every
day. There are no
hotels or motels in Duck
proper, so to stay here you'll have to
either
rent a vacation home, snag a spot at the
one B&B or
head to a nearby town for
lodging.
Still, while we admit Duck would
never make the list for top spring break party spots, boredom is
hardly
a threat here. After all, the beach is the
main
attraction and Duck's wide swaths of
sand are nothing to scoff
at. Oceanside,
respectable surf is ideal for boogie boarding,
body surfing and swimming, while the sound
offers up a perfect
playground for nature
lovers and sports enthusiasts who require
calmer waters. And if you tire of all that,
there are lots of
attractions within a short
drive. Just don't tell anyone where
you came
from. It's a secret. |
Best Historical Site
Wright Brothers National Memorial and
Visitors Center
Where: US 158 Bypass, Milepost 8,
Kill Devil Hills, NC
Phone: (252) 441-7430
Rates: $2 for walk-ins; $4 for cars
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
With its towering sand dunes and an ever-
present wind,
it's no surprise that the Outer
Banks was the site of the
first powered
airplane flight, made by Orville Wright on
Dec. 17, 1903. The craft built by Orville and
his brother
Wilbur only made it aloft for 12
seconds and only rose 120
feet, but it was
enough to start aviation on its way.
Today a
visitors center and memorial commemorates the
Wright brothers' work and offers a fascinating look
into
the past. |
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