As you know, I took a trip to the Outer Banks a week ago for my marathon. Despite growing up in North Carolina, this was my first trip out to OBX, so I was excited to do a little exploring before and after my race! Eric, along with my mom, grandma and little sister all made the trip out to see my race and enjoy a mini vacation. Here were a few of our favorite places from the trip:
- Wright Brother's Memorial The monument and statues are cool, but the best part about the memorial is the view from atop that hill. It's so amazing to see the sound, ocean and everything in between. The memorial also had plenty of grassy areas surrounding it, proving it to be the best place to wear Bella out after a long car ride!
- Cafe Franco's This is an unsuspecting Italian restaurant hidden in a strip mall. Eric and I are suckers for some good pasta, and this place did not disappoint (and made for some great pre-race carboloading!). We are already dreaming of going back for their cheese ravioli
- Duck Doughnuts After a long night of not being able to eat anything post-race, I was so excited to be able to enjoy these for breakfast. I think these doughnuts rivaled some of our favorite shops in Durham!
- Jockey's Ridge Although I was pretty much crawling up these sand dunes post-race, I'm so glad we made it here before leaving. The views are spectacular, and it's an awesome place to watch people paraglide or fly kites. As you can see from the photos below, Bella enjoyed the dunes until she got a little too much sand in her mouth :)
- Armstrong's Seafood I'd been craving some whole-in-the-wall seafood since I arrived to OBX and we finally found it on our way out of town. The food was cheap, cooked perfectly, and we were greeted with the best Southern hospitality from the owners.
Since I wasn't feeling too great after my race, I unfortunately didn't get to see everything I would've liked to (the lighthouses, the BEACH, etc.), but I guess that just gives us an excuse to go back! See you again soon OBX!
