Outer Banks This WeekArticles & Shorts

Outer Banks Articles & Shorts - Issue 25: Summer 2021

Publisher's Letter

After What A Year, we now have WHAT A SUMMER! But, then, a lot of locals say that it’s felt like summer here since around April with unprecedented numbers of visitors coming to our shores. Yep, it’s busy out there, folks. And that busy-ness is being compounded this year by too few locals and international students to help staff our restaurants, shops and accommodations. It’s kind of like the storm after the storm.

And yet … is there always an and yet? … Outer Bankers are resilient, tenacious, courageous, conscientious, ambitious, loquacious (how, we’re not sure when they’ve worked five doubles back to back), gracious – and, yes, occasionally pugnacious when met with unfair expectations.

We salute all of you workers who are, in almost every case, going above and beyond to take care of our vacationers. And we salute you vacationers who take the time to recognize how their waiters/cleaners/shopkeepers/innkeepers are trying to do the very best job they can.

The summer of 2021 will be one for the books – that’s clear even from the vantage point of early June when I’m writing this. My sincere wish is that we all reach September with a harmonious and collective, “Shew! What a summer it has been!”

VIEW A DIGITAL VERSION OF THIS ISSUE

 

The Art of Being Local

Books to be Red, Buxton Village Books, Duck's Cottage, Island Bookstore
By Beth P. Storie
Realtors talk about location, location, location, but with booksellers it’s local, local, local! The owners of our independent Outer Banks bookstores all say that books written by locals or set on these shores are some of their biggest sellers, both fiction and nonfiction.  Bookstore owners explain that local books... Read More

On the Soundside

By Molly Harrison
When people think of the waters of the Outer Banks, the Atlantic Ocean understandably leaps to mind first. The vast and mighty Atlantic commands our attention and is the main attraction of the Outer Banks for many people. But on the other side of the barrier islands is an entirely different watery world – a smaller,... Read More

Making Memories on the Water on the Crystal Dawn and Country Girl

Country Girl Head Boat, Crystal Dawn Head Boat
By Molly Harrison
Want to have some fun? Look no further than Crystal Dawn and Country Girl, two of the most trusted party boats on the Outer Banks. Based at Pirate’s Cove Marina in Manteo, just over the bridge from Nags Head, they’re the closest and most convenient party boats to the beach communities of Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills,... Read More

50 Years of Memories at Cape Hatteras Motel

Cape Hatteras Motel
By Molly Harrison
As owner of Cape Hatteras Motel in Buxton for the last 50 years, Dave Dawson has been through all the ups and downs that Cape Hatteras can dish out. He’s cleaned up from nor’easters, rebuilt from hurricanes and shoveled enough sand to fill the Sahara, but he’s also fished epic bluefish blitzes, met friends from all... Read More

From a Funny Conversation to a Fantastic Restaurant

Dirty Dicks
By Maggie Miles
Dirty Dick’s Crab House started out as a funny conversation between friends all the way back in 1970. Ken Hersey, founder of the establishment, had the idea while vacationing on the Outer Banks from his hometown in Northern Virginia. He realized that while this string of islands had a lot to offer, there wasn’t much... Read More