Outer Banks Memories Never Fade

Anyone who has spent time on the Outer Banks knows the magical hold it can have on you. If you’ve ever caught sight of the breathtaking sunrise growing from the Atlantic, each one as singular in [...]

Pick A Straw…But Not Just ANY Straw

A random fistful of straws handed out at a drive-thru A straw placed in every drink and water glass at a restaurant Extra straws added to the carryout bag ‘just in case’ All are gestures [...]

On Vacation? Time To Volunteer!

You work hard all year. You look forward to your week at the beach. If you’re lucky, maybe two. You save for it. You spend countless hours planning your trip, deciding what activities you’ll do. [...]

A Winter Kitten

I’ve always thought there were two kinds of people when it came to the pet world. There were cat people, like my sister, Liz, whom I kind-of-affectionately call “the crazy cat lady.” She actually [...]

Lessons in Lifeguarding

We see them up on the lifeguard stands, making water advisories and responding to emergencies. Occasionally we even talk to them to inquire about ocean conditions. But most of us don’t know what [...]

Unplug: Disconnect to Reconnect

Several years ago, I harbored some pretty dark fantasies regarding my young son’s cell phone. His text messaging was out of control. I considered placing his phone in the path of a stampeding [...]

Coming Home to the Outer Banks Within

As a 22-year-old, ignorance was bliss when I landed a job at a modest, little 3,000-watt radio station carved into the swamp on the south end of Roanoke Island.  WOBR-FM in Wanchese, also [...]

GEM Offers A Little Harmony

“No one prepares you for this – being a caregiver,” says Noel Preston. Preston’s wife, Susan, was diagnosed with dementia in 2011 and is now undergoing treatment at John Hopkins Medical [...]

Winter on the Outer Banks

This is the seventeenth winter I’ve spent on the Outer Banks. I recall that first one being particularly brutal as my psyche struggled to adjust to life on what, at the time, felt like the [...]

On Your Mark, Get Set, Tidal Waves!!

The Outer Banks has more children experiencing the joy of swimming now than ever before with the creation of the first local YMCA swim team this fall. The Tidal Waves already have approximately [...]

Be Resolute

There are two things that rank high on my list of things I dread about the holidays. One is dragging that bare, parched tree out of the house as it leaves a massive amount of pine needles in its [...]

Tough Boot Camps – Tight Friends

The cold December wind whips up against houses, the chilling rain patters on rooftops at 5 a.m., and most of the Outer Banks is still warm and snug under blankets. But that’s not the case for a [...]

Healthy Meals for Strong Minds

More than a decade ago, Southern Shores residents Helen Ford and Ed Hazlett began discussing ways they could help the Outer Banks community. Inspired by an after-school program they read about in [...]

The Greatest Gift Of All

If you’re one of those Martha Stewart types who’ve spent the last year carefully and creatively hand making gifts for each person on your holiday list, from your children down to the UPS delivery [...]

The Streak

You can talk to 100 runners, and get 100 different reasons as to why they run and why they set goals and challenges for themselves. But for new-to-Manteo resident Evan Fiedler, he took the word [...]

Buried in Time

The barely discernible path veers off the dirt road in Nags Head Woods, up along a high ridge. Felled trees and heavy underbrush often block the trail, forcing hikers to search for signs of foot [...]

A Pirate’s Life for Me

Blackbeard’s Crew is a nonprofit dedicated to historical preservation, a relatively dry description that could apply to many organizations. However, most other nonprofits dedicated to historical [...]