Thirteen years ago, two sisters and their best friend boarded a plane in Bulgaria with nothing more than overstuffed backpacks and visions of America gleaned from TV shows and movies.

A ticket to one of the Thursday night suppers at Stack ‘em High in Kitty Hawk gets you a short stack of pancakes, your choice of bacon or sausage, hash browns or grits, plus a drink.

We’re walking in the bright lounge area of Ashley’s Espresso Parlor when the paintings on the wall immediately draw our eye. They’re beautiful — brilliantly colored; a palette brought to life on canvases known throughout the Outer Banks.

Behind many natural wonders are forces of nature. Such is the case with Jockey’s Ridge State Park and Peggy Birkemeier, though she is quick to give credit to legions of others.

On Merrimac Lane in Salvo sits a house belonging to Richard and Garnet Shoaf. It’s a two-story home, built in that “upside down” style like so many of the houses on the Outer Banks, the living area upstairs and the bedrooms downstairs.

The Outer Banks real estate market is in a period of adjustment. Sales activity has remained fairly steady compared to last year, but shifts in inventory, buyer behavior, and pricing strategies are shaping a more balanced environment than we’ve seen in recent seasons.

Tucked amidst the marshes, wetlands, and maritime forest of the Roanoke Island Festival Park complex, across from the charming Manteo waterfront, sits the newly renovated Outer Banks History Center.

Lainie Reed likes to refer to herself as “a professional volunteer.” Like so many others across the Outer Banks, the long-time visitor became a resident when she retired and started looking for ways to plug in to her new community.

Writing this article as the summer season has passed, it’s easy to think that these sunny beach days, with families hunkered under the shade of colorful umbrellas polka dotting the shore, have always been the focus of life on the Outer Banks.