By: jana616
9/2/2008 2:40 PM
We will arrive Saturday, and I keep thinking of questions here and there, hoping someone can offer some help.
1) My husband wants to kayak some. Since the weather is looking so iffy, we don't want to rent for a week and not get to use it. Is there anywhere that has more like 24-hour rentals? He'd go early morning, so I didn't know if anyone would be out for by the hour rentals.
2) Where is the best/cheapest place to buy buckets of crab legs and cook them at home?
3) Grandparents will watch the kids one night so DH and I can go out for a nice, romantic dinner to celebrate my birthday. Where is good to go? We'd love somewhere with a water view.
4) What are good indoor, family-friendly places to visit if the rain persists and we get cabin fever?
I know all of these questions have probably been asked a hundred times before, but it's overwhelming trying to locate the answers. So thanks in advance for help!
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By: Tim_in_NC
9/2/2008 2:56 PM
Will probably be pretty nice for most of the week ... Sat & Sun might turn out to not be too bad ...As for Question #3 ... I'd recommend Colington Cafe ... We had our wedding meal there and have since visited it at least once a year ... love it ![URL]Click to follow link...[/URL]
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By: hoi toide
9/2/2008 2:59 PM
You can buy "crab legs" anywhere USA. Perhaps you're thinking of snow crab or Alaskan King crab legs? When in Rome... [URL]Click to follow link...[/URL] :fish: Blue Point in Duck is #1 in my book for dining out the adult way AND w/ a sound view. [URL]Click to follow link...[/URL] :fish:
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By: Robert
9/2/2008 3:07 PM
Question #1 - Not sure if the big places (Ocean Atlantic, Moneysworth) do kayaks for less than a week. A one person is $60/week...I bet if you do by the day it will be at least $30 and then if you get a few good days you will be kicking yourself. Go fo rthe week. Question #3 - As Tim mentioned the Colington Cafe is excellent, and is one of our two very favorite restaurants, however no water view. If I was you I would travel less, get a soundfront view, and have an excellent meal at our other favorite Outer Banks restaurant, [COLOR=blue][B]The Blue Point[/B][/COLOR] in Duck. Call for a reservation. The Blue Point is the building with the awnings.
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By: marylander
9/2/2008 3:18 PM
I second Blue Point, which is only 20 minutes from you and has excellent food, but Colington Cafe is very romantic. If you go to Blue Point and have some extra time from the sitters, walk over to Scarborough Faire and stroll through the shops (dozens up on a boardwalk) to walk off your meal. Try [URL]Click to follow link...[/URL] to go on a soundside nature tour via kayak - about 3 hours long. I don't know anyone who rents kayak by hour, but I know folks who've done it. For cabin fever, go to Manteo for the day. I think the other thread listed several very nice things to do: lunch at Big Al's, NC aquarium, Roanoke Island Festival Park, Manteo booksellers, plus there are loads of shops for pottery, coffee/milkshakes, toys, etc to visit. Also, try the Nature Center at the Whalehead Club in Corolla, next to the Lighthouse (can't miss it [URL]Click to follow link...[/URL]). They have nature classes for kids and an indoor facility that's nice to walk through. The Whalehead Club next door is a nice tour of the mansion as well as is the Lighthouse, also connected to the complex.
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By: jana616
9/2/2008 3:34 PM
Thank you all so much for the suggestions (and the positive words on the weather!). I'm going to look into both of those restaurants.
As far as crab, maybe I'm confused. I was kind of hoping for a cheap place (even a guy with a cooler that always sells from the same place) to get fresh, locally caught crab by the bushel (?) and then cook and eat it at our house. I'd heard of Steamers, but it doesn't seem too cheap for a big group. Maybe crab legs aren't what I mean?
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By: jana616
9/2/2008 3:37 PM
Marylander-thanks SO much for the link to the Wildlife Center. I'd been looking for that and couldn't find it. My 3 year old will LOVE some of those programs. Thanks!!!
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By: marylander
9/2/2008 3:45 PM
You're welcome. With respect to blue crabs, it's not just the legs, we eat the whole thing, so when you specified crab legs I also thought of King or Alaskan where you buy frozen legs to steam. I believe Dockside North near the Food Lion in Corolla still sells steamed crabs [URL]Click to follow link...[/URL] - not sure if the Steamers to Go place does. Being from Baltimore, we don't tend to get crabs when on vacation, hard to beat the original. But I have had crabs from Dockside in Duck and they weren't bad. Let me know if this is your first time eating crabs and I can send a link on how to - it's a bit tricky (just found this link to a video [URL]Click to follow link...[/URL] on how to eat them). I definitely never saw any local selling them live up in Corolla - though that's how I get them at home.
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By: hoi toide
9/2/2008 3:48 PM
Local live "blue crabs" can be bought by the bushel. Billy's Seafood out on THE Colington Rd.
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By: Tim-OBX
9/2/2008 4:24 PM
[B]#1[/B] Weather does not look bad after Sunday. Why not go on a kayak tour rather than renting one for the ocean. Kitty Hawk Kites and Coastal Kayak have lots of tours - Ginguite Creek can be done even on windy days because it is so protected with trees. [B]#2[/B] Food Lion - they come frozen from Alaska you know.[B]#3[/B] Since you up in Corolla I would avoid the drive to Colington unless you like 40 mile drives to eat. Try Blue Point.[B]#4[/B] ?
We will arrive Saturday, and I keep thinking of questions here and there, hoping someone can offer some help.1) My husband wants to kayak some. Since the weather is looking so iffy, we don't want to rent for a week and not get to use it. Is there anywhere that has more like 24-hour rentals? He'd go early morning, so I didn't know if anyone would be out for by the hour rentals.2) Where is the best/cheapest place to buy buckets of crab legs and cook them at home?3) Grandparents will watch the kids one night so DH and I can go out for a nice, romantic dinner to celebrate my birthday. Where is good to go? We'd love somewhere with a water view.4) What are good indoor, family-friendly places to visit if the rain persists and we get cabin fever? I know all of these questions have probably been asked a hundred times before, but it's overwhelming trying to locate the answers. So thanks in advance for help!
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By: pghbghr
9/2/2008 5:44 PM
4) What are good indoor, family-friendly places to visit if the rain persists and we get cabin fever? Wright Bros Museum, Aquarium, plenty of little shops in TimBuckII
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By: ish
9/2/2008 11:37 PM
blue point is great....... Another choice is Elizabeths in duck great food and wine more romantic than blue point which can be a bit noisy.There is a new kayak rental place in corolla village just north of the lighthouse, behind the bookstoreDon't forget the nature center in the whalhead club for the kids. They also have some evening classes. Suzi and Emily took a seaglass jewlery making class there last fall. In addition the indoor pool at corolla light has classes open to the public for a small fee at certain times of the year
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By: whalerested
9/3/2008 9:57 AM
Blue Pointe gets my vote and you'll have the view of the susnset on the sound-very nice! Good food-yum! Not sure if Elizabeth's has a view but is reported to be top notch=pricey.Tim Buck II has a lot of neat stores and a play area for children-favorite shopping in Corolla!
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By: CC-OBX
9/3/2008 11:35 PM
You can buy the crabs by the bushel before you cross the bridge at the intersection of 158 and 168. Frog something $65 a bushel. I second Collington Cafe
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By: Heart and Soul
9/4/2008 12:45 AM
My husband has always thought about Elizabeth's for dinner, especially since he likes wine. It has never particularly appealed to me; however it keeps coming up on this board so it must have a good reputation. Any thoughts? Recommendations? We have been going to the Outer Banks for many years and keep saying that we should try Elizabeth's. What do you all think?
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By: marylander
9/4/2008 2:45 PM
With respect to Elizabeth's, I've never been because family and friends always said it was pretentious, over priced and just okay food. And many online reviews say much the same. That said, I do plan to go one day to see for myself afterall, things change and we all have different opinions, so I'm curious enough to try it first-hand.
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