It has been a while since we have posted! We are busy in the office, gearing up for another great season on Hatteras Island. We are so excited and ready to have our wonderful guests back on Hatteras for another beautiful summer! As we draw close to spring, I take some time to look back on the winter season on Hatteras Island. When the sun would come out, it would warm the beach just enough for a perfect afternoon beach walk. This time of year is so serene; the beaches are uncrowded, quiet and so peaceful. Winter is a time for family, friends, rest and relaxation! There is one thing no one can deny, winter sunsets on Hatteras Island light up the sky with amazing shades of orange, pink, red and blue. I look forward to these sunsets every night.
I have compiled some of my favorite winter photos, so be sure to view the slideshow!
With her burly temper and shallow shoals, the waters off the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks have claimed an estimated 2,000 shipwrecks over the years, hence the title “The Graveyard of the Atlantic”.
The latest of these instances was back in the fall when two northern sailboats ran aground just south of Oregon Inlet (Photo Credits: Daniel Pullen Photography). A sad sight to see, each wreck has a story and is a moment in Outer Banks history.
On a clear day in December, we noted there were three wrecks exposed on the beaches of Hatteras Village. That changes with the tides and shifting sands, so it’s always exciting to come across one that you haven’t seen before. We aren’t fully certain of their names, but they do stand to remind us that Mother Nature is to be respected.
There are several other wrecks that are visible year-round that make for fun surfing days, great fishing spots and beautiful diving adventures. Known to Hatteras Island ol’-timers as the “Old Richmond”, there is a large wreck posted in the water at the end of Sand Street in Salvo that is known professionally as the “Pocahontas” (Photo Credit: Zenovah.Faire). In addition, there is another off the beach in Rodanthe near North Holiday Boulevard known as the LST-471, and yet another across from the Pea Island rest area known locally as the “Boilers”, but professionally as the “Oriental”. These are just a couple of the thousands that lay off of our coast, but are definitely fun to visit and easily accessed while here on Hatteras Island.
For more history on the shipwrecks that lie off our coast, there is an incredible museum in Hatteras Village, The Graveyard of The Atlantic Museum. Admission is free, but they do take donations! Be sure to check it out as they frequently have guest speakers and tons of fun facts about the mysteries of the Atlantic.
The 2013 Annual Hatteras Village Christmas parade was a success with Midgett Realty taking home the award for “Most Creative” with a sand family and driftwood Christmas tree, designed and constructed by a team of several dedicated employees. Postponed a week due to inclement weather, there were a couple of organizations that had to drop out because of prior commitments, but nonetheless, the community was out with their bells on, so-to-speak. Previous winners, dubbed “The Dunebilly Queens”, judged this year’s event noting it was a much harder task to judge all of the creative talent and time and effort than it was to participate in the fun.
Check out the slideshow to see all of the 2013 participants and get a better look at the 2013 Midgett Realty float and parade team.
Hatteras Island is laced with several shops that are sure to fit all of your shopping needs while visiting. One of the latest to pop up is Coastal Cottage Outfitters, a family-run business started by Marylin Epping and her husband and local contractor, Mike Epping and their daughter, Jessica. Often times you’ll also catch their sweet little mascot, Maya, a precious dog they adopted, peacefully hanging out behind the counter while you shop.
Coastal Cottage Outfitters does just that, they outfit your cottage from floor to ceiling with “durable, yet chic, coastal home decor”. This local and visitor-friendly store offers a full line of cabinetry and countertops, several lighting options and various furniture lines such as Braxton Culler and Capris, to outfit any room in your home. Carrying a full line of bedding and rugs, including the very popular Dash & Albert, they also stock an abundance of throw pillows, each with a personality of their own.
While you can easily dress your home with the latest in coastal fashions, this Hatteras Village treasure also offers gift galore of all kinds! Wedding, house party, birthday, anniversary, Christmas? Any occasion to gift, your need can be met here.
Intentionally small, they have high-end customer service, one-on-one to offer you the best shopping experience around. Be sure to check them out on the south end of Hatteras Village, on the corner of Highway 12 and Dunes Drive, or at www.coastalcottageoutfitters.com
Not everyone is able to live on the coast all year round, so why not bring that calm, relaxing feeling of the beach into your home? While bead board and architectural elements aren’t always attainable, that’s not to say the beachy feel can’t be achieved. Why not start with a fresh coat of paint in a soft palette? Aquas, airy greens and blues will certainly do the trick, but don’t hesitate to start with calming neutrals and layer in the color with other elements if needed.
Sometimes committing to a color other than a neutral can be incredibly intimidating. Choosing the right shade/hue/color, neutral or not, is such a process. However, once you’ve found the right one, it’s so rewarding and the great thing about going with a coastal decor is that it is so easily adaptable to one’s personal preference. A soft palette may not seem appealing to everyone, and that’s okay! Those who tend to gravitate towards bolder color choices can pull off the look with comfort also. Reds, oranges and other colors with more emphasis are just as easily transformed into beach havens. It’s all a matter of balance, which will come later in the process, but first, start with a color that you love, that comforts you and most importantly, you can live with on a daily basis. This starting point will be your base. Don’t be afraid to experiment with it either! You can go bold with stripes or if you have a chair rail, you can use that to break up a two-toned wall, or you can try your hand at a statement wall depending on the space.
While the possibilities are endless, just try to breathe. Once you find your color palette, it’s smooth-sailing from there!
For more tips on achieving a coastal decor, stay tuned for Design Tip Thursdays on our blog!
With only seven villages and roughly 5,000 residents to occupy it’s mere 50 miles of seashore, Hatteras Island is a very cozy place to live indeed. Within the typical small-town traditions that certainly do exist here, lives a large holiday spirit and a uniqueness and charm that could spread cheer for days. With nearly every village putting on their own program or play, carolers going from door to door and cookie exchanges that would make even Santa jealous, Hatteras Island doesn’t mess around when it comes to the holiday season. Hatteras Village always decorates to the nines and this year is no exception as they will be hosting their island-wide Christmas parade this weekend, an annual tradition that was rescheduled due to a little winter shower. Santa also makes quite a few appearances on Hatteras Island as he teams up with the fire departments in each village, who take him around on their trucks with the sirens blaring, making sure all of the boys and girls know he’s still watching, and will be coming to visit them soon.
Take a peek at the slideshow above to check out some of the decorations put up around town, and please know that Hatteras Island and Midgett Realty wish a warm and wonderful holiday season to you and yours! If you’re looking for a getaway for the holidays next year, you won’t be disappointed by the holiday spirit on Hattears Island. Be sure to check out Midgett Realty for an Outer Banks vacation getaway for you and your family.
Halloween brings the fall season to life on the Outer Banks. The festivities have kids and adults alike wide open in celebration. From haunted houses [and trails] to costume parties and Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree, the whole island gets a new sense of rejuvenation after the long summer season.
This year Midgett Realty wants to wish you all a happy and safe Halloween and remember to look out for the little ones as they are out and about collecting their tricks and treats.
Check out the attached slideshow to see our cute little visitors from the Hatteras United Methodist Preschool.
Hatteras Island offers a different vacation venue in the Fall than the summer. The traffic isn’t quite so thick on the infamous scenic byway and the lines aren’t quite so long in the island’s handful of grocery stores. The warm summer breeze takes on a crisp air and even the most inexperienced of anglers is practically guaranteed to get a bite on their line. Not sure what to do? Check out our list of “Top 5” things to do on Hatteras Island this fall.
1. Beachcombing: As the crowds thin out, so do the early beach-walkers dedicated to finding treasures on the shores of the Graveyard of The Atlantic. Expand your shell and beach glass collection and do something fun such as take your favorite piece to a jeweler and make a vacation momento or create a fabulous wreath for your front door.
2. Book a Flightseeing Tour: Get a whole new perspective on Hatteras Island…from the sky! Book an air tour with one of our local pilots at Burrus Flying Service and choose from three routes to explore the island from above.
3. Take a Hike: The 825-acre Buxton Coastal Reserve, just south of the village of Buxton on Hatteras Island, is the largest stand of maritime forest remaining in North Carolina. Thick with plant life and wildlife, there are several trails that one could hike by foot or by horseback using one of our local horse guide operators.
4. Explore the Shops: Hatteras Island offers several shops and boutiques in addition to a wide variety of art galleries. Whether you are looking for that perfect coastal souvenir or a great piece of art to hang above your fireplace, you are sure to find something exotic and one of a kind!
5. Book a Charter: Pack a day full of fun and book an offshore charter to snag the catch of your life. Cruise the blue waters with one of our experienced captains and enjoy a day in fisherman’s paradise!
For more island fun, check out our “Things to Do” page at www.midgettrealty.com!
I have some exciting news to share! I don’t know if you follow us on Facebook (and if not, you should, because up until October 30, 2013 you can win a FREE vacation), but last week we threw out this poll to vote the Outer Banks as 10Best.com’s “Best Place to Watch a Sunset”. Guess what. We made it to the #5 spot in the Reader’s Choice poll sponsored by USA Today!
Winners will be listed on USA TODAY, in the Friday, October 18th edition of the print version, and on usatoday.com‘s travel homefront at 6am the same day.
You can check out the full list of winners now at http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-place-to-watch-a-sunset/.
If you’ve never seen a sunset on the Outer Banks, you just don’t know what you’re missing. Check out our “Hatteras Sunsets” board on Pinterest for an idea as to why we ranked!
The United States Government may be shutdown, but Hatteras Island is open for business! Admittedly, it does put a damper on things that our beaches are temporarily closed to ORV use, but the fact that we can walk over to the beach in the villages has made it so that life on the island remains pretty amazing.
The weather this fall has been outstanding and the fishing hasn’t been too bad either. With the state maintained fishing licenses still available, the beach has still been fair game for the fisherman, with folks catching everything from bluefish to drum on the beaches and tuna to dolphin offshore.
The shops and boutiques are still open as well, with lots of fall sales and specials as everyone gears up for the holidays ahead. Be sure to visit our shopping page for a full list of places to get some on-island retail therapy.
Also, be sure to check out our event calendar as it is jam-packed with tons of fun for October! Want to get your fitness on while you’re here? The Fessenden Center is offering classes in nearly every village, Monday through Friday. Going to be here for Halloween? There is a very exciting headline event and costume party at Koru Beach Klub, with tickets on sale now or at the door. With everything from art exhibitions to races to the Outer Banks Home Builders Association’s Annual Parade of Homes, October is sure to offer something to fill your fun calendar while visiting Cape Hatteras, so come on down, island life is fine!
A waterman can take on about as many roles as there are creatures in the sea. Weathered by time, their war stories with mother nature and her elements can be read like an open book on the lines of their sun-kissed faces. To touch his or her hands, oh those hands, is to be taken through space and time into the middle of the open sea, onto a tiny little shad boat, pulling nets while the sun beats down on your back. The water winks back at you in approval because she knows for every mouth you’ll feed, she’ll collect ten fold. She is to be respected.
A fierce beauty, she also has a temper that cannot be replicated or tamed. A cowboy will tell you there is nothing worse than a woman scorned. A waterman will be quick to let you know which woman is the leader of that pack. He’s been on the receiving end of her outrage too many times and is well-versed in her fury. He knows he is merely tolerated and salutes her in gratitude, for some have not been so lucky.
Once a year, we come together to celebrate these men, the watermen of Hatteras Island.
Day at The Docks started in 2004 after Hurricane Isabel ripped through Hatteras Island, cutting an inlet between the villages of Hatteras and Frisco, shutting Hatteras off from the rest of the island. The locals needed a break. They needed to come together to nod the resilience of their community after such a huge tragedy. They needed a celebration and it’s been an annual tradition ever since.
Educating folks on “dock life”, they offered various demonstrations and displays throughout the entire day. Musicians, poets and harmonizing crab pickers brought the main stage to life while the docks were abuzz with cooking and fish cleaning demos, a mullet toss and the annual chowder cook-off. The kiddos ran through laughing and playing, filled with excitement from the crab races, the “Concrete Marlin” competition, the children’s fishing tourney and painting fish prints onto t-shirts.
Towards the end of the day everyone hopped on the boats and headed out of the harbor for the sunset Blessing of the Fleet. It was there they paid homage to the watermen who have “crossed the bar” for their final time, setting a wreath of remembrance into the water off of a historic shad boat.
The celebration carried on into the night with a lawn dance featuring live music from Lady J and the Jives. The notes bounced through the town, but when the music stopped and everyone returned home, the spirit of the watermen still hung thick in the air, reminding us all what the day was truly about.
Launch the slideshow for more photos from Day at the Docks 2013.
Fall is settling in on Hatteras Island and we’ve been on a welcome streak of perfect weather and blue skies. Although we’re in the heart of storm season, September has proven herself gorgeous with one perfect beach day after the other.
The island is still abuzz with our friends from neighboring towns, states and countries and we couldn’t be any happier to share the beauty with them. Tucked in, as one guest put it, ” at the end of the earth”, it’s a phenomenon that everyone should see at least once, and those who are lucky enough should soak in as often as possible. With plenty to do and more to see, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we have a long, beautiful fall season.
Be sure to visit the photo gallery for a taste of what September has been like thus far.
