There are so many amazing things to see and do in this world that a lifetime isn?t enough time for it all. Some people deal with this reality by rushing off to see as many things on a vacation as they can in as short a time as possible. This means a lot of hotels, a lot of photos, maybe even a lot of restaurants, but not a lot of genuine experiences.
A better way is to take the family or a group of friends and spend some serious time exploring, and living, in a new place. This means ditching the hotels and looking for some house rentals where you can really settle in. The right house rentals are more than just house rentals: they?re a base from which to strike out and see the world. Read on to learn about just one area you could spend days exploring, and you?ll see just what you?re missing.
The Outer Banks
The Outer Banks are a step of barrier islands stretching for 130 miles along the Atlantic coast of North Carolina. There are plenty of house rentals along the beach, and dining and restaurant options abound. From the beach rentals, you can strike out to see a myriad of different sites. When it comes to vacation planning, the Outer Banks will have you spoiled for choice:
- Visit the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Visit the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which at 208 feet is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. It was constructed in 1794 on the orders of Congress, after they got tired of so many ships sinking in the area. Over 1,000 ships are known to have been sunk in the area since 1526, which is when records were first kept. The Outer Banks has a well-earned nickname as a result: The Graveyard of the Atlantic.
- See some of the local wildlife. You might enjoy walking your own dog along the beautiful beaches, and on your walk you?re likely to see sea creatures of all kinds. But you could also run into some of North Carolina?s wild pony population, who still roam the area. Descendants of the Spanish Mustangs brought over in the 1500s, these are a hardly group of wildlife, and they come by it naturally. They?re ancestors were shipwreck survivors. You might also spot some of the more than 400 bird species that live near Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.
- See where mankind first soared. You can easily strike out from the Outer Banks area to visit Kitty Hawk, NC, the site of the first successful airplane flight in 1903. The brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright chose that spot because no one lived there, and because the sand dunes made for great practice in gliding and controlling aircraft.
- Try out your scuba skills. With all those shipwrecks, there?s plenty to explore out there. The pirate Blackbeard was the Outer Banks? most famous resident, and he contributed his fair share to what lies under those waves. What else is out there? Ships from the Civil War era, including the USS Monitor, which was sunk on New Year?s Eve in 1862; vessels from WWII including some submarines; and even some modern ships.
- Spend some time at the beach. Even if swimming in the sea isn?t your thing, or even watching the sun rise over the ocean, there?s plenty to do at the beach. People still enjoy paragliding and kite sailing, as well as hang gliding and kite surfing. The vast expanses, lovely dunes, and great winds make for a great day at the beach with any kind of gliding or flying craft, as the Wright Brothers knew quite well.
Isn?t it about time you took a vacation? Instead of grabbing a hotel for a couple nights and running everywhere, why not look into house rentals that allow you to relax, explore, and take your time seeing everything a place has to offer? You will definitely find it relaxing, and you might just find a new home along the way.