October 2024 — We embarked on another friend-cation with breathtaking views of the ocean and made this another one-of-a-kind adventure and created some great memories. We are so fortunate we have friends who like to travel.
Emerald Isle is a small town on the Bogue Banks Island which is part of the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. The string of islands are known as the Outer Banks and stretches about 200 miles on the east coast. Emerald Isle is located on the southernmost part of the Outer Banks. It was named for its beautiful shoreline and pristine waters. Historically, these islands were a popular spot for high-seas pirates, including the notorious Blackbeard. It is said the pirates would use the island’s remote coves and inlets to hide their ships and treasures.
We flew into Raleigh, NC and rented a car and had a nice 2.5 hour drive to our VRBO. We stopped at City Barbeque (classic BBQ fare) on our way to the coast. This is a chain restaurant in some southern states. We thought it was good food and the service was fast so we could get back on the road.
We made it to our VRBO on Emerald Isle and met up with our friends. The Fish Hut Grill is a local favorite so it is the spot to go for dinner and it didn’t disappoint. There is always a long line but we didn’t mind because they will serve you drinks while you wait and it gave up time to catch up. We highly recommend the spicy blueberry margaritas, so good! And the food was amazing! https://fishhutgrill.com/
As if we weren’t tired enough from our long day of travel, we hit a local speakeasy, Bar 1957, for some tasty drinks! The bartenders were great and made a fantastic dirty martini as well as other delicious drinks for the group.
We started our second day with a run to the Flip Flop Donut Shop for a little sugar, mmm… delicious! Our friend Lindsey and our new friend, Brynn (Lindsay’s sister) live in the area and offered to take us out on their boat to Morehead City and Beaufort, two nearby coastal towns for a little shopping and bar hopping by way of the Bogue Sound. We stopped at the Southern Salt for appetizers and drinks in Morehead City and we tried some chargrilled oysters and the local drink, a Painkiller which were both tasty! Then we stopped at the Yellowfin Pub for some needed lunch and… a few more drinks. The Mermaid Water was a beautiful turquoise color and tasted deliciously sweet. The food was fabulous and we highly recommend the Ahi Tuna Nachos, which were amazing!
Next, we were off to Beaufort for a little shopping and Oktoberfest at Fishtowne Brew House. https://fishtownebrewhouse.com It wasn’t the Oktoberfest that we are used to in Minnesota, but still the beer was good. Now it’s time to head back to the house to do a little relaxing, game playing, and some football. (Two of my favorite pastimes.) Ahh… back together again, the six of us playing cards like we used to. So much fun and lots of laughter!
Off we go on another adventure today, starting with brunch at Baker’s Kitchen in New Bern. The small town of New Bern, NC was named for Bern, Switzerland which features The Bear Pit, a local attraction in the Swiss capital. New Bern has adopted the bear theme with bear statues all over town. To our surprise we were lucky enough to attend New Bern’s annual Mumfest. There were mums and street vendors everywhere. Getting back to brunch… oh my gosh, Baker’s Kitchen was amazing. The food was fabulous and don’t get us started on the Butter Syrup, it is unbelievably delicious! Another menu item we discovered and highly recommend is the sweet potato biscuits dipped in the Butter Syrup. Everyone was very happy with their brunch items from the pancakes, french toast made with cinnamon rolls, amazing sausage links, to the biscuits and sausage gravy. This is a spot you must try if you are in the area. Our wait was long but well worth it! http://bakerskitchennb.com/
The beach was calling us. Wow, it was so nice and relaxing watching the waves crash on the shore. We spent a couple hours enjoying each other’s company and people watching. Afterwards, we all went to Gaffer’s Restaurant for drinks, dinner, and to celebrate Teresa’s milestone birthday. Amy and I shared the Blackened Shrimp Nachos and the Seared Tuna Salad. Both were excellent! Gaffer’s had live music on the patio. The artist was really enjoyable to listen to and got the entire restaurant to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday girl. https://gaffersemeraldisle.com/
The next day was a slower paced day and very enjoyable. We checked out a few shops and Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier then went back to the house and spent more time on the beach, and we ordered pizza for dinner from Michelangelo’s, which was really good pizza. https://michaelangelosinc.com/. We enjoyed our last North Carolina sunset on the deck, played some cards, and had lots of laughs with our friends!
Now our adventure is coming to a close as we head for the airport to make the trek back to Minnesota. It’s been fun to discover a new place with good friends, experience new and delicious foods, and feel the ocean breeze. The weather was spectacular and unseasonably warm with highs in the upper 70-80 degrees.
North Carolina has more than 200 miles of beautiful coastline to explore and Emerald Isle is a great place to start. One of the island’s many inhabitants are the sea turtles and this area has been designated as an official sea turtle sanctuary. Emerald Isle is also considered one of the world’s most shark infested areas. The waters off the coast are a major migration route for sharks. Thankfully, we did not meet any! 🦈 😎 October is a great month to visit as the summer crowd have lessened and things move at a slightly slower pace!
Cheers to travel adventures! Where to Next…
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