XMS At OBX

For the first time in my f-f-fifty-something years, I’m spending Christmas at the beach.

I’m sure the holidays are different there. For one, Santa probably gives the reindeer a rest and so he can make his entrance towed by a 4x4 Suburban. There aren’t many chimneys, so the Big Guy just shows up on the deck. We’ll leave him beer and shrimp instead of milk and cookies. The Elves might wear bikinis and thongs (uhh, hope not). Instead of mistletoe we’ll stand under sea oats (with special permission from the National Park Service).

I’ve been visiting the Outer Banks for 20 years. I’ve stayed everywhere from Corolla to Ocracoke Island, sampling every type of accommodation from a tent to a 14-person rental house. My wife and I used to go there three or four times a year, but our last trip was to the First Flight Centennial at Kitty Hawk three years ago. We have serious beach withdrawal.

Our friends in the Raleigh area own a wonderful beach house less than a block from the ocean in Nags Head and they’re letting us use it for a few days. We’ll wake up early Christmas morning, photograph the sunrise, let the dogs run on the beach, eat breakfast and then open our presents. A friend is meeting us there and the three of us will eat dinner one night at our favorite restaurant.











(I shot these photos at Cape Hatteras a few years before they moved the lighthouse 2900 feet SW in the summer of 1999)

We’ll take nature hikes and go shopping at the outlet mall. We’ll photograph nearly every sunrise and sunset. We often climb the lighthouses at Corolla and Cape Hatteras, but they’re closed during winter, so we’ll photograph the exteriors … again. We never get tired of this.










(Border Collies usually don’t like water, but don’t say that to ours)

We haven’t had a good vacation in years, so it will be extra special to spend Christmas on the beach in North Carolina.