Outer Banks, fun times

Last week I took a trip to Duck, North Carolina which is in the Outer Banks (OBX). I love the Outer Banks, it's not only a beautiful area but it's relaxed and less commercialized than some of the other beaches on the east coast. I've never been on a beach in OBX that was not clean and for the most part the beaches are not overly crowded. I like that you can stay in a house rather than a hotel room, in fact there are very few hotels in the Outer Banks. Staying in a house allows you to back and forth between your house, the beach, and a pool while having all the convienences of home. The houses, some of which are very luxurious, are affordable, especially if you are travelling with another family or two. The house we stayed in was located on the sound side in on Jaycrest Street. This was a duplex and condo development which included an indoor pool and tennis court. The sound view was very peaceful and we watched the sun go down each evening from the deck.

The beach

Our view from the deck at sunset

A brief review of restaurants we visited.

High Cotton:

This is a BBQ restaurant. The establishment offers both dine in and carry out. The menu consists of pulled pork and chicken as well as barbecued chicken and ribs. We ordered the pulled pork, ribs, hush puppies, and potato salad. The ribs were excellent and of course hush puppies are a must in NC. The pork was very good but we didn't get any bbq sauce in our take out order so this was disappointing. I'd still recommend the pulled pork, just make sure you ask for sauce. Our order cost about $40, it was easily enough food for 5 people as the 3 of us had a good amount left over. High Cotton is a great choice for take out or a quick meal.

Blue Point:

A friend recommended this restaurant to me as it has become her favorite place in Duck during her visits to OBX. The Blue Point is one of the nicer dining establishments in Duck. Prices are as you would expect in a fine dining establishment. The restaurant is very quaint. The interior can be described as "diner becomes mod." The "Point" is located along the sound and tables along the windows offer a pretty view. Several tables and chairs are set up outside along the sound. I visited the Point at lunch and I do not know if these tables and chairs are for dining in the evening. The lunch menu included soups, salads, sandwiches and light entrees. The menu was on the smaller side but still had plenty of choices. I had the crab and shrimp roll, which was similar to a lobster roll in Maine. It was topped with a creamy dressing and was delicious. My sand which was served with homemade chips. My friends had the lunch special which was mahi-mahi served with rice. The dish was flavored with a butter and basil sauce and both women seemed to very much enjoy their lunch. The portion of the fish and the rice was just right for lunch. Service at the Blue Point was excellent as well. I would definitely return to the Point for lunch or dinner.

Aqua:

Aqua is a day spa, restaurant and martini bar...talk about having everything you could possible need under one roof! Aqua is also located along the sound so the views are pretty from every window. We stopped by Aqua to sample one of their martinis and have a dessert. The restaurant bar area is very trendy, the perfect place to have a martini. I had the Bellini-tini which as you would expected tasted very much like a peach Bellini, yum! We shared the key lime creme bruele and while I'm not a fan of key lime I enjoyed this dessert very much. The creme bruele was not overly limey and it was very light. One of the other women I was with was having the soup of the day which was a roasted corn and crab soup, I tried this soup and all I can say is Wow. The soup had a wonderful combination of flavors, of course how could it not with corn and crab. All of the food I saw being served at Aqua looked delicious. Next time I visit, OBX I'll definitely have to have an entire meal at Aqua.

Sunset Grille and Raw Bar

We ate dinner at Sunset one evening. There was a bit of a wait so we enjoyed some cocktails on the dock while we waited. You really cannot beat the atmosphere at Sunset as it has lots of outside seating right on the sound. They have a great selection of frozen and tropical drinks. I very much enjoyed my mango daiquiris. Sunset has a raw bar as well as steamed seafood. They also have a full menu of dinners, sandwiches, salads and even sushi. We started with raw oysters and steamed clams both of which were good. For my meal, I had the tuna which was the catch of the day, this is where the food turned bad. The tuna was over cooked and try, with little seasoning or taste. My friends had steamed crabs, which they said were OK. They also had sushi, which they were satisfied with. The name of this restaurant is very fitting because the sunset view is spectacular. This is a great place to have drinks and watch the sunset but I'd choose a different restaurant for dinner.

Sunset at Sunset

A Spur of the Moment Getaway

On Saturday afternoon, Nate and I decided we would head down to the Chesapeake Bay. We were hungry for crabs and the bay has been calling our names since the weather has gotten warmer. Since we got a late start, due to me working the YWCA 5K (a really great event but not the topic of this blog), we decided we would go to Kent Island rather than St. Michaels and Tilghman Island where we usually venture. Kent Island is less than 2 and half hours from our house, so it's a quick trip. There is a section of Kent Island along Route 50 called Kent Narrows that has several hotels and restaurants. It's basically a party spot for tourists and boaters and we fit in well amongst the crowd.

Our fist stop, which was located just before the Narrows, was at Hemmingways for a snack and beverage. Hemmingways had a great view of the bay and nice outside seating but our crab pretzel was not the best. After Hemmingways, we headed over to the main section of the Narrows which has several hotels, condos, and about 6 restaurants/bars. We were lucky that one of the hotels had a room left so we checked in and then headed to the Prime outlets for a few quick purchases (it was chilly and I forgot to pack jeans). Next, we decided to go to the Jetty. The Jetty is a very fun restaurant/bar with a great atmosphere. The jetty had live music and $5.00 crushes (orange and mango) so it was perfect! We were seated right next to the water, where we could look out over the bay at the setting sun. We loved the atmosphere and therefore did not leave as planned for dinner, instead for ordered a dozen crabs. The crabs were not cooked properly and had a poor taste. This was quite disappointing considering we were sitting right next to the bay. I didn't see any of the other the food that was being served at the Jetty but it was packed and many people were eating dinner. I'd say stick to drinks and appetizers here while you enjoy live music and the view. To conclude our night we went to the Red Eye Dock Bar, what another great bar! This place is very large with lots of outside space. The Red Eye had an 80's cover band playing. I'm not a music expert so I enjoyed listening, although it made me miss my TU girls. Anyway, Nate said the band was good but that singer needed some improvement. The Red Eye had all flavors of 3 Olives, which is important if you want to be considered a good bar by me:). I really enjoyed both the Jetty and Red Eye, good times!

On Sunday we drove around Kent Island, exploring the neighborhoods. We enjoyed some nice views of the bay and picked up some local produce. We then headed back to the Narrows and ate at the Crab Deck. Here we enjoyed crabs that were cooked to perfection. They had a wonderful flavor and satisfied our craving that we had drove to the bay to enjoy. The crab deck also has lots of outside seating where you can watch the boats and feed the ducks. After filling our bellies, we headed home. This was a great spur of the moment trip and we will return to the bay again soon, probably with our canoe and a crab pot.


Some pics:

Nate, Bay Bridge in the background

The folks in Kent Island are proud of the USA, flags are flown everywehre:)

Sunset from the JettyDown by the bay...

A Million Dollar View

Nate and I decided to check out the newest winery in Adams County, Hauser Estate Winery. The winery is located amongst the orchards and rolling hills in Biglerville, PA. The facility has been open for a little while now, but we had never ventured up, only admired it from the road. It's located in an absolutely beautiful spot, at the top of a hill. The view from the winery is spectacular! It has to be one of the best views in all of Adams County. You look out over the vineyards and orchards for miles and also and can see the Round Barn on the other side of the road. Being in this beautiful setting, almost makes you feel like you are on vacation, it's quite relaxing.

The winery has a large tasting room with a pretty fireplace, and a large deck out back to enjoy the views from. On the evening we went up, they had live music playing and food catered by a local restaurant. You can find a list of these events on the website (link above). The music was Jimmy Buffet music and although the singer did not sound exactly like Jimmy, he was entertaining. All of the wines and hard ciders the winery produces were for sale by the glass or bottle. They allowed you to taste anything you wanted at no cost. Now remember this is Pennsylvania wine and we are not known for our wine, so just be aware that you are drinking PA wine. I will say that the Chardonnay was OK but sitting out on the deck enjoying the views made it great. The winery can also be rented for special events such as weddings and banquets, I'm sure it would make the perfect atmosphere for a party:)

Here some pics from Hauser Estate that don't quite do the views justice:

State College Arts Fest

Today, Tammy and I went to the State College Arts Festival and to the Boalsburg People's Choice Festival It was my first time to both and I was not disappointed. We started in State College, which has vendors throughout town and on campus. The vendors in State College were invited vendors, these vendors had great quality items. There were many photographers, in addition to jewelers, glass artists, potters, and woodworkers. Some of the vendors were affordable, while others had single pieces that were thousands of dollars. I purchased 3 matted photos from Pat Little, I loved his unique and modern work. Thursday morning was a good time to go to the festival in State College, it was not crowded when we got there but by the time left around 2:00 it was getting crowded. We didn't take in any of the music but there was a jam packed line up of different bands throughout the weekend.

In Boalsburg not all of the vendors were good quality, but we found some nice pottery and some other vendors also had quality items such as knives, glass jewelery beads and photographs. This festival was not crowded as it is in a wide open space with plenty of room for everyone. If you like festival food Boalsburg has all the offerings, which the show in State College lacked, everything from kettle corn, to ribs, to crepes can be found at Boalsburg. It was hard to choose what to eat first!

A few pictures from the day:

Downtown State College

A landscape set up for the art show

I like PSU's signs around the stadium.