Places You Must See: The Crystal Coast, NC

If you love the Outer Banks, then you've just touched the tip of the iceberg as far as beautiful costal destinations are concerned.  Travel two hours south, or, better yet, go inland, travel an hour south and go back out to the coast (traffic is soo much better that way) and you'll find yourself in an oasis known as The Crystal Coast.  Some people still remember when the Outer Banks was just a sandbar with a few small cottages, a place for 'beach people.'  It has since become a haven for all sorts of people, business crowding out the beach spaces, condos taking the place of family cottages.  For us 'beach people,' the remedy to the urbanization of our tropical oasis can be found on The Crystal Coast; my favorite, Emerald Isle.  

The Emerald Isle

 is where people go because they want to sit on the beach and let the sun bake, the surf buffet, and the water soak their cares

 away.  It's a place where the beach is the main attraction.  And, you know that it's a place for real 'beach people' because the number of cottages for rent is vastly outnumbered by the number of cottages that are owned by locals.  This is a place where people go to live; I can't think of a better dream.  At the Emerald Isle, you won't find amusement parks, outlet malls, and all of the other balderdash that the more prominent places seem to attract.  You'll find sand, surf, calm, and serenity.  

There's still shells here, whole beautiful fossils of life that still teams off the coast.  If you look har

d enough, you'll even see some of what you thought were shells, burrow into the sand - clams; and dolphins, and schools

 of fish, and all of the things that nature would have you see if you're calm enough to wait.  Go, wait, breathe, you'll be glad you did.

And, when you've beached for days (or burned for hours) there's one more thing to recommend you to The Crystal Coast that might get you off the beach for a while.  If you drive to the southern tip of Emerald Isle, and then a little further, you can cross the bridge into Beaufort (Bow-fort), an exquisite and historic town, one of North Carolina's oldest.  

Take 

the second right after the bridge (you'll see the sign) and drive to the shore.  Don't miss the visitor's center on your left, a small, unassuming storefront, but the place where you can pick up a nice walking tour of the town.  Park your car, get out, stretch your legs, suck in that ocean air, and check things out.  Stop and watch the men build real wooden boats.  Visit North Carolina's maritime museum.  Take a ferry over to the Rachel C

arson Nature Reserve, and make the walk down to Hammock House, where Blackbeard stayed on shore-leave.  It's a surprising place, but the walk is lovely.  Walk back along Ann Street, in the shade, and enjoy the historic homes.  Turn back to the shore on Queen and stop at the Front Shops.  Have yourself a lovely (and reasonably priced) lunch at The Boardwalk Cafe.  Although they have plenty of ite

ms to recommend, I always have a shrimp burger and am never disappointed.  The food is plentiful and tasty.  You can seat yourself, so make sure you sit by the windows because you'll be close enough to look across Taylor's Creek for the wild horses on the reserve.  Beaufort is t

he place to do your souvenir shopping, should the mood hit you - its also the place to buy fudge, trust me.  

And, if there's still more you want to see and do, The Crystal Coast, like all destination vacations, is internet ready.  The following websites should help:

The Crystal Coast

Tour Beaufort

Vacation Rentals