• Family
  • Motherhood
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • DIY
  • Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, & Affiliates
  • Home
  • Vegetarians & Meat-Lovers: Split Table Recipes Podcast
  • Subscribe to Newsletter

A Family Lifestyle & Food Blog

Julie Hoag Writer

Travel Tips for a Family Road Trip to North Carolina OBX

August 26, 2017

Pin166
Share47
Tweet
213 Shares
Boogie boards on the beach at OBX Outerbanks, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Boogie boards on the beach at OBX Outerbanks, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

Family travel is so fun plus it creates fun and precious memories to cherish. My family of five took a road trip down to North Carolina one summer. The Family Road Trip to North Carolina OBX (Outerbanks) was beautiful, fun, and totally worth it. I’m sharing the highs and lows, the joys and the pains of our trip along with some travel tips for a family road trip. I hope my post helps you plan a similar road trip for your own family.

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclaimer in the top bar menu for details.

Travel Planning

Our plan was to rent a vehicle to drive down to North Carolina. We planned to drive the rental vehicle to OBX, then to Washington D.C. ending the trip with a flight home out of D.C. We wanted to travel this way because we wanted to visit my husband’s grandma in another state along the way. She was about a twelve hours drive away from our house so we planned a route that went right through her city.

In preparing for the trip, my husband booked our one-way flight home out of D.C. before booking the vehicle rental. We found we had made a huge mistake because we didn’t realize the car rental company would tack on a giant one-way rental fee. However, this allowed us to visit with his grandma so it was worth it in our case.

Road Trip Tip:

Check out the rental prices for a one-way rental when making travel plans. We could have flown round trip for the price we paid for the one-way vehicle rental plus the one-way plane tickets. A one-way flight might be cheaper than round trip tickets, but it’s only worth it if you have a reason to drive one-way because of the fee often added on to a one-way rental. We wrongly assumed that since the vehicle rental service was a national chain with a branch at our destination we wouldn’t have to pay a one-way fee, but they still charged us this fee.

The Vehicle Rental for the Road Trip 

My husband and I knew it would be a tough road trip because we had to drive a long distance with our kids to get to North Carolina from our home. We planned to drive for as long as we could for two days in order to make it to North Carolina on the date we had planned to meet up with family there. My husband booked a large SUV vehicle with spacious seating and high seats to provide comfort to our family as we drove the long days. It was a Tahoe so our three boys each had their own space with two of them in the middle and our oldest in the way back. The only downfall was that it had a tiny truck area for our luggage, but we managed to make it work.

Road Trips Tips That Worked for Us

As we drove through eight states to reach North Carolina, we had many activities planned for our kids. They each had their hand held DS game systems. I loaded the vehicle with books, toys, activity books, music CD’s, and many snacks. The boys each packed their own backpacks with toys and special stuffed animals, little games, and cards. I let them pick out whatever they wanted for their backpacks so I knew it would be things they wanted and would play with often (ie. be occupied with).

We bought a 2-pack of portable chargeable DVD players so they could watch movies. I let them pick out as many DVD movies as they wanted to bring along. I even bought a few new ones to occupy them.

We were totally amazed to be able to drive twelve hours one day. Our boys were such troopers and we made it without too many meltdowns or tears. It helped that our younger two boys took long naps.

We got out of the vehicle to eat in a sit-down restaurant to get a break from the driving. It was so great to get a break from sitting in the vehicle so we didn’t mind waiting for the food. Plus, we were able to eat at restaurants with local food which is a major bonus.

Sights Along the Way

We drove through Michigan and we were surprised to find white sand beaches on the southern tip of Lake Michigan. I loved this great find of white sand beaches in the middle of North America. We hope to plan a future trip to visit this gorgeous area of Lake Michigan longer in the future.

 

Lake Michigan white sand beach
Lake Michigan white sand beach. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

The benefit to driving over flying is the fun of seeing all the great countryside scenery. I loved how our kids were able to see so many sights they had never seen before while on the road trip. Driving over the Appalachian Mountains was gorgeous and breath-taking. The trees were covered in blankets of lush green leaves. It was truly beautiful to drive along the trees with the cascading leaves covering every tree and bush along the sides of the road.

 

Gorgeous foliage over the trees on the sides of the road while driving over the Appalachian mountains.
Gorgeous foliage over the trees on the sides of the road while driving over the Appalachian mountains.

 

Appalachian Mountains drive
Appalachian Mountains drive. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

We stopped at Buena Vista lookout in West Virginia to take in the gorgeous view at an elevation of 1,500 feet. The view of the valley was amazing.

 

Buena Vista West Virginia
Buena Vista West Virginia. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

Valley below Buena Vista West Virginia
Valley below Buena Vista West Virginia. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

Another favorite stop was in Wakefield, Virginia which is the peanut capital of the world. There were stores selling plantation peanuts, flavored peanuts, and yummy chocolate covered peanuts. We stopped at the Wakefield Peanut Company store too to buy a sparkly peanut Christmas ornament (our tradition is to buy a Christmas ornament on each trip we take as a family). We also bought more delicious peanuts. It was fun to show our kids all the fields of peanut plants as we drove by.

 

Valley below Buena Vista West Virginia. family road trip. family travel road trip tips. Trip to OBX
Peanut capital of the world in Wakefield, Virginia.

 

Arrival at Our Destination OBX

After two days of driving, we made it the Outerbanks of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (OBX). It is a gorgeous, beautiful, and awesome place to visit. I highly recommend it for family travel. Our boys loved driving on a highway over the ocean as we entered the OBX area.

 

Bridges over the ocean to OBX
Bridges over the ocean to OBX. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

The Ocean!

We were staying with family and their friends at a giant beach house across the street from the ocean. It was so awesome to simply walk across the street to get to the beach. The beach house was a rental and they had some boogie boards much to the delight of our boys. They rode the waves under the sun for hours and played in the sand. Our littlest son did not love the big waves so he only waded in but he still loved to drag the boogie board attached to his wrist around the beach.

The smells and sounds of the sea were a divine treat for me. I could never get tired of the beach at the ocean. I know I would love to live by the sea if I could. The sights and sounds of the sea gifted us so much joy. We found seashells in the sand. My sons ran from the waves with smiles on their faces dragging boogie boards hanging their wrists. My sons dug moats and buried each other in the sand. It was a pure slice of heaven!

 

Dragging the board around the beach
Dragging the board around the beach was his favorite thing at the beach! Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

Boogie Boards at the ocean OBX
Boogie Boards at the ocean! Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

Kitty Hawk OBX shoreline
Kitty Hawk OBX shoreline. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

 

Family travel #familytravel #familyroadtriptips #familyvacation View of beach house from beach. Kitty Hawk, NC OBX.
View of beach house from beach, only top floors are visible due to the dune. Kitty Hawk, NC. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

The Beach House

The beach house was four levels and it had a kitchen, seven bedrooms, a game room with a pool table, a small kidney shaped swimming pool plus a hot tub. Our boys were in heaven! They had this all the things they enjoy in life right in one house. Having a kitchen meant we could make meals so we didn’t have to spend a fortune on eating out while we were in Kitty Hawk. We simply visited a local grocery store to pick up groceries, milk, and food. I loved this too because I could find foods I knew my boys would eat.

One of the days a storm came through. We watched it from inside the top floor of the beach house. It was daunting, yet intoxicating to watch the sky grow dark in the distance while the waves grew wild and tall as they jabbed at the shoreline.

The next day was beautiful and we continued our quest of counting the wild dolphin sightings we spotted from the beach house balcony. My oldest son kept count and he spotted 45 sitings of dolphins over the few days we stayed there.

 

Kitty Hawk OBX. Ocean view from beach house balcony. #familytravel
View from beach house balcony of the storm rolling in. Kitty Hawk, OBX North Carolina. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

Shopping and Other Fun Stuff

One day we went souvenir shopping where our boys each bought a shirt with OBX printed above either a pirate symbol or a shark. They each picked out a puppet stuffed animal (a dolphin, a shark, and a sting ray).  Each toy had OBX embroidered on it so they would always remember where they got them.

We also visited the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island where the kids enjoyed seeing turtles, sharks, sting rays, sharks, sea jellies, river otters, sea turtles, many types of fish, and an alligator. My boys especially enjoyed the sea turtle conservation learning area with a fun interactive exhibit.

 

Turtle at North Carolina Aquarium Roanoke Island
Turtle at North Carolina Aquarium Roanoke Island. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

The grandma we met up with in OBX celebrated her birthday at the beach house. We ate peach pies made with local delectable peaches (so amazingly delicious!) and local seafood made by grandpa. We had a wonderful time at OBX and would love to return someday.

Final Leg of Our Trip: Washington D.C.

On the last leg of our trip, we drove up to Washington D.C. We enjoyed seeing many ocean ships, lighthouse buoys, and many shipyards along the way. These were all new sites for our boys and they were excited to see them all.

We drove along a long bridge over the ocean which was super fun, but our favorite part was when we drove under the ocean! We drove through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel which is a highway tunnel under the ocean. Our boys could not believe it was possible to drive under the ocean, a special treat we saw only because we made it a driving road trip rather than flying round trip. The Cheasapeak Bay Bridge Tunnel was both scary and exciting to drive through. It was built in 1964 and it is an amazing engineering design to behold.

 

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel entrance stoplights en route to Washington D.C.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel entrance stoplights en route to Washington D.C. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel entrance going into tunnel
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel entrance going into tunnel. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

Inside the Cheaspeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
Inside the Cheaspeake Bay Bridge Tunnel…heading to D.C. Photo credit: Julie Hoag

 

It was all so worth it to experience and see so many sites while on a road trip across the United States. We had some kid meltdowns, but we managed to distract the kids quickly into a calm state. We kept busy and had a blast! It was a great, fun, and memorable family road trip.

Other Related Travel Posts

Our family of five spent one day in Washington D.C. before we flew home. We did so much in D.C. in just one day. To read my review of our day in D.C. click here to read How To Enjoy Family Travel in a One Day Visit to Washington D.C.

Other related travel posts: Family Travel Destination to Amazing Arizona and 7 Things I Loved About Castaway Cay Plus My Tips and Review of Grand Palladium Mexican All-Inclusive Resort with a Family Focus

 

Travel Tips for a Family Road Trip to North Carolina Kitty Hawk OBX Beach house. #outerbanksnorthcarolina -outerbanks vacation-kitty hawk north carolina #familytravel chesepeake bay bridge tunnel-family travel tips-family travel destinations #familyroadtrip #familyroadtripideas -family road trip ideas-road trip ideas for kids-road trip ideas-travel tips road trip-travel tips kids-family getaway #familytravel #eastcoasttravel #ustravel @juliehoagwriter.com affili.
Pin me 🙂
Follow me on Social Media
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Email
Pin166
Share47
Tweet
213 Shares

2 Comments
Filed Under: Family, Travel, Travel Tagged: family travel, travel

Comments

  1. Harmony, Momma To Go says

    August 26, 2017 at 10:58 pm

    We love the obx and the Chesapeake bay bridge tunnel is quite a travel wonder!

    Reply
    • Julie Hoag says

      August 27, 2017 at 12:24 am

      Yes OBX is so awesome! A fantastic family vacation spot! I agree, that bridge is totally amazing. Every should experience driving through it. It’s so incredible that it was built so long ago and it’s still holding up. A must see!!! Thanks!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello & Welcome! I’m Julie. I’m a wife and a mom to 3 boys. I’m sharing Ideas for Recipes, Family Lifestyle, Travel, DIY & Pets:) I’m SO happy you are here! Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear from you. I’m also a YA Author of the novel “Hungry Hearts” published in 2020 with Swoon Romance/Month9Books and Georgia McBride. “Out of Control” releases in 2021.

Author Julie Hoag YA Author, Lifestyle Blogger, Food Blog, writer

About me & Contact me

Thanks for stopping by my Family Lifestyle & Food Blog!

My site contains affiliate ads. Please see my disclaimer in the top bar menu. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

Search

My debut YA novel Hungry Hearts is out in ebook, audiobook, paperback, and CD.

Hungry Hearts YA novelHungry Hearts novel by Julie Hoag

Have a SPLIT TABLE at your house–Feeding BOTH VEGETARIANS & MEAT-EATERS? My Cookbook: One Dish Two Diets is YOUR SOLUTION:) Affiliate link.

Podcast:

Podcast on Spotify

Pages

  • About me & Contact me
  • Children’s Healthcare Series
  • Cookie Policy
  • Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, and Affiliates List
  • Home
  • Hungry Hearts by Julie Hoag
  • Media Kit Julie Hoag Writer
  • My Memes
  • My Photos
  • My Writing Resume: Sites Published on as Julie Hoag
  • Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Vegetarians & Meat-Lovers: Split Table Recipes Podcast

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Please see disclaimer for all affiliate information.

Tags

appetizer books boy crafts boy mom Boys crafts breakfast Christian Christmas community compassion concussion crafts crafts for kids DIY faith family family travel football gifts Goodness grief guinea pig healthcare humor Hybrid Vegetarian/Meat recipes kids Lunch Ideas Mother's Day motherhood Parenting Pets pool product review recipe salad son summer teen teen depression teens toys for boys travel Vegetarian volunteer youth sports

Archives

Published on:

Amazon, Her View From Home, Huffington Post & Featured on Huff Post Parents, Sammiches and Psych Meds, Perfection Pending, Red Tricycle. To view sites I’ve been published on, click here.

All content Copyright © 2016-2022 Julie Hoag Julie Hoag Writer LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This post was proofread by Grammarly

Freelance Writer Writing Resume

Julie Hoag Writer

Copyright © 2023 · Design by Boutique Studio ·

Copyright © 2023 · Silver on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in