Today is my birthday. :)

This past weekend Sandy took me to Ocracoke Village in North Carolina as a birthday present. Ocracoke is small fishing village on North Carolina’s outerbanks just south of Hatteras. It is an island and you have to take a ferry or plane to get there.

We had a great time.

This is the first time that we have been down there during season. We usually go in February and just before the summer season starts in May.

I really enjoy Ocracoke there is not much to do there, especially off season, but relax. Yes there are still a lot of visitors but the island is just kind of layed back.

We took off early on Friday and headed south. Stopping at Southland just across the Virginia/NC border for lunch. Then heading on south. Was not much traffic, figured we headed out early enough to beat the weekend rush.

When Sandy and I go down by ourselves (with out the rest of the family) we always stay at the same place, The Bluff Shoals Motel. It is nothing fancy, just a clean room and it is cheap. The owners and employees are nice, the view from rooms 6 and 7 are great, they have a private deck on the water, and free bicycles for guest to use.

Friday night we had dinner at the Jolly Roger. Good place and excellent food.

Saturday we got up kind of early and had breakfast at the Pelican Resturaunt. They usually have very good food but Saturdays breakfast was just OK. My eggs and potatoes were a bit over done. Still good, just not as good as usual.

After breakfast we headed out to the beach. It is kind of cool having the Jeep and being able to drive on the beach. Another great thing about Ocracoke is that the beaches are very nice and there is a lot of room. Even with it being the middle of summer and a lot of people on the island we were able to find a spot on the beach where our nearest neighbor was about 150 yards away.

After a few hours on the beach we headed back to the Jolly Roger for some late lunch and then to the room for a shower and a nap. Then we spent a little time riding bicycles around the island and going into a couple of shops.

Saturday night we went to Howard’s for dinner. If you go to Ocracoke it is almost a requirement that you visit Howard’s Pub for at least one meal. There was a bit of a wait for a table, but even so it is well worth it. The food at Howard’s is awesome.

Sunday morning we slept in a little. Till about 8, hey when you are use to getting up at 5:30 every morning 8 is sleeping in. We went to the Flying Melon Cafe for breakfast. This is another great place and the food is most excellent - great omelets and homemade biscuits.

Then we headed back north to home. What a great birthday weekend.