The city of Rodanthe is in the Outer Banks, a series of islands off the coast of North Carolina. You can reach the islands via bridges or ferries. If you are planning on taking a ferry, be sure to check the schedule. It is also good to call and check because they do not always run according to plan. Each island has its own culture – some, like Nags Head, are very commercial while others, like Ocracoke and Cedar Island, are more remote and can only be reached via ferry.
The Carolina LTVers Club met at Cape Hatteras RV Resort and Campground, which spans the width of the island. Our group had sites together on the sound side of the campground which was perfect for gazing out at the ocean, kite surfers, and sunsets.
The campground offered a convention center with beach access and a well-stocked kitchen, plus bath houses, a dog park, a playground, and an indoor pool. There were several restaurants and places to rent recreational equipment nearby. David provided concierge services and put together packets of information for all campers. You are allowed to have a fire on the beach with a permit that the camp office can provide.
The Outer Banks has a lot to offer campers, including several attractions for history buffs on the island. There are Frisco Native American Museum & Natural History Center and Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, and lifesaving stations to tour. Our group was lucky to experience a lifesaving demonstration at Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Museum. There are also several lighthouses to tour and even climb! There are several areas for birding and nature areas including the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and Alligator River National Refuge.
Recreation opportunities are also available including hang gliding at Jockey’s Ridge, kite surfing, kite flying, deep sea fishing excursions, walking on the beach, and playing in the ocean. Several members of our group took the Hatteras tour. The tour guide, Danny Couch, is a city council member and very entertaining. He provided a great history of the island and arranged transportation to Ocracoke Island.
If you are a club leader and would like to plan a rally at the Outer Banks, there are two things you should be aware of: time of year and weather. The Outer Banks basically shuts down from Thanksgiving to Easter. We had a difficult time reaching restaurants and caterers to plan our meals. The ones that were open year-round booked up quickly. We were able to have one meal catered by Stack Em High/Outer Banks Catering Co., who did a great job and were very responsive. Our meal consisted of lasagna (meat and veggie), manestra with chicken, salad, garlic bread, and Greek dessert.
The weather (especially the wind) at the Outer Banks can be very unpredictable. We were lucky to have three nice sunny days for our rally, however, we did experience a storm on the last night with wind gusts up to 50 mph. With the storm approaching, we opted to stay in for a pizza night. One of the rigs in our rally experienced some wind damage to their awning over the slide the night before the rally. Luckily, there was a mobile repair service that was able to fix the issue.
We are lucky that fellow LTVers are such sharing people. We had several Q&A sessions and a rig hop where we showed off our rig modifications. We were also lucky to have a presentation by Ms. Tommie Lauer of wonderful images she took during her travels throughout the U.S. The rally provided a great time to reconnect with friends, make new ones, laugh, and learn.
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