Field Guides
Outer Banks weekend — The plan
Three days on the Outer Banks in early October: where to stay, the drive, and how the tides and light set the day.
The shape of it
Leave Raleigh Friday after lunch; Nags Head is about three and a half hours east on US-64. Saturday is Pea Island at dawn and the lighthouses in the afternoon. Sunday is Jockey's Ridge at sunrise and a slow drive home.
Where to stay
A motel in Nags Head keeps you within twenty minutes of Pea Island, Bodie Island and Jockey's Ridge. In October the rates drop and the beach roads are quiet.
Tides and light
Check the tide table for Oregon Inlet before you go. A rising tide in the first hour after sunrise pushes shorebirds closer to the edge of the flats. The beaches face east, so sunrise is over the ocean and sunset is over the sound.
Kit
The Z6III with the 24-70mm and the 70-180mm, plus the P1100 for the far side of the ponds. A lens cloth for the salt spray and a plastic bag for the camera when the wind picks up the sand.