This chain of narrow barrier islands that parallels the state’s Atlantic coastline is much more than just another sun-and-sand vacation destination. No wonder Forbes last year included it among The Top 20 Places Americans Are Dreaming About Right Now, and a renowned seashore expert included one of its beaches among his list of the most outstanding in the country.  Another draw is how the these islands' past comingles with life there today. Tiny family cemeteries stretching back generations are hidden behind houses - some of which contain timbers salvaged from the hundreds of ships that fell prey over centuries to the treacherous waters off this coast.

Read more in Tripatini member Victor Block's post From Beaches to Blackbeard, Shipwrecks to Sand Dunes, North Carolina's Outer Banks Have Something for Everyone.



Gavin Haskell/Dreamtime.com