The Outer Banks are essentially a sand spit or series of spits that run down the north east (Atlantic) coast of North Carolina. UK readers think of a much larger version of the Sandbanks and Studland peninsulas. If you've got Google Earth you can get  a really good view.

We knew that Kitty Hawk was there, and some lighthouses, but we didn't know a lot more. We enjoyed the Wright Brothers Memorial Park at Kitty Hawk (or to be more accurate, Kill Devil Hills), but we hadn't realised how extensively the peninsula had been developed with housing, shops etc.

We finally got to an undeveloped area south of the Bodie Island Lighthouse. This involved going over a spectacular bridge over the Oregon Inlet. We ended up at Elizabeth City for the night

Our American Cousins

(put the cursor over the picture to see the family likeness)